Week 8 and what I have learned

It is currently the beginning of week 8 and I have noticed a few things about my first year in graduate school...

For starters, even though organization was important for me in undergrad, it is of the utmost importance in grad school.  I was warned early on that graduate course work has more reading and homework and that you will be in constant contact with your professors and in your discussions.

I think it is important to say that organization is the first step to preparing yourself for graduate courses.  Second is to make sure that if you have any questions (no matter how absurd they might be) ask your professor(s), it is always good to get feedback whether it be positive or not, it helps with your studies.

Third, when you do your homework to ALWAYS review, I look over my homework at least twice for any spelling/grammatical errors there might be, and if all the information that I need is present.  I cannot express how important this is because I have seen a lot of terribly written articles and discussions in my courses.  It is even worse when I find out that they are teachers and/or professors.

Lastly, lead by example.  This is something one of my professors told me.  I am usually the first one in my group discussions to post something and then all of a sudden within a few hours a lot of my classmates post similar answers or responses.  I feel that if I don't post something then everyone will do it at the last minute and the course requires you to have a discussion with your classmates (kind of hard to do if no one is discussing).  Also, be a little out there and get involved in your readings and discussions.  I find it to be a lot easier if you're interested in the topic that's being taught.  If you find the readings to be a tad bit dull, then find an article or a website online that discusses the same material but in a different way.

Those are just a few things that I think students will find helpful, also, at the beginning of each term/course I always write down a list of things that I want to accomplish: grades, what I expect from myself, and what I expect out of the course.  I guess you could also say that they're a list of goals and if you have  a set list of goals you find it easier to accomplish them :)  with that said, I am going back to finishing up my homework.  Happy week 9 everyone!!!

Reflections, the journey continues

Before starting graduate school I was a bit terrified.  Both my mom and my dad constantly told me how hard it would be and the horror stories from their days in grad school.  Who wouldn't be a little scared and intimidated after that?  I had to constantly remind myself that I live in an age where technology benefits me, my parents on the other hand...they lived in an age where computers, cell phone, or even hand held calculators didn't even exist, the thought still boggles my mind.  Starting this course I didn't know what to expect, I definitely did not think that I would enjoy it so much as I do.   This course has been very beneficial and therapeutic to me, and I have learned so much from my classmates that is going to benefit me when I become a teacher and have a class of my own.  I hope that many of you will continue to keep on blogging , and even though the class may soon be over, my journey has just begun.  I wish everyone the best of luck in their future endeavors and remember, your journey is never over :)

I took this photo with my iPhone 4gs,  at this very moment when I took it I felt like I was in a place of my own and that my future was brighter than ever, it brought me a feeling of peace as I hope it does with all of you. 

New technology that improves road safety? Who doesn't love that?

I'm a huge fan of the news, especially KPTV and Fox12.  I even have apps on my phone just to check periodically if the news has changed.  Today on KPTV the app was talking about a new technology that would improve road safety no matter the weather condition.  A company called Vaisala has created a mobile sensor technology that would gather information on the pavement, air temperatures, road conditions, and friction levels.  Then the information that the sensors would obtain would be sent to the Department of Transportation and road maintenance crews to help determine a course of action if it was needed.

This new technology is supposed to be able to help agencies save money and be more efficient.  I'm excited to see what else this technology is capable of and if it really does help as much as it sounds.

If you would like more information you can go to http://www.mobl.net/r/wa6r1

Using cockroaches for electricity?!

I was looking up information on my class project and came across an article discussing how they have been able to use cockroaches for electricity.  My first thought was, this is really gross but really cool.

According to David Ponce, it is much like the movie the Matrix where humans were used to harness energy for the machines, except the key to converting the chemical energy is using enzymes in series at the anode.  So pretty much, it's the chemicals in the cockroach that produces the electricity.

I'm a big bug lover ( I know it's strange) and I love pretty much all insects and I dislike finding out information where people have to cut them open or hurt them in any way, but this article gave me some peace of mind.  Unlike reptiles or mammals, insects have an open circulatory system so the blood is not under much pressure, so we don't have to worry about hitting a vein or an artery and seeing blood gush out.  Surprisingly, the cockroaches can be poked and prodded again and gain because of this, they bounce right back and walk away as soon as the scientists are done using them for the day.

I find it absolutely fascinating to see that there are other ways of harnessing energy such as electricity, especially with the use of bugs?!  Who knew one of the most un-loved insect, the cockroach, could come in handy :)

http://www.ohgizmo.com/2012/02/02/we-are-now-able-to-harvest-electricity-from-cockroaches/

A thought I have been stuck on today

While at work I was having a conversation with my manager about relationships and marriage.  I know this does not pertain to blogging, but I've noticed that many of my friends and their parents are breaking up/ getting a divorce.  Many of these relationships I always thought were close to perfect, but apparently I was wrong.  I know there are a lot of factors as to why each relationship fails, but it's interesting to me because in the 1920s divorce was almost non-existent.  I then realized that perhaps one reason for this is because technology such as TV and the internet did not exist, so families spent more time with each other.  As time progressed and the invention of the TV came, there were only a few channels/shows in black and white but there was still a lot of time for families to spend with each other.  It wasn't until we were able to get color TV when I think families became glued to the "tube" and did less activities (example: board games, sports, etc.).  I know technology is an amazing thing, I mean I sometimes wonder, can we actually get any further than we have?  The answer is always yes, even if we can't imagine what else people are going to invent.  However, I also wonder if it's a huge problem in relationships and marriages?  Any thoughts?

Concern about children and blogging

One of the problems that I have noticed with parents is whether or not it is okay for their children to be using the internet and social media sites such as Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, and blogging.  At what age is it okay for children to use the internet or set up an account?  Each site differs, you usually have to be 15 years old in order to make a Myspace/ Facebook account, and you only have to be 14 or older in order to create a blog account.

In my personal opinion, although age does matter I think the most important factor is setting up guidelines/rules for your child to keep them safe.  According to wiresafety.org, over six million underage children write blogs with or without their parents' knowledge (Gunelius, Should You Let Your Child Blog?).  It is so simple for an underage child to get ahold of a blogging account, all they have to do is simply lie and put down a different birth date.  This could be problematic because your child might be reading material that they shouldn't be reading, they could be in contact with someone that to them might seem like a good person and all of a sudden personal information is exchanged.

Believe it or not, this situation does happen.  Years ago when Facebook first came out, my sister (who is older than me) created a Facebook account, she had put her home address (my mom's house) and even put photos of what our house looks like....to my suprise I found out a few weeks later that someone or some people came to my mom's house when my mom was alone and tried to break into the separate garage and shot out the window.

Even though this is a huge concern for parents, I don't believe that they shouldn't allow their child to blog altogether.  Blogging has a lot of benefits such as improvement in communication and writing skills.  I believe that the easiest solution is to set guidelines/rules for the safety of your child.  When I was little and my parents told me I couldn't do something, I always found a way to do it, so I'm ASSUMING that many children will just go ahead and create a blog without their parents knowing.

So to make everyone a tad bit happier, I came across an article written by Susan Gunelius on weblogs.com, her article is Should You Let Your Child Blog?  She gives some useful information for parents with this specific concern.  She states that children should not use their full name, school name, address, or any photos of themselves for safety reasons.  Also, parents should be encouraged to help their child find an appropriate blogging site, set safety measures like password protection on certain things so your child cannot get to them, and lastly, screen and monitor the content.

Also, ALWAYS TALK TO YOUR CHILD instead of saying no, so they understand why they are not allowed to do certain things.  On her article there are also a lot of useful links that are associated with safety and children.


http://weblogs.about.com/od/startingablog/i/KidsBlogging.htm

This link is for the main page, if you scroll down you will find the article Should You Let Your Child Blog?


I hope this information helps anyone with safety concerns for their child/children.

Links that give us helpful tips to make us better bloggers

I spoke to one of my friends about my graduate course in blogging and education and he sent me a couple of links that he thought would help me out with my blogging and after reading it, I felt that it would not only be interesting but helpful to my classmates. I hope you all enjoy! http://ustandout.com/blogging/how-to-write-blog-post-easy-to-read http://www.problogger.net/archives/2011/09/03/52-types-of-blog-posts-that-are-proven-to-work/