HowStuffWorks "Home Networking Quiz"

HowStuffWorks "Home Networking Quiz":

'via Blog this'

Could you pass the GED? Take our quiz to find out | PBS NewsHour

Could you pass the GED? Take our quiz to find out | PBS NewsHour:

'via Blog this'

The Internet Of Things Might Try To Kill You – ReadWrite

The Internet Of Things Might Try To Kill You – ReadWrite:

'via Blog this'

• What do you think is the most disturbing scenario or issue discussed in the article?

• Which one of the problems mentioned do you think is the most likely to happen?

Infographics: Technology Class Project

Infographics have recently become very popular with news media, big business, and educators. They are very effective as a tool for communicating ideas and displaying large amounts of information relatively quickly.

(4th and 6th period - "Assignment 7")

Read the articles linked below as an introduction to creating infographics:

• 10 Of The Best Tools For Creating Infographics

• The do's and dont's of infographic design

1. Read the articles linked above.
2. Select one of the 10 tools listed in the articles, and create an infographic about your survey results.  
3. Include pictures, graphs, and charts in the infographic, as well as written descriptions of your survey results.  The graphics and charts for your survey data are available in the form you used to create your survey (in your Google Drive, under survey responses).  
4. Embed the infographic on your website (on your "Survey" page).
5. Post the link to your website's "Survey" page in a comment below to share your work with everyone.

'How Much Will Obamacare Cost Me?' Try Our Calculator : Shots - Health News : NPR

'How Much Will Obamacare Cost Me?' Try Our Calculator : Shots - Health News : NPR:

Read both of the articles linked above to learn more about the calculator tool.  Afterwards, use the calculator tool to find the answers to the following questions:

• How much will the new health care plan cost you as an individual?  

• How much will it cost your whole family?  

• How does that compare to what you or your family are currently paying, under your existing insurance plan?

Share your answers and thoughts on the matter in a fact-based, grammatically correct comment below.  

NB:  Feel free to include links to websites or resources which may support your statements.  Refrain from basing your comments on irrational emotion.  Do not repeat word of mouth / chatter / opinions you may have heard from other people - to count your comment must be supported by actual facts or information obtained from established sources.  Do not attack others solely on the basis of a differing of opinion...   

...That said, feel free to reply however you deem appropriate to comments which have no basis in fact, or are otherwise not abiding by these guidelines.

GoLocalProv | Lifestyle | College Admissions: America’s High School Cheating Epidemic

GoLocalProv | Lifestyle | College Admissions: America’s High School Cheating Epidemic:

'via Blog this'

• How widespread do you think cheating is within your class/grade/school?
• What are your own personal beliefs about cheating in school?  
• What are some of the more severe consequences of cheating listed in the article?
• What do you think should be done about this epidemic?

Being Poor Lowers Your IQ - Study suggests a 13-point drop for those in poverty

Poor concentration: Poverty reduces brainpower needed for navigating other areas of lifeor those in poverty:

"Research based at Princeton University found that poverty and all its related concerns require so much mental energy that the poor have less remaining brainpower to devote to other areas of life. Experiments showed that the impact of financial concerns on the cognitive function of low-income individuals was similar to a 13-point dip in IQ, or the loss of an entire night's sleep. To gauge the influence of poverty in natural contexts, the researchers tested 464 sugarcane farmers in India who rely on the annual harvest for at least 60 percent of their income. Each farmer performed better on common fluid-intelligence and cognition tests post-harvest compared to pre-harvest."

• How do you feel about this study?   

• What does this suggest are the possible implications of poverty, both short term and long term?

• What can be done to address this issue?

Internet backbone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Internet backbone - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia: "The Internet backbone refers to the principal data routes between large, strategically interconnected networks and core routers on the Internet. These data routes are hosted by commercial, government, academic and other high-capacity network centers, the Internet exchange points and network access points, that interchange Internet traffic between the countries, continents and across the oceans of the world. Internet service providers (often Tier 1 networks) participate in Internet backbone exchange traffic by privately negotiated interconnection agreements, primarily governed by the principle of settlement-free peering."

'via Blog this'

• What, exactly, is the "backbone" of the internet? 
• How long has it existed? 
• Why is this structure so important, and what impact does it have on our way of life?

USC - Viterbi School of Engineering - Caterpillar Inc. Funds Viterbi 'Print-a-House' Construction Technology

USC - Viterbi School of Engineering - Caterpillar Inc. Funds Viterbi 'Print-a-House' Construction Technology:

'via Blog this'

What are the implications of this technology?

The Crimson White | The Final Barrier: 50 years later, segregation still exists

The Crimson White | The Final Barrier: 50 years later, segregation still exists:

'via Blog this'

1. What are your thoughts on this article?  
2. Do you think the Crimson White did a good job reporting this story?  Why or why not?

The Government Lied About Being Able To Read Your Email Without A Warrant | TechCrunch

The Government Lied About Being Able To Read Your Email Without A Warrant | TechCrunch:

'via Blog this'

What is digital privacy?  According to this article, does digital privacy exist?

Facebook Reports Government Data Requests, US Leads With 12K During The First Half Of 2013 | TechCrunch

Facebook Reports Government Data Requests, US Leads With 12K During The First Half Of 2013 | TechCrunch:

'via Blog this'

Why would the government have programs such as PRISM and make requests for user data from Facebook, if it can tap the Internet and see your data as you use your computer?

Cyber-bullying can't be stopped by changing ask.fm's safety settings

• Cyber-bullying can't be stopped by changing ask.fm's safety settings:

• Ask.fm and you shall receive

After reading the two articles linked above, respond with your thoughts about the authors' views on Ask.fm by answering the following questions:
 

1. Do you think the solutions proposed in each article (for addressing the problems plaguing Ask.fm) will work?  
2. What have been your personal experiences on Ask.fm?  
3. Have you ever been bullied or been witness to bullying on the app?
4. Why do you think some people act so horrible to others?  Does anything justify this type of behavior?
5. Do you believe you are ever truly "anonymous" on the internet?

It's Alive! Scientists Create Mini Human Brains With Stem Cells - Forbes

It's Alive! Scientists Create Mini Human Brains With Stem Cells - Forbes:

'via Blog this'

10 interesting things about Google's new Chromecast media streamer | Computerworld Blogs

10 interesting things about Google's new Chromecast media streamer | Computerworld Blogs:

'via Blog this'

How to use Chromecast

Give With Target

Give With Target:

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Post by Bibb County High School.

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Bibb County High School shared a link.

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Bibb County High School

Bibb County High School This school can receive up to $10,000 in Target GiftCards® for any supplies it needs. You can help. Vote now! #GiveWithTarget

GIVEWITH.TARGET.COM

on Sunday

Give with Target: Bibb County High School

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Bibb County High School shared a link.

Public School · 530 Likes

Bibb County High School

Bibb County High School This school can receive up to $10,000 in Target GiftCards® for any supplies it needs. You can help. Vote now! #GiveWithTarget

GIVEWITH.TARGET.COM

on Sunday

Like

Post by Bibb County High School.

BCHS App now available for Android devices

Check out the Bibb County High School mobile app:  http://3ec1d1e0-768d-4b40-b5be-0391659e5faa.mobapp.at

Shared from my mobile app: http://3ec1d1e0-768d-4b40-b5be-0391659e5faa.mobapp.at
Powered by Conduit Mobile: http://mobile.conduit.com

Texting is “miraculous”: 6 ways we are redefining communication | TED Blog

Texting is “miraculous”: 6 ways we are redefining communication | TED Blog:

'via Blog this'

On GPAs and Brainteasers: New Insights From Google On Recruiting and Hiring...

In Head-Hunting, Big Data May Not Be Such a Big Deal

By ADAM BRYANT

Published: June 19, 2013

June 20, 2013
	Jim Wilson/The New York Times GAUGING SKILLS Laszlo Bock, senior vice president for people operations at Google, says some data is essentially worthless in assessing job candidates: G.P.A.'s. for instance, except for recent college graduates, and test scores.

"We’ve done some interesting things to figure out how many job candidates we should be interviewing for each position, who are better interviewers than others and what kind of attributes tend to predict success at Google. On the leadership side, we’re looking at what makes people successful leaders and how can we cultivate that."

Copyright 2013 The New York Times Company

DISCUSSION:  Click on either of the images to go to the full 2 page article.  Once you have read both pages, share your answers to the following questions in a comment below.  

1.  What do you think about how Google views college education in regards to their own employees?

2.  If you were planning on applying for a job at Google, would these insights be particularly helpful? Why or why not?  

3.  What are the minimum standards Google looks for in potential new hires?  (Hint:  You'll have to use Google to find this information.  Make sure to include the link to the pages where you found your answer)

Senate passes bill letting states tax online sales...

AP News: Senate passes bill letting states tax online sales:

'via Blog this'



Is this good or bad?  Why?
What will the states use the money for?
How will this affect Alabama's economy?

Facebook, MacArthur Foundation, Mozilla, and the Family Online Safety Institute Launch Project:Connect - Facebook Newsroom

According to the article below, what are some of the ways Facebook is promoting digital literacy and protecting your privacy?



Facebook, MacArthur Foundation, Mozilla, and the Family Online Safety Institute Launch Project:Connect - Facebook Newsroom:

'via Blog this'

Protecting Your Privacy in Graph Search - Facebook Newsroom

According to the article below, what are some easy ways to protect your privacy?  Why is this important?



Protecting Your Privacy in Graph Search - Facebook Newsroom:

'via Blog this'

Why is your privacy so important?

Read the following articles on the importance of privacy:

http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2013/02/why-does-privacy-matter-one-scholars-answer/273521/

http://chronicle.com/article/Why-Privacy-Matters-Even-if/127461/

http://digitalanalytics101.com/2012/02/why-your-online-privacy-is-important-an-offline-analogy/

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/security/why-you-really-should-care-about-privacy/3874

http://lifehacker.com/5904966/why-you-should-care-about-and-defend-your-privacy

http://privacypolicyexamples.com/bonus%20content/why-is-privacy-so-important-to-users-despite-the-fact-that-they-seem-unwilling-to-go-out-of-their-way-to-protect-and-inform-themselves/




Now, in a comment below, explain what these articles were about and share your impression of the role privacy plays on the internet today.

The sad state of Social Media privacy...

Web browsers consider limiting how much they track users

"It’s often hard to tell which is the Web’s priority: helping you learn about the world or helping the world — and especially advertisers — learn about you..."

1.  Read the article above about privacy and tracking.  

2.  Now read the following two articles below on Twitter and Facebook privacy settings: 

• http://blog.privacychoice.org/2013/03/20/todays-privacyfix-enable-twitters-do-not-track-setting/

• http://blog.privacychoice.org/2013/04/04/todays-privacyfix-clear-your-facebook-searches/

3.  Finally, examine this infographic: 

Infographic by MDG Advertising

4.  In a comment below, share your responses to these three questions:

• Which one of these resources did you find the most informative, and why?
• Why is privacy on the internet an issue that effects everyone?
• What actions do you plan on taking to protect your privacy online in the future?

What really happens when you navigate to a URL...

What really happens when you navigate to a URL:

'via Blog this'...from the the blog of Igor Ostrovsky, a software developer at Microsoft's Parallel Computing Platform team.

Before you read the article, think about how you envision the internet working when you get online to check your mail, post a picture, message a friend, or like a post in your news feed.  It seems like you just clicked a few links or punched a few keys and voila, like magic you are instantly communicating with someone.  What is actually happening - behind the scenes - to make all this work so effortlessly?

1. Write a sentence or two explaining what you know of the process of how the internet works in a comment  below and post it.  
2. Now read the article.  Once you are done, and feel you understand it well enough to discuss it, return to your first explanation in the comments below.
3. Reply to your original comment with an updated explanation of what you now understand about how the internet works.  Try to be as clear as possible.  You may want to look back to the article to check your facts as you go.
4.  Lastly, check your writing to see if it will make sense when someone else reads it.  Before you post, correct any embarrassing grammatical errors you may have overlooked.

College Admissions...

Disappointing College Admissions Results? Read On!

• Why is it important to re-apply if you don't get in the first time?
• What are some additional strategies Dr. LaScala recommends?
• What colleges are you planning to apply to, and what will you do if you don't get accepted the first time?

Tuition Costs...

Kids and Money: Students should keep eye on soon-to-rise loan rates - Business - Modbee.com:

'via Blog this'


-What will this mean for you, and how might it affect your plans for college?

No rich child left behind...

No Rich Child Left Behind - NYTimes.com:

'via Blog this'

• What are your thoughts on this NYTimes article?
• What do you think is the most important message the article relays?
• What does Bibb County's rural socioeconomic status mean in the context of this article?

Elite education for the masses...

Elite education for the masses...

Doug Kapustin/FOR THE WASHINGTON POST -

Brian Caffo of the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health teaches an online statistics course. He teaches 15,000 students worldwide through his “massive open online course”, or MOOC, a concept that is catching fire in academia.




Read the Washington Post article "Elite education for the masses" on the revolutionary changes happening right now at colleges and universities across the country. Respond to the following questions as a comment to this post:

1. What is an MOOC?
2. What are some of the subjects currently offered via MOOC's?
3. Which institutions are currently offering these types of courses? 
4. What are some of the advantages and disadvantages of MOOC's? 
5. Will this change the way you go to college? Explain. 

This Isn't the Petition Response You're Looking For | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government

This Isn't the Petition Response You're Looking For | We the People: Your Voice in Our Government:

'via Blog this'

The White House has a relatively new addition to its website:     https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petitions is a page where anyone can start a petition and, with enough signatures, receive an official response to their petition from the White House.   Responses to this new resource have been positive, and the page has made the news several times for interesting petitions.  One of the most humourous was the petition for a "Death Star," which was denied (see link in the title.)

Here is the link to the open petitions page:
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petitions

In a comment below, 

1.  Share your favorite open petition, and tell me why you like it.

2.  Briefly explain how the internet has changed the way we communicate, and how this has impacted the world.  Use the article above as an example in your explanation.

Tell President Obama: Protect My Privacy, Veto CISPA | American Civil Liberties Union

Tell President Obama: Protect My Privacy, Veto CISPA | American Civil Liberties Union:

'via Blog this'

Post your thoughts on the petition in the comments below.

Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2013 | The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence

Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act of 2013 | The Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence:

'via Blog this'

This is the official link to the CISPA 2013 bill, which is "a proposed law that would give companies unprecedented power to hand your personal information from the internet, including from private communications, over to government agencies without a warrant."

More is available on the Wikipedia page.  The ACLU is calling for a veto if it passes; you can help by signing the petition..

Comment below with your thoughts on CISPA.
Do you think it is unconstitutional?  Why or why not?

Harvard lets human minds control rats, private rodent armies remain distant (video)

Harvard lets human minds control rats, private rodent armies remain distant (video):

'via Blog this'

Can you see any other applications for this kind of technology?  Does this research have the potential for any...'disturbing' outcomes or scenarios?  Share your thoughts in a comment below.

Facebook Home hands-on (video)

Facebook Home hands-on (video):

'via Blog this'


So what do you think of the new Facebook phone?  Would you buy it, or not?

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1rs3Euxsq3USHjNdN2elujKJZ0noIn1wjhfAP6bUGyOI/viewform

Yahoo Buys A Mobile News Startup Founded By A 15-Year-Old For $30 Million

Yahoo Buys A Mobile News Startup Founded By A 15-Year-Old For $30 Million

Yahoo announced today that it has acquired Summly, a mobile news aggregation app from British entrepreneur Nick D'Aloisio.

D'Aloisio is only 17-years-old. When he started Summly, he was only 15.

Summly Launch from Summly on Vimeo.

So...what are your thoughts about this story?   

If you were to create your own app, what would you want it to do?  What would you call it?  

U.S. News's Best Jobs of 2013

The 100 Best Jobs

"All jobs aren't created equal. In fact, some are simply better than the rest. U.S. News 100 Best Jobs of 2013 are the occupations that offer a mosaic of employment opportunity, good salary, manageable work-life balance, and job security. Some careers offer just the right mix of these components—for instance, our top tier is filled with tech and healthcare jobs—but the list also includes strong showings from occupations in the social services and business sectors. Even construction jobs enter the fray this year"

How many of the top 100 were in the field of technology?  How many are in medicine?  Is your future career in the top 100?

Move Over, Sal Khan: Sixth-Graders Create Their Own Math Videos!

In which of your classes would you most like to see this idea made into a reality?

 

Move Over, Sal Khan: Sixth-Graders Create Their Own Math Videos!

Ear Bud Headphones Causing Deafness

Ear Bud Headphones Causing Deafness
Because the tiny phones inserted into the ears are not as efficient at blocking outside sounds as the cushioned headsets, users tend to crank up the volume to compensate.

“I have an audiologist friend at Wichita State University who actually pulls off earphones of students he sees and asks, in the interest of science, if he could measure the output of the signal going into their heads,” Garstecki said. Often he finds students listening at 110 to 120 decibels.

“That’s a sound level equivalent to measures that are made at rock concerts,” said Garstecki. “And it’s enough to cause hearing loss after only about an hour and 15 minutes.”http://consumerist.com/2005/12/29/ear-bud-headphones-causing-deafness/

Take a look at the following articles from some of the most respected news sources on the planet. What do they have to say about hearing loss and earphones? What are the most alarming facts, in your opinion, from the articles linked below?

http://www.starkeyhearingfoundation.org/programs/listen-carefully/resources/?gclid=CNmqytKh_7UCFQTqnAodt3YASw

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1881130,00.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/magazine/09FOB-medium-t.html?_r=0

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120829064707.htm

Do you know someone who has suffered hearing loss due to prolonged exposure to loud noise? Is this an issue that we should take more seriously? What are your thoughts?