Cyberbullying

Bullying has existed basically since man walked Earth. However, the internet has opened a whole new realm of bullying. It is called cyberbullying, and it's becoming a bigger and bigger issue as it forms. Instead of bullying someone face-to-face, users bully through the internet via some sort of social media/messaging outlet. They say that words hurt more than punches, and cyberbullying is defiantly proving that. In schools, it is becoming harder and harder to monitor children's behaviors online. In the article "Warily, Schools Watch Students on the Internet," it states that, in an interview, educators said that the form of surveillance they use is the old-fashioned word of mouth. As cyberbulling gets worse, I believe that educators need to take an extra step, because a child is not always going to speak up when someone is bullying them…and cyberbullying is leading to more and more deaths. in the article "Girl’s Suicide Points to Rise in Apps Used by Cyberbullies," it mentions just that. A girl, Rebecca, killed herself because she was being cyberbullied. She left clues to her friends and her Kik account, but her mother had no idea that anyone was even bullying her. While laws are being made about cyberbullying, I think it has just evolved so fast to keep up with (from a legal standpoint). This is a sad and awful reality.

Privacy & Security

There has always been a debate on how as technology grows, your privacy diminishes. It's easier to steal someone's identity, tap into someone's phone, or even know where someone is at all times. The recent findings that the government has been taping into people's calls have raised an eyebrow on people's privacy. George Orwell said it best in his novel 1984: "Big Brother is always watching." In the article "Self-driving cars are a privacy nightmare. And it’s totally worth it." it mentions how authorities will be able to track the user of self-driving cars at all times. Though this sounds alarming, and like your privacy is disappearing, they think that people will be so "wowed" by the car that they will be willing to take this risk...or may forget it all together.Maybe it's just something we are used to by now; but it makes one wonder how much personal information is available. In the article "Information Privacy: Changing Norms and Expectations," it mentions how much of people's information is on the internet. The author mentions a family photo. Something that people may think is only in a data center could have actually been copied, mirrored, cached, etc onto the internet for all to see. This is actually pretty scary that people have access to pictures and documents that you may have never even seen in your life. If you search your name into Google, there are so many lists of personal information about you that you wouldn't believe is actually on the internet. While more people should be scared about this, it's becoming more of a norm.

AI & Robotics

I personally think that robots can not do EVERYTHING a human can. If one were to have a conversation with a robot, it would feel as if something is just...missing. However, science is getting closer to making robots have human qualities. In the research "The Huggable: A Therapeutic Robotic Companion for Relational, Affective Touch," it talks about how robots can now give that feel that an animal can. That feeling of comfort and companionship. 

The thought of driver less cars also makes me a little uncomfortable. I do agree that there are many, many drivers who are out there who shouldn't have a licence because they are often distracting themselves by either texting, eating, etc while driving, ultimately putting everyone around them in immediate danger. In the article, Driver less Cars Get California License, it talks about cars with CPUs have already been tested, and given approval in California. This "eaks" me a little bit because it may seem a little safer, but what if someone who doesn't have a "smart car" blows the red light when the computer is telling your car to go. With computers, it may not consider reaction a human may have. Could it reduce accidents? Maybe, and I honestly hope it does.

 I think humans are most likely to make errors. That's what makes us human, the errors we make. Technology can reduce these errors significantly, and has as it changes. 

Creativity & Social Media

I created a video that I thought would overall be funny. It sort of makes you question what REALLY matters in life...but then again, life's too short! Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=--nwziz1DNI&feature=youtu.be

Social Media

I think social media to dramatically changed how people do things, communicate, and possibly overall live. In the article "How can we measure the influence of the blogosphere," it talks about all the different effects blogging has made. It has affected how journalism, politics, and all mass media works now. I'm on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Linkedin, and Vine. I actually use all of them quite frequently, with the exception of Linkedin, which I check about once a month. I like all of them because each of them allow me to express my self each in a different way. For example, I can express my life in photos on Instagram. On Facebook, I can allow all of my friends to see what I'm proud of and what I like, or even find out more about me. Social media has even changed how we communicate in the classroom as well. In the article "Professor encourages students to pass notes during class--via Twitter," it mentions how a professor allows students to tweet to each other as he is talking. He thinks that this allows ideas to flow and can help students. We have tried to use Twitter in class, and it kind of upsets me that we don't use it more often.

A virtual life is basically a creation of you...but a 3D rendering of you through the computer. You can "live" basically any way you want. You can be whoever you want to be...or at least your rendering. You can use them to hold online meetings, or even in chatrooms. If I were to be in a virtual world, I would like to be rich or a movie actor. Obviously I would like to be that in real life, but it's not quite as hard in a virtual world.

World Wide Web

The future of the world wide web looks like it has a much more innovative, and even more personal touch than ever before. In the article "Google’s New Director Of Engineering, Ray Kurzweil, Is Building Your ‘Cybernetic Friend,’ it talks about how Google wants to build a feature that not only helps you (think Siri), but also get to know you and be your personal "friend." This potentially has the ability to know you better than anyone else...possibly even yourself. While that sounds cool, it's also a little scary...especially when it comes to Google. Before you know it, 3rd party advertisers may also know you better than they already do as well.

Speaking of changing the web, Facebook did so back in 2006 when it became a hit sensation on the web. According to the article, Facebook search: Facebook adding search feature," it talks about how now Facebook will be adding a search feature, which it partially already has now. You may have the ability now to find people around the world who share the same interests with you. It almost sounds like a dating service, but it sounds a little cool.

Finally, we talk about "the cloud." The cloud is nothing more than just storage. What's nice is that it's not stored on any device...just up in cyber space. You can access these files whenever you want, even to other people (provided that they know all the login information. It's changing how people save, store, and even restore files.

Personally, I think a course can help get someone into blogging. Many courses could integrate it pretty easily. For example, a journalism class could use blogs to make classmates find out news about their local area and report on it within the blog. The teacher can then go in and make sure they are following all the aspects of effective journalism. Another example could be a public relations class. You could use a blog to create mock press releases, and teachers can go in to see if students are writing them correctly. For this class, they can be used to submit homework assignments as posts, and we can go to each blog and respond. This could be nice because each blog has kind of a personal spin of the user in it, so we could get to know something personal about that student that they might like to do, enjoy, etc. However, it may be a little difficult for the instructor to go to each blog and make sure that the students commented on at least two.