Google 20% Final Presentation

Growing Up Online

I am not surprised with...
-People are having an online society.
-People are having relationships online.
-90% of teenagers are online.
-The internet is a place to express.
-It is hard to control what kids do online.
-Adults are not as efficient as teens when using technology.
-People are multitasking when they use the computer.
-Kids use the internet for plagiarism.
-The internet changes personalities.
-Kids hide what they do towards their parents.
-There are no secrets online.
-Kids are not giving their passwords to their parents.
-Most kids keep obvious predators away.
-People still use the internet as a tool.
-Kids hide their thoughts from their parents.

I am surprised with...
-Many teens  don't know how to spend time off the internet. There are many things that you can still do but today, kids lack in creativity.
-Schools are very dependent on technology and a class without a computer is like a desert.
-The ability of students to focus is decreasing.
-Books are not common and Sparknotes is dominating. Some can't even remember when they last read a book.
-Teachers are caring less and less about plagiarism and have decided that what cheating was before is not the same as what cheating is now.
-People judge others through the web. Facebook is becoming a way of bullying.
-People compete for friends and end up adding people they don't know.
-Kids are shy when they look at each other but through Facebook, they feel more confident to say what they are thinking.
-People have their real friends and their online friends. I think this is surprising because you should be able to personally hang around with your real friends.
-People hide their identity while they hang online. This is shocking because you are basically lying to yourself about yourself.
-People even lie about their age in order to seem someone else.
-Their parents are affected from what their children do. I think that the relationship between parents and children is getting weaker.
-Some people regret the things that they do online. This means that there is some consciousnesses improvement.
-People online chase others 'cause they think that the person has a special connection. I'm surprised that the internet has created this obsession.
-Parents need to take control of the computer. I I'm surprised that this is not happening anymore. Now parents what to go on Facebook themselves.
-Parents are stalking their children. This is surprising because they are dong the same thing that they are fighting against of.
-Cyber bullying can easily lead to suicide when the kids has a low self-esteem.
-Webpages that the you the best way to suicide still exist! They are really easy to find.

Today, this things have changed...
-Myspace is not popular anymore.
-I Pods are thinner.
-Smartphones are more common.
-Facebook has more users now.
-YouTube's layout is very different.
-Computers look different.
-Picture quality is better.
-Train travelling has decreased.
-Stalkers are way more common.
-The chase for online predators is stronger each time.
-Microsoft Word's layout is very different.
-People don't use Internet Explorer as the main browser anymore.
-Video game consoles are more modern.
-Microphones are now usually incorporated into computers.
-School tools have been replaced with technological tools. (I Pads as notebooks)

Swiss Schools

Sustainability Mangement School (SUMAS)

This video says that the school is located on the french part of Switzerland. It also states that the curriculum mixes administration with scientific knowledge of sustainability. The focus of some of the courses is to relate sustainability to the daily life. Finally, it states that Switzerland is a very good place to live due to its landscapes and security.

Sustainable consumption & production: a greener world

This video explain the effects of our wastes on Earth. I also states that if we keep consuming at the pace we are, we will soon need double the earth's surface in order to store all of our waste. This video also proposes that if ecological goods are promoted, then the footprint will be less. Today, many industries and consumers are creating some type of awareness in order to help the world become more sustainable. 

An Inconvenient Truth | Film Trailer | Participant Media

This is the trailer to a film that has the objective of informing the audience of the fat but severe damage we are making. It shows how in a year, an entire icecap can be gone. It also uses hurricane Katrina as an example of how the climate is affected. It wants to show the long term consequences of Global Warming and how if we don't change what we are doing, we are all going to suffer. 

FLIGHT MOFFETT TO PHOENIX: BEST OF

This video is showing the first flight of an airplane that is only powered by sun. The pilot expresses that it can theoretically fly forever as there is no fuel on board. The goal is to fly all across America on this plane that only works when the sun is present. This technology can be implemented into many other things and this can lead us to spend only half of the energy that we spend today. 

ARIZONA STATE UNIVERSITY: GRADUATION CEREMONY

This is a graduation speech that uses the pilots of the solar-powered airplane to explain the benefits of a big project like that. The speaker states that a difficulty can become an opportunity and how trying is worth it. Another speaker says that only knowledge will never bring you much success. Only when you go beyond, is when you can stand out of the crowd. He also says that the future depends mostly on you. 

Starbucks Keeps it Sustainable

As our consumption is increasing every day, the consequences are being more severe as time goes by. We are seeing changes in our climate, in our waste storage and even in are icecaps. Most of these changes are not very beneficial. Companies such as Unilever or Starbucks are leaving a small footprint towards making Earth a sustainable place. As Starbucks depends on agricultural products, they are looking ahead and have decided to avoid problems in the future.

One of Starbucks’ target was to turn their stores into Green Stores. They focus on building their stores using less energy. They are focused in conserving water as well. They have also implemented recycling in each and every one of their stores. They want to create a type of awareness in their costumers too. Starbucks also wants to stop waste. They have added mugs and flasks to their counter so paper cups are highly reduced.

What Starbucks is doing should be an example. Other companies around the world should realize that doing something to save the world IS possible. 

GAFE

Google Search

Google search is a web search engine owned by Google Inc. It is the most common engine on the web. Google uses a certain algorithm that is confidential to the company. Certain facts of this algorithm are altered when someone searches anything. Google uses spiders and crawlers. These are different programs that lead to keywords. These are the ones that give you different results. Google has a system named PlaceRank were it gives a relevancy score to each page. This is when the order of the appearance of the results is altered.  This PlaceRank has different factors. These include the frequency of keywords in the page and the amount of time that the webpage has existed. Google search wan be very specific if you want to. You can use some of the search tools to change the location, the day of the articles and even the type of results you get.

There are different ways to search anything and get the results you want. This picture explain how everything works.

Google scholar is one of the tools that Google search has. Your search is directly filtered into scholar and academic work. These are more a curate pieces of information that will help the accuracy of your search. The results you get on Google Scholars are the type of pages you want to cite on a report.

As many websites on the web, there are different tricks to it.
If you want to define any word, type 'define:' before it and Google will display results quicker on y our screen.

If you type an equation on to Google, it will give you the answer with no need of opening a calculator app.

Google will also work as a unit converter.

There are some keyword shortcuts that you can use while you are using Google Chrome. Some include:

Ctrl + F                Finding tool
Ctrl +  - / +          Zoom in/Zoom out
Ctrl + L                Select the address bar
Ctrl + Shift + 3/4  Screenshot

Wanna have some fun? Go to http://www.mrdoob.com/projects/chromeexperiments/google-gravity/

A search engine such as Google is very important on a daily basis. Without a search engine as this one, it would be impossible to gather any information on the web. Learning how to use it is fundamental but learning different tricks to it will just make it easier and fun. This tool is helpful for teachers because they can expand their knowledge, gain different work material and learn from the different points of view of everyone on the web. Students often use Google search as their resource for any piece of school work. Knowing things such as how to preform a basic google search properly will give a better quality to their work.

Google 20%-Day3 S2

My goals for today are...

-Find primary sources regarding campus life.

-Look at different perspectives of campus life.

-Learn about campus life from the point of view of a student. 

The links I used were...

https://bigfuture.collegeboard.org/find-colleges/campus-life/students-speak-what-college-social-life-is-really-like

This link asks different questions to different college students talking specially on their social life on campus. This website also has an interesting video about a college senior talking about joining a sorority. 

http://www.collegeconfidential.com/dean/archives/000023.htm

This link talks about dorm life and how, as years go by, your dorm becomes your everything. It also says that those moments spent in your dorm are some of the most valuable memories in the future. 

http://www.going-to-college.org/campuslife/discovering.html

This link talks about campus life and compares it to high school. Here is the graph that shows details. 

Here you can compare things as personal freedom and classes. It is a good way to realize the changes you'll be going through. This website also has a video that shows points of view of students and professors. They talk about responsibilities  class size and several other topics.

This information is useful because in four years, I will be a freshmen in college. This information will be useful as I start to experience these things.

Google 20%-Day 2 S2

My goals for today are...

-Find different activities that universities offer.

-Find different points of view regarding campus life

https://apps.students.yale.edu/uor/RegisteredOrganizations

This is the link to Yale College and it shows all  of the student organizations that Yale offers. These are divided into different categories including arts, sports, games, academics, and cultural. Yale offers more than 150 different groups any undergraduate can join. 

During my research, I discovered that almost any college that has a website has an entire area dedicated to the life on campus. 

http://rde.stanford.edu/

For example, Stanford University divides their Campus Life in different sections such as housing, dining, events, and help. In this website, many of the events announced include different contests, sport matches and conferences that students can take. 

http://www.myfuture.com/schools/articles-advice/campus-life

This website is a very interesting one that suggests many different things that you should consider when leaving for college. For example, it suggests to ask your college for information about new chores you don't do at home that will probably add up to your responsibilities once you are there. 

This website also provides tips relating to roommates  Some include: establishing rules, maintaining good communication and be willing to sacrifice some things. 

Today I realized that there  is a lot to do on a college campus. I also learned different things that I have to take in account before taking any decision regarding college. 

Next class I want to look for interviews showing points of view of students leaving in college.  

Google Day #1 S2

My goals for today are...
-How is campus life in different universities?
-How can different activities benefit your college records?
-What extracurricular activities are universities interested in?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/09/17/the-life-of-a-college-stu_n_721206.html



This graph shows how college students spend their time. Most of us have the idea that in college, we have to spend most of our time on studying. This graph proves this false as an average student spends almost the same time in leisure and sports and educational activities. There is also a lot of time for sleep. Maybe those complains we hear often are not that real.

http://www.collegexpress.com/articles-and-advice/student-life/articles/living-campus/day-life-college-student/

This website compares high school to college and shows the advantage of colleges. It explains the advantages of schedules and the flexibility behind them. This website also says that there are many different clubs and groups that will fit your likes.

http://school.familyeducation.com/college-prep/high-school/56210.html?page=4

Colleges look at more things beyond grades and SAT's scores. Different universities look for challenges you've taken in your school years. They also look for things like leadership. This website says that universities look for depth more than for breath. They also look for a certain amount of community service. Even though it has not much of a big influence, things like jobs or summer school can contribute to a stronger transcript.

Next Google day I want to know the different activities different universities offer for students to contribute to a better campus life.

Information Bubbles

I really have no idea of what an information bubble is. I guess it is something related to information a regular surfer can't access. I've never heard this term in my entire life.

I want to learn...

• What are information bubbles?
• How do they work? How are they created?
• Can they harm me or my computer?
• Who uses them? For what purpose?

The links I use...

http://www.thefilterbubble.com/ted-talk

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-information-bubble.htm

What I learned...

• Information bubbles are also called information filters.
• Basically, your information bubble is how a certain website uses your searching history to alter and personalize what you see.
• Common websites like Google, Yahoo and Facebook are using information bubbles.
• Even if two people search for the same topic, their results might be altered.
• Some factors that might alter your information bubble are: location, search history, what you first click, etc.
• Even if you are not logged on, these pages can alter your results.
• Internet today is not as standard as it was before. 
• Algorithmic are the ones that alter your bubble.    

I think that this topic is very relevant to everyone. Today, we depend on the internet and not many people know that any time you Google something, you can get a different result than what a person on the other side of the world could. I personally didn't know this happened. Today, I learned that the information I get is bias and that my results are altered. It makes me wonder how accurate my results are now.

One question I still have is the security issues that information bubbles bring. How do you know that these websites can't use your history to harm you? How do you know that all of what you search is not a lie?

Design Project-Day 5

LEARN PHASE
1.I went to my classroom 2 times and the kids were not there. We still received the news that our game was a success but we never got to talk to the children.
This  is a picture of our finished game.


2.Our goal was to make it fun, be creative and create a 'not really hard' game for elementary school students. We think that our goals were met as our final product worked out perfectly. We also think that the kids enjoyed it.
3. -Our biggest problem was probably time.Building the entire model in 80 minutes was not that easy. Our solution was to focus and work together. We also built some parts of the game before we came such as the hook.
-Our biggest idea came after the research phase as we realized we had to do something creative and fun. We all remembered the claw game form our childhood and thought that it would succeed. Apparently we were right. One of are key parts of our game was the hook and realizing we could use a cloth hanger was a success  We got this idea when we were thinking on the materials, especially the materials of the hook.
-I was probably the one who resisted more ideas. Nicolas can have a great imagination and he can often go out of bounds on what we can really do. He want it to make two games and make them electric and those weren't possible in the amount of time and materials we had.
-I thought that the project would be really hard and it would not work. The only way I could solve my doubts was going for it and experimenting. I was surprised when everything worked up perfectly.
-I was always questioning the how on every part of our project. Nicolas would repeat that it would be easy but I was never sure. I think that I contributed to the group by keeping it organized and concrete  Everything we did was planned and we were not just improvising.
-After this project, I learned that I am capable of doing everything I want, even if it looks hard. I went over my expectations. Regarding teamwork, I learned that even  if everyone has different ideas, there is always a way to put them together so everyone is happy. I also learned that not every team mate is perfect and sometimes, you just have to learn how to work together. The design process was really useful. It allowed us to have a complete plan on what we should do. i think that without all this planing, our product wouldn't have been a success. I will probably use this process again in the future.

CWW

Monday, February 25, 2013

I woke up on Monday morning thinking it was going to be a great day. I headed to school ready to serve. I arrived here and waited for about an hour. We headed up to the buses and there, no one knew where or how we were going to Best Buddies. I googled the address and we got on the bus. It took us a long time to get there as nobody knew our destination. Once there, we were stuck in a boarding room. A friendly guy explained us what the foundation was about and what are jobs were in the place. Some of them included filing papers and cleaning out a closet. We felt disappointed as we realized we were not going to work with children. We managed to talk to the people there. The arranged a visit to a school. The rest of the day we planned on the activities and protocols we would follow the next day. This created new expectations in us, we were now going to interact with disabled kids.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

I knew that the day was going to be better than the previous one when I woke up. I smiled and dressed up in my positive attitude to work with the kids. As we got to school, we received the sad news that we were not going to be able to go to the foundation. As a group we decided that we were going to split up. Half of us would go back to the office work while the others would stay at school preparing material for when we went to the children's school. I went back to the office. We filed papers for a few hours and then headed back to school knowing that for sure, we would have more fun on Wednesday.


Wednesday, February 27, 2013

It all started on a cloudy morning. One of those you usually get in Bogota. I woke up when it was still dark and fought with my alarm clock for some extra time in bed. It had been two days of intense office work. I arrived to school wishing that the day was a better one than the ones in the past. At school, we realized we were finally going to give some of our time to those who needed it. It was a long bus ride there. After asking a few people and getting lost on a few streets, we were there. A small tour around the place allowed us to realize that this was going to be a different experience than what we live every day.

I was an exemption; well disabilities make up a huge part of my daily life. My brother is a disabled child and learning to live with him under the same roof has been an issues my whole life. This was an advantage for me within my peers. I knew how to interact with these people and this forced me to become a leader among the group.

The time came. We were there with those who would become our friends for the next three days. Getting to know each other was the goal for the day. We were all willing to learn from them but also, teach them something. We all had deep conversations with at least one of the kids. We got to share our talents and hobbies. I personally talked to Miguel Angel. He gave me an important lesson on how there is no one who can stop you from reaching your goals. I also talked to Luisa. She was diagnosed with Down syndrome and loved to sing. She even sang a song for all of us.

Spending time with these kids was a really grateful experience that pulled up a smile in each of our faces. We are all grateful for the opportunity and I bet we were all willing to go again and give some time and love to these faces that really appreciated.


Thursday, February 28, 2013

Back at the foundation, everyone was excited to see us. We were also excited to be there. We had planned several learning activities for the kids. We divided ourselves in three groups. I had to teach the ABC's. The kids were excited at first. Learning a language was fun for them. About and our later, we were all hungry and tired. We went out to the back yard to have a snack together. After a while, we came back in. We decided that it would be fun to have a singing contest with all the children. We had a lot of fun while everyone sang. Thursday I had a nice opportunity to talk to both Sonia and Jessica. Jessica is a sweet little girl that is always willing to learn and have fun. Sonia is pretty amazing. She has lived through 54 surgeries and yet, she is still interested in learning about medicine. She even taught me the name of a muscle. Thursday was really nice, just like Wednesday.

Friday, March 1, 2013

Friday was sad; it was our last day with the guys at Cepytin. We had planned the most fun activities for the end. We also divided ourselves in three. Each group of CNG students was assigned an activity. Some girls played with play dough while other kids colored. My activity was building paper airplanes. Even though it wasn’t that easy, most of them managed to make one. They were really excited as there airplanes flew. They even competed amongst them. I talked to Miguel Angel again. I had a special gift for him. As I knew he collected coins, I brought some foreign ones for him to keep. He was really thankful. To end our activities of the week, we read a book together. This book was about how it’s okay to be different.

Saying goodbye was sad as we knew that we were probably not going to see these kids again. We had learned a lot from these kids. Their life isn’t easy yet, they manage to bring out a smile. They are always fighting for their goals and usually achieve them. There way of looking at things is way different that how we live. We are usually not even thankful. I bet that in each and every one of our hearts, there is something that we learned from the kids at Cepytin.

Sonia and Cindy smiling at the camera.

Happy boys after learning how to make paper airplanes.

 Helping Miguel Angel learn the body parts in English.

Sonia and me after I had an intense anatomy class. 

Design Project-Day 3

CHOOSE PHASE
1. Our game will follow all of our requirements if we decorate it well and have attractive prizes.
2. We want to keep the prizes on our model. We are sure this is going to catch everyone's attention.We are still keeping the set of instructions in our model.
3. Our hook will have a more simple design. Instead of being a grabber, it will be a simple hook (similar to a fishing hook). This will require a string on the prizes in order for someone to win.

IMPLEMENT PHASE
1. To build our model: (M=Maria, N=Nicolas)
-Create a cardboard box that has a clear side (in order to see the prizes).  M&N
-Cut the top part in order to make a pathway for the hook. M
-Make a hook that is strong and stable. N
-Make a hole in the box where the prizes can exit. N
-Put a string on every prize. M
-Paint the box to make it pretty. M
-Write down the instructions and paste them in the box. N

2. Materials:
-Box M
-Tape N
-Glue gun M
-Box Cutter M
-Prizes: Candy and small toys. M&N
-Clear contact paper M
-Scissors N
-Paint M
-String N
-Metal Wire M

Design Project-day 2

PROTOTYPE PHASE
1.

• My Prototype:

     Negative: It is not colored nor attractive. The grabber's path isn't efficient.
     Positive: It has a set of instructions. It can stand on it's own. Prices aren't enough.

• Nicolas' Prototype:

     Negative: Not is not stable. There are two different boxes with different prices. 

     Positive: Structure is clear. Arrows guide the player.

-We think Nicolas' Prototype is better because it shows things more clear. 

-We want to include decorations and a base. 

-We will only  have one game, not two.

2. Prototype:

3. Class Feedback

Positive:
-Every third grader likes the game and the prize.
-Calls you to play, attractive
-Easy to win
Suggestions:
-Create a hook in prizes
-Create a strong hook.
-

Design Project-Day 1

My Partner is Nicolas Triana.

DEFINE PHASE

1.  We will make our game for elementary students, both boys and girls.
2. Our game's difficulty will be medium.
3. Our game will be successful or fun if:
-There is a way to win.
-You can play it many times.
-It has a popular theme.
-It involves prices.
-Visually attractive.

RESEARCH PHASE

1. Speed ball : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYRZcWa0zJI&playnext=1&list=PL92539D6D66668E09&feature=results_main

+: One good thing about this game is that it can be used by everyone and it is easy to play a second time.
-: One bad thing about this game is that it is too easy.

2. Tilta' Ball: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DM8gyHhV8K0

+: This game is creative and it can be played by anyone at any age.
-: One disadvantage of this game is that the balls can easily get lost, and it requires a lot of human intervention for it to work.

3. Carboard Arcade: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8P03PeFuywg  (first game in the video)

+: This game is easy to make and it also requires certain skills for those at a short age.
-: This game requires you to go all around the game in order to get the ball and play again.

IDEATION PHASE

1. We are making a claw game that includes prizes. This prizes will be based on elementary kids likes.
2. It will be fun because:
-Prizes are atractive
-It is visually charming.
-Easy to play
-Has a little challenge.

3. Some of the things that may go wrong are:
-The prices could run out.
-Who would give out super prizes?
-How will the hook return to the beginning.
-Prices could get stuck.

Virtual Fieldtrip

Barichara
Find 10 photos of things people should see or visit in that town.
For each photo write a 3 to 4 sentence description.
These photos with descriptions should be on a WEB 2.0 tool.
The link for this tool goes on the blog and it's emailed to Ms. Shawn (sallen@cng.edu)

This is my link: http://www.capzles.com/0fb8f33c-19d5-4cb3-b419-0c3ad8701eab

Final Presentation

Here is the link to our prezi!