PLN 16

I just watched the video, “Pattie Maes and Pranav Mistry demo SixthSense,” which talks about a new device that can give you information about anything infront of you and much more. This device is made up of a camera, a projecter, a mirror, a phone, and colored caps on your fingers. You can interact with this projected data by simple gestures. To take a picture, you can just make the frame with your hands and the device will take the picture. Finding ratings on books or annotations on that book is as easy as having it infront of you. When meeting someone new the device shows words that describe the person and gives you lots of information about that individual. The device is completely portable and can project on any surface, including your hand if need be. The system can recognize a product and give a green, orange, or red light for your own personal likes. This device is extremely technologically advanced and is still a work in progress. This sixth sense seems to be more advanced “Google Goggles” that has access to lots more information. Information comes easily and with this device it will only get easier.

PLN 15

I just watched the video introducing the new iPad from Apple and I am amazed. The iPad is essentially a thinner, faster, better touch screen laptop computer. Although it isn’t all that much different from an iTouch or an iPhone it is much more than that. When I was watching this video I thought about what if students had one of these for their schoolwork? If we didn’t get distracted easily this would be a great idea. It would save paper and all our work would be in one place and would be very fun and easy to use. The iPad is just another example of how technologically based our world is. I use my phone all the time and am on the computer a ton. I am always listening to music and every once in a while, take some pictures. My problem is that to do all these things I need three or four devises. If I had the iPad though, all these things would be in one place working at the same time. I could be texting someone, listening to music, on Facebook, looking at my pictures, and doing homework essentially at the same time. I just think that is amazing. My dad walked in while I was watching the video and was just blown away and talked to me about how fast our world has advanced technologically. The iPad is being released April 3 for $499 each.

PLN 14

“Sometimes This Stuff Still Amazes Me” by Karl Fisch talks about how fast information is spread and how easy it is to communicate these days. He talked about how he tweeted a question and extremely quickly had plenty of answers. Lately if we have a question there are so many ways to get the answer it is unbelievable. I typed “Schools in Colorado” and in 0.43 seconds there were 328,000,000 results. I can find that much information that quickly and easily? Information is so easy to come by these days and yet we take advantage of it. Some people think that computers are a waste of time and money and we should not use them in education. A computer just gave me access to all the information I would ever need about schools in Colorado and yet they are a waste of time and money? Our world is extremely technological and has become that way in only a couple decades. I know my parent’s generation see an Ipod, a Iphone, or a Hybrid car and talk about how they didn’t have that when they were born. I like to figure out how things work and think about what goes into making it, and I can never even imagine how people invented and created the internet. So much information that is so accessable to everyone. Yes there are some problems with that like Identity Theft and situations like that but the majority of the people that use the Web are responsible and use it correctly and for the right reasons. I can't wait to see what happens with technology and the internet in the future. With what has happened in our world recently, who knows what is next.

PLN 13

In the article by Karl Fisch, “Google Apps for Education: Is it the Right Choice for Our Students?” what matters is that many people believe that education through Google Apps is a good idea and an effective way to learn. I agree with this. I think that this way of learning would be better because information would always be available to students. Many students including me tend to forget books or assignments in their locker and with this new way there would be no problems with that. This also made me think of the video “2020 Vision” by Mr. Fisch because he says that Google is going to have an online college and this is a small step in that path. I think that it would be cool to learn by Google Apps and I would not be surprised if that started to grow in the next couple years. The one problem i see in that plan is that Google Apps might replace many teachers which would not be both good for our economy and for teachers already employed. Then of course Google would create jobs. I think it would be a great idea to learn by Google Apps.

PLN 12

In the article by Stager-to-go, “Play 60? Not in the USA!,” what matters is that children’s play is being taken away and needs to be changed. This blog was in response to the commercials and organization set up by the NFL called Play60 which encourages children to play for 60 minutes a day. Schools have taken away recess and PE classes, and turned them into more classes for learning which isn’t bad but children need time to play. Students get on the bus early in the morning, return home at dusk, do homework, eat dinner, and go to bed. There is no time for them to play. Playing is what children want to do, we don’t want to sit in class all day, we want to go outside and run around for a while. I think that Play60 is a great idea but schools need to help make that possible by giving the kids more time to play.

PLN 11

"Strasburg man arrested for internet luring,” by the Denver Post talks about a 43 year old man that tried to set up a date online with a 14 year old girl. This shows a major bad about technology. People have figured out how to use it to their advantage. There are lots of messed up guys out there that can use technology in order to find younger girls. Yes there are the dating sites that are “safe and secure.” On the other hand there are always breaks in the system or people that know how to hack the system and can find everything out about a person. Personal information is not as safe as it was before technology came along. It is not necessarily technology itself though; it is the people that use technology in ways other than its original usage. Technology is a great resource but there are people that use it for reasons that should never be needed let alone gone through with.

PLN 10

In the article by Karl Fisch, “Be the Change” what matters is that Mr. Fisch is helping change the world by changing his means of electricity in his house. He installed solar panels on his roof that should account for 95-100% of his electricity from now on. Our world is in a downward slope and we are going down fast. Humans are not taking care of the environment we live in and are paying for it more than ever. There are so many ways to help out though. Whether it is recycling, turning off lights when you leave, or like Mr. Fisch, going all out and using solar powered energy. They also have a hybrid car, which is a great way to help. Gasoline is terrible for the environment and hybrids are reducing that need for gasoline. Every little thing you do to help out the world can go a long way.