Technology week!

Journal 3-8

Technology week!

I. Last week I said that I wanted to research the latest and greatest technological advancements.
Most websites that I found didn't have specified lists of the most important or most beneficial advancements.

One website said the top 10 most influential tech advances of the decade are:
1) Flat-panel TVs/HDTVs
2) DVRs
3) High-speed internet
4) Wi-Fi
5) Smartphones
6) Bluetooth
7) Online Media Services
8) Online Gaming Services
9) Social Networking Sites
10) Flash Storage

source: Top 10 Most Influential Tech Advances Of The Decade - Next: The Birth of Facebook and the Death of the Disk | PCMag.com. (n.d.). Technology Product Reviews, News, Prices & Downloads | PCMag.com | PC Magazine. Retrieved March 27, 2011, from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/

fusion. (n.d.). Only 17 Percent Of Americans Own A Smartphone. Metrolic - World News, U.S. News, Multimedia and more.. Retrieved March 27, 2011, from http://www.metrolic.com/only-17-percent-of-americans-own-a-smartphone-140370/

II. This week in class we really started looking into how technology is affecting the present. We talked about how much social networking has done to our lives, because people can be anyone they want to be online. Also, we discussed the possibility that texting and online messaging are talking away people's ability to effectively socialize. Is this all true? Is society surrounded by a completely different and potentially harmful technological atmosphere? On Wednesday and Thursday we had a substitute, so we watched a film about cochlear implants. Various members of the family are faced with the decision whether or not to implant their children with hearing aids. The argument is that giving a child the ability to hear is taking away his or her "deaf culture". On one side of the family, every member is deaf, and the child is fluent in sign language. Therefore the parents don't want the child to be able to associate with the "hearing world". On the other side of the family, one of two twins is deaf, but the rest of the family can hear. Therefore the parents of this child want it to be able to become a part of the "hearing world".

Sign Language. (n.d.). • ASL • American Sign Language. Retrieved March 27, 2011, from http://www.lifeprint.com/asl101/

My personal opinion on the technology argument is that it is potentially dangerous to our society. In all honesty, we say things differently over the phone or the computer than we would if we were face to face. This takes away individuality and the ability to properly socialize. I still talk to my best friend on the phone every day as opposed to texting him because I'm more honest and genuine that way. I also think that dating websites and social networks are detrimental to people's true identity. On the internet, you have the power to be anyone that you're not. I don't think that's a benefit to society at all. As for the cochlear implant debate, I think it's rather stupid that the deaf parents wouldn't want their child to have to opportunity to hear. I repsect that they want to keep her associated with her "deaf culture", but she deserves the chance to live normally as well. She's still going to have to communicate with her parents in sign, so she isn't losing touch with the "deaf world". I believe that there's no reason why the child shouldn't recieve the cochlear implant.


While watching the documentary, I was actually able to make a connection to my own life. I went to elementary school with two kids, a brother and sister, who were both deaf. I don't ever remember them without their hearing implants because I didn't know them prior to that. However I do remember watching them be able to communicate with the other kids. Both of their parents had perfect hearing, and I can imagine they wanted nothing more than for their kids to be able to communicate with them. Neither Kelly nor Kyle could speak very effectively, but I'm sure it was better than not being able to hear or speak at all. I still run into them at the gym occasionally and it makes me happy to see how they've grown up normall due to the hearing aids that they were provided with as children.


III. For next week's blog I want to know some statistics on deaf people in the United States. In this video they showed a whole entire community of deaf people hanging out together in a park, all speaking in sign. Are there really existing "deaf communities" where deaf people all live together?

Shift to technology unit...

Journal 3-7

Shift to technology unit...

I. In last week's blog I said I would like to know what the result of the Tank Man incident was. We finished watching the video, and basically what happened is that the man was removed from the street by other pedestrians. He first stood in front of the tank and refused to move, and then he mounted the vehicle and proceeded to yell at the driver. Once he got off the tank, some other pedestrians grabbed him and walked him off the road. Nothing is sure about the status of the tank man at this point. He has become a figure that symbolizes heroism. However his information is yet uncovered by the media, or anyone else for that matter. Whether or not the Tank Man can be identified, he is still honored.

Golan, S. (n.d.). Marking the 20th Anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre | frgdr.com. frgdr.com. Retrieved March 19, 2011, from http://frgdr.com/blog/2009/05/21/marking-20th-anniversary-tiananmen-square-massacre/

II. This week in class we finished up the Tank Man video. We did a reflection on the issues in Tiananmen Square and the Chinese government. Then, we began the technology unit. We did a worksheet called "Technology and You" that helped us organize our personal thoughts on technology. We discussed which technologies we take for granted, which technologies we think will develop, which ones we could do without, which ones we use the most, which ones have the most potential, and which ones have the biggest risks. We also talked about how frightening some aspects of technology can be, like social networking and advertisements. Finally on Friday the freshmen joined us and we worked on our Heroic Imagination projects. We will now begin to create a network, market our project, and draft a grant proposal.

iPhone - BusinessWeek. (n.d.). BusinessWeek Slide Shows and Multimedia. Retrieved March 19, 2011, from http://images.businessweek.com/


As for my opinion on the Tank Man incident, I think it's a really cool situation. The fact that the Tank Man is so incognito and unidentified makes his character all the more powerful. It proves that ordinary people can become heroes, and not even be around for recognition. Obviously that man had no desire for the publicity, he genuinely just wanted to stand up for his country. As for the technology unit, it's something that really interests me. Our generation is experiencing technology in an unimaginable way. We take it all for granted too, which is why I appreciate that we're digging into it in this class. I never stop to think how much my technology does for me. It entertains me, educates me, keeps me connected, enhances my basic needs and so much more. Finally, my thoughts on the Heroic Imagination project are shifting from excited to frightened, honestly. It's all very confusing and complex at this point and i'm worried about how my group will handle it.

We didn't take very much time going over the "Technology and You" worksheet in class, but it really sparked some thoughts for me so I want to touch on that a little more. I want to pay special attention to the top 10 technologies that I take most for granted. They are: radio, cars, cell phones, ipods, social networking, search engines, hair dryers/hair straighteners, On Demand television, laptop computers, and microwaves. Each of those things is something I use multiple times per day. How much time do I take to appreciate them? Not a single second. I can't even imagine these things not being around. I can remember my life before ipods and Facebook, but other than that those things have all been around since I was born. Many of them actually shape who I am, such as: the cell phone I talk on, the Facebook account that I present myself with, the hair straightener I create my everyday appearance with, the ipod I fill with my music, etc.

Facebook: a step closer to the end of anonymity on the Internet | Alpha Blog. (n.d.). Alpha Blog. Retrieved March 19, 2011, from http://www.alpha-aic.co.cc/facebook-a-step-closer-to-the-end-of-anonymity-on-the-internet

III. For next week's journal I want to research what the top 10 latest and greatest technological advancements are. I don't always keep up with the development of technology so I want to look into that.

I really don't know what we did in class this week...

Journal 3-6

I really don't know what we did in class this week...

I. In last week's journal I said that I wanted to do a comparison between the Rwandan Genocide and the Holocaust. After doing some research, this is what I found out:

Rwanda:
-method of killing was guns and machetes
-length of time was roughly 100 days 
-ethnic group that was killed was the Tutsis
-there were peacekeepers involved in Rwanda
Holocaust:
-method of killing was sophisticated gas chambers
-length of time was roughly 3 to 4 years
-number killed was around 6 million
-no peacekeeping involved in Germany

source: Differences Between Rwandan Genocide & Holocaust? - Yahoo! Answers. (n.d.). Yahoo! Answers - Home. Retrieved March 13, 2011, from http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20081027145600AAzdaLy


II. This week we only had four complete days of class, in which I don't completely remember what we did. I do know that we finished watching the film called "Ghosts of Rwanda" and wrote a reflection paper on it. I wrote my reflection paper from the viewpoint of the Red Cross. I said basically that they are sympathetic toward the whole incident and they wish they could have done more. Also, that unlike most cases, the Red Cross chose to intervene aside from simply caring physically for the victims. It is typically not in their best interest to take sides in such instances, but they couldn't possibly refrain from doing something about this particular genocide. At the end of the week we began watching another film called "The Tank Man". This deals with the student protests that occurred in Tiananmen Square in 1989. It highlights one particular civilian who stood in front of a tank and told them to get out of his country.

pictures that changed the world - Photos. (n.d.). Photos - A new interesting or beautiful photo every day. Retrieved March 13, 2011, from http://www.photosfan.com/pictures-that-changed-the-world/

My personal opinion of the Rwandan genocide is also very symnpathetic. As a girl, I tend to look past any political, cultural, and social standpoints and just be upset about the violence. I really can't stand to look at the pictures and hear about all the brutal things that happened. I appreciate the work of the peacekeepers and the Red Cross. They worked hard to save lives and succeeded to a certain extent. I think those organizations exemplified heroism throughout the duration of the genocide. As for the tank man that we've started researching, i'm interested in the story. That man also engages in heroic action when he jumps in front of a tank that could literally run him over. I'm looking forward to finding out more regarding the student protests and the tank man's motives.

For some reason, when I heard the story of the tank man I made a connestion to Rosa Parks. I'm not completely sure why, but both individuals made bold moves to make a point. The tank man and Rosa Parks were both just ordinary citizens who took heroic action to put an end to something. For Rosa, she refused to give up her seart on the bus in order to take a stand against segregation. The tank man jumped in front of an army tank to put an end to the military intervention in his country. Both individuals risked their lives because of strong internal feelings. Both of them recieved praise and attention for what they did.

Albin, K., & 1996, i. c. (n.d.). Choby.us « Gather Trends. Choby.us « Gather Trends. Retrieved March 13, 2011, from http://choby.us/

III. For next week's journal I want to know what the outcome was of the tank man incident. What happened after he jumped in front of the tank and then proceeded to hop on top of it and yell at the driver?

Dare to dream, change your world.

Journal 3-5

Dare to dream, change your world.

I. In the last normal journal that we did, I said that I wanted to research information regarding our Heroic Imagination project of choice. My group hasn't officially made a decision yet, but our temporary choice was Soles for Souls. This is an existing program that provides shoes to the shoeless.
The organization's website is: http://www.soles4souls.org/
The organization is based in Nashville and their purpose is to collect shoes from the warehouses of footwear companies, and distribute them to people in need. They have given away nearly 12 million pairs of shoes to people in over 125 countries.

Crystal. "Soles 4 Souls | PunkyStyle.com." PunkyStyle.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2011. http://punkystyle.com/soles-4-souls/.

II. This week in class we did background information on the Rwandan Genocide, then began watching a film called "Ghosts of Rwanda". The film goes kind of behind the scenes of the Rwandan Genocide, allowing us to hear interviews with people who were directly involved. It reveals the attitude of various different leaders or groups that were part of the terror. At the end of the week we met again with the freshman class to work on our Heroic Imagination projects. We had a guest speaker who helped us to organize our thoughts and start the planning for carrying out our projects.

"Remembering Rwanda." UNA-USA Greater Chicago Chapter. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2011. http://www.unachicago.org/rwanda/.

My group chose Soles for Souls, an already existing organization, as our temporary project focus. We aren't entirely sure, however, that we want to use this choice. As for right now, the idea is "In order to uplift souls, we will provide soles". The World's need for shoes also includes a need for comfort and protection. Our service will provide shoes from a shoe drive to the people in need. Our process will include: 1) determine who is most deserving, 2) have a shoe drive, 3) repair worn out shoes, 4) distribute shoes, 5) watch souls be uplifted. We're excited to start the process and find out where it will take us!

A connection to something that we haven't discussed in class would be the similarities between the Rwandan Genocide, and the other most well known genocide, the Holocaust. In the Rwandan Genocide, the victims came from an African American ethnic group. In the Holocaust, the victims were people of the Jewish faith. In both cases, innocent people were killed by the hundreds for their way of life. The bodies of the deceased weren't respectfully taken care of, and those who were still alive had to be witnesses to the horror.

time, that, and he had walked over one thousand miles in search of safe refuge.. "Fieldstone Middle School ." Montvale Home page. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Mar. 2011. http://www.montvale.k12.nj.us/3%20R's%20Day%20-%20April%2016,%202009/Speaker%20Biographies%204-16-09.htm.

III. For next week's journal I want to do a comparison chart between the Rwandan Genocide and the Holocaust. I'm curious to see how the actual statistics for number of deaths and speed of the process compare. Also, i'll compare how many people were doing the murdering in each event.