PLN 5

I found in my research that almost all of my information is coming from one study, or a source quoting that study. The study by the Pew Forum of Religion and Public Life was on the lack of freedom of religion, which is exactly what I want and need. The only problem is that every other source I have found is just talking about that same study and interpreting the information that the study says in their own words. I have two sources on countries lacking the freedom of religion, which is part of my second body paragraph, but both sources seem very biased. I also don’t want to have a list of countries or list of governments that force religion on their people because that is boring. I would like an example or two and then information behind the country and facts. So far my paper has been going well, but I get the feeling I will run into a wall soon enough because of the sources, or lack there of, that I have.

PLN 4

I disagree completely with Dr. Warschauer’s question about computers being a waste of time because our world is moving into a technological age and we need to stay ahead. All last semester in English 9 we talked about how technology is changing education, the world, and us; and we found it is changing in leaps and bounds. Technology will be a major part of the world in the close future and we need to be prepared for that. If we learned with pens and paper we will not know what is happening with technology. “2020 vision” by Karl Fisch is a video about his predictions of technology’s advancement into the year 2020. This video predicts that Google will have it’s own university in our near future, a whole university online. Why should we learn with pen and paper if we are going to be learning online anyways? Computers are a great resource and are only going to continue to improve. Students need to stay with the times and continue having computers in the classroom.

PLN 3

In the article by The Denver Post, “World Vision Supplies leave Denver for Haiti” it talks about the relief effort by World Vision. World Vision is a Christian organization that provides food and clothes to poor and impoverished countries. I was lucky enough to visit and help World Vision a couple times with my middle school. World Vision sent 110,000 pounds of aid supplies to Haiti. These supplies include tarps, blankets, water, and hygiene kits. World Vision had already sent 20,000 pounds of tents and blankets last week. These people are helping human beings they have never met because they know its what is right. They know that they should be helping those people. The earthquake destroyed Haiti, buildings lay in ruins, people are left without homes and thousands lay dead. If everyone around the world that could give even 1 dollar imagine what we could do for those people and that country. That is probably around 2 billion dollars if everyone in good standing gave one dollar. Not to mention the people that give hundreds. These people need help and where are they going to get it? World Vision is doing their part, so can the rest of us.

PLN 2

Throughout my research on the freedom of religion I learned many things that will be useful to my Change the World paper. One of the major things I learned was from a study done by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. The study said that 70% of the world’s population lacks the freedom or religion, or religion is forced upon them. My paper is about the fact that people have the right to think for themselves. Everyone should be able to choose his or her own religion and believe in it openly. Something that made me stop and think was atheism. How was this going to fit into a paper about religion? I figured that all it is a belief system, like every other religion. So it will fit in my paper fine. It also shows the right to think for yourself. My paper will be fun and interesting to research and write about because there are so many facts and opinions on the freedom of religion.

PLN 28

In Karl Fisch’s article, "I Read (?) the News Today, Oh Boy," about the video of the online interactive sports illustrated, Sports Illustrated- Tablet Demo 1.5, how we are reading and writing is changing. “The way we interact with “text” is changing,” says Mr. Fisch. What used to be in print is now more accessible and easier online or on your phone. Mr. Fisch quotes Jason Ohler, who says that we have to stop training students to use paper and pencil because it will be irrelevant when we have grown up. I agree with this, because when I want to get a job involving computers I want to be able to know what I am doing and now be thrown into a world that I don’t know what to do with. We are going from mostly pencil and paper to majority digital information. I believe that is the easier way anyway. Why do we have to carry around ten pound textbooks that we open once a night instead of putting it online and being able to access it whenever. I think that the Sports Illustrated is only the beginning of a major switch in documents, from pencil to keyboard.

PLN 27

In the video Google Goggles, and the article "Google Goggles: why didn’t I think of that?," by Karl Fisch what matters is that this is a huge step for technology because there is no typing or speaking involved. For this new search engine to work all you have to do is take a picture and google goggles can figure out what it is and give you information about it. This is amazing to me because I am fascinated by technology and this only improves my thoughts on it. Technology is always moving forward like Karl Fisch’s “Did You Know” video says. Google is also an impressive source and always seem to be coming out with the next technological advance. This also relates to Karl Fisch’s “2020 vision” which talks about the technology in the next 11 years. This new search engine by google is extremely impressive and crazy to think about. I can find out all about a business by a persons business card by just taking a picture of it. I can figure out the artist and title of a painting. I can find out tons of information through google goggles without saying of typing anything.

PLN 26

In the article by Karl Fisch, “A Shift in the Digital Divide,” what I thought was interesting was that non-Hispanic whites were not at the top of each graph they were at the bottom. This graph is about how many young Latinos, Blacks, and Whites have used mobile devices. All the graphs show that Latinos are at the highest ethnic group in use of mobile IM, Texting, Emailing, Internet, directions, video, and music. This article says that they believe it is because young Latinos and Blacks are spreading their knowledge with older generations. Another reason they think is that mobile is cheaper than home connection, but you get the same thing. I have a cell phone, but I can’t access the Internet, IM, email, or get directions, but it is very convenient. I can almost always get a signal and talk to whomever I want. One thing I don’t understand is how does this show a shift in the digital divide. What did the old divide look like? I was surprised that non-Hispanic whites were not on the top of each list because almost everyone I know has a Iphone or a Touch and can do all those things on their phone.