Requirements.

On Monday I was on panel for one of my fellow classmates who were presenting their final project to a few of us students, teachers, and of course Darcy. So far I feel like I’ve met most of the requirements... I've made a blog talking about my topic (The out reach portion) I have done my research on my topic (Learning portion) There is one thing missing though the evidence portion. During the students presentation he seemed to have a problem with this part and it was apparent he hadn't gathered enough to prove to everyone his project had met it's goal and taught people about the topic the student chose. Weeeelllll this may sound kind of harsh, but I don't want my presentation to turn out like that. So far I have gotten what I call "Guest Bloggers" to talk about how they feel about technology and adolescents and post on here after to let everyone else know. I think this is great, but something missing. So here's what I’m asking you to do for me.
-- If you come to my page and see this write a quick comment on any of the posts writing how you feel about technology or what you think of my blog. It'd be great if you could help me out here so I can graduate on June, 16, 2011.
---Thanks in advance!

Guest Blogger#5

What do you think about adolescents and their technology use?
I think adolescents glorify technology way to much. They waste all their money on the newest gadgets like cell phones, computers, and video games/ systems when they're only going to move on to the next one in a month or two. I think teenagers use technology too much and aren't smart about the way they use it. For example the PS3 meltdown. So many teens take their parents credit cards and use them on game system networks without permission. Then soemone hacks into the system and is able to take all of that information away with just a few clicks. This causes the game networks to crash and shutdown while somewhere in a far away town families credit cards are being stolen and put into debt. teenagers should take the internet and modern technology systems more seriously and be more responsible about the ways they use them.
-Annonymous user

Guest Blogger#4

For me technology is a big part of my life becase I watch a lot of tv, and play on the computer to relax when I'm not working. It is also very important for my future job as an auto-body technichian becuase the new advances they make everyday help to make my job easier and faster so that I will be able to make more money. Also it helps me have fun on the job because they are always coming out with new tools I get to play with and learn about.
-Ryan Kelleher

Problems of the internet

Today my family got U-verse installed into our house(My moms idea) I thought DirecTV was perfectly fine. Anyways it took about fourtyfive minutes to an hour for the man to set up the televisions in our house(we only have two) with the new devices. What was he doing for the next twoandahalf hours you ask? well I'll tell you he was trying to connect the internet for us as well. This was a mess the desk top(the main computer everyone in my house uses) kept freezing and was on a "loop" while trying to register for the new connection. After about twentyfive miniutes of waiting and restarting th computer twice that computer prblem was solved.
On to the Next One...
My brother and I each have a laptop of our own. Mine was having previous problems while trying to connect to our home server so I wasn't surprised when it took him twenty minutes on the phone with three different technical people just to solve the problem. Eventually he was abl to get both compters connected to the interent(they were having the same connection problem) and that is how i'm writing this blog now.
Sometimes I feel as if all the problems with technology and time consuming measures I as a teenage girl take to stay connected to the World Wide Web aren't really worth the outcomes.

Internet in school- Opinion piece

Everyone thinks it's great when I say I get to rent a laptop for the year since I go to MLC. It's pretty cool that I have access to the internet, but it's also kind of annoying. There are certain rules and regulations that come along with having a computer in school. Games, E-mail, Social networks, and any other site that may be used for something other than school work are blocked. I suppose this makes sense, but it's also very annoying when I put something in my e-mail for later, and then try to find it and turn it in, but the sites blocked so I have to go find a proxy or alternate route just to turn in my homework. Also, I can understand that teachers and the administration don't want their students getting distracted by everything online when they're supposed to be getting their class work done...However, I think a little bit of freedom in focus study or free time when we're done with our work in class would be fine to allow us to hang out online for a little while. I doubt this will actually ever happen due to our behavior in sixth grade (Which was how many years ago) but hey, it was just a thought.

Guest post

Technology is slowly but progressivly affecting kids because it distracts them. Personally, i cant concentrate when using the computer because im busy on the internet looking at something that doesnt serve a purpose other than to distract me.

Crunch Time

After this I will have eighteen posts, thats two away from my goal that I wanted to reach by May,2, 2011. Well guess what day it is? That's right technically the senior project is due today, but since my presentation isn't until the 24 I still have a few more days to keep posting my thoughts and life away. I must say from this point so far I haven't been reaching my full potential and wish I had actually started posting sooner instead of procrastinating for so long, but I think what I have is pretty good so far and it will get better. At least twenty percent of my posts must be filled with researched information and if my calculations are correct after this point about 40% of all posts will be research based. I'm almost done and counting down the days in which I can be done with this entire project, graduated, and off to college. Until then my next step is to put together my portfolio, whihc means I better go find a binder...

It's surprising I haven't metioned Facebook yet

I actually haven't mentioned any Social Networks that seem to be so popular right now...Besides Twitter, but that doesn't count in my eyes.
Come on now, everyone has or had or will have a facebook at some point in time during their life. In the beginning people would make a facebook, and ask all their friends to make one so the could have more friends, then they would all get connected and things seemed great. Everyone was happy to have a place where they could speak their mind and tell everyone how they felt about so and so. This was the start of online bullying. Maybe Molly didn't like that Megan stole her boyfriend so she called her out on it over facebook, and someone decided to start to do the same. By the end of the night everyone is calling Megan a whore, and she feels horrible about herself.
A new condition among teens is called "Facebook Depression" leave it to a social network to get its own illness. Some kids are starting to feel like they can't measure up to some of their freinds in the interent world. They see how happy their friends look in profile pictures, or how they went to a party they weren't invited to the night before and they start to feel less worthwhile. Facebook depression is a real illness that causes kids to shut down and feel helpless of themselves. Not all kids will get Facebook Depression if they make themselves a profile, but some kids who aren't as well adjusted just might.
For more information...
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2011/03/28/doctors-warn-about-facebook-depression-in-teens/

Twitter Fans

@Paige_Kayy

If you don't know what this means it's my twitter username. I've become a tad bit obssessed. I still can't tweet everything I do at every minute of every hour of everyday, but I do have quite a few so far and they're building. I know some people who i'll hang out with and when I get home and check my phone i'll see that all that time I thought they were texting someone(while they were driving, which isn't smart....) they were really updating their followers and fans about how bad the traffic was that day, and how they were going to pick me up/ hanging out at the mall, or some other random task we chose that day. Don't beleive that some people can be so obssessed with this? Well here are some less than known facts to prove it.

"In the blink of an eye" This is how fast twitter updates come in, it's hard to count, but it is estimated that about 750tweets are sent per secon throughout the entire system.

If twitter was a country it would be considered the 12th largest country in the world with a population of 105,779,710 users and growing...Can you imagine how crowded that would be?

93.6% of all users have less than 100 followers and 92.4% follow less than 100 people, yet they all keep posting and find it necessary for everyone to know what they're doing...(i'm one of these people)

I don't know I guess we as teens want everyone to know we got that new video game, or need to update our relationship on every network we are part of just to feel like we're know. I think it makes us feel like evene if we haven't left the house for the day there are still people we can see online, and feel like we're connected with them and actually hung out with them since we see all their updates and how they spent the day when the reality is most of them never leave their house and just pretend that they've done something interesting so that they can talk about it, but chances are they're lieing to make themselves look cool and feel better about themselves.

If you want more "Fun Facts" Go HERE =>
http://www.tiptoptens.com/2011/04/11/10-things-you-might-not-know-about-twitter-facts/
http://www.sysomos.com/insidetwitter/

Guest Blogger#2

It is easy for teenagers and even adults to get addicted to the computer and the internet, Which are parts of modern technology. Technology makes peiples life more convenient and easier.
~Tianni Rong

Texting and Driving part one

This topic has so many things going on with it today I’ll have to cover it I portions so here is part one.  Starting with the laws everyone should be aware by now that it is a Connecticut state law that any teenager who has had their license for less than a year should not be allowed to talk on the phone, text or do anything else with the phone while operating a motor vehicle. It is also a law that even if you are over eighteen and have held a license for over a year you may not use any hand held device while driving a car. This means even if you are an adult unless you have a blue tooth or other wireless device you can use to talk on the phone with there won’t be any phone use while in the car, this means absolutely NO TEXTING!

Recently also saw an entire news report on this subject and how Connecticut is “Cracking Down” on people who disobey these laws. It went so far as having police set up check points around the capital city and surrounding neighborhoods to catch unsuspecting victims. In some reports and articles it showed undercover policemen on buildings and stairways about the street looking down with binoculars just to look into cars to see who was using a phone safely while driving and who was not. The key term here is “SAFE”. It isn’t illegal to talk on the phone while you’re driving, I know people who do it all the time, but Bluetooth’s or headsets must be used for “Safety” reasons. The Connecticut government is taking teen deaths, car accidents, and driving very seriously, and so should everyone else.

===> Relationship affect: Obviously you and your parent will not have a very good or trusting relationship when they found out you got pulled over, recieved a ticket, and had your license suspended for a stupid mistake like texting and driving.

Car alarms and automatic starters

Okay, so last Friday I went to West Farms with my friend and brother. Everything went well I got everything I wanted and was ready to leave, and then it happened. We got lost, My brother who drove the car decided he wasn’t going to pay attention to where the car was parked…He was the one in charge of it clearly it’s hi fault we got lost. Anyways, this isn’t the whole story. We walked around the mall parking lot for twenty minutes in and out of Macy’s (We also didn’t remember the entrance we were parked at) The whole time I was wishing I had the other key chain which has all the nifty little accessories like the car starters to keep us warm (It was raining out, and very cold) And of course the ever so trusty car Unlock, Flashy light, Alarm beeper thingy.  Nice name huh? If only we had this device that could set the alarm off so we could hear and see the lights flashing bringing our journey to the car to a quicker end. Of course this didn’t happen and we were all soaking wet by the time we got in the car. The point to this story is that these car unlocking devices that just stick on your key ring are very important to a driver’s life. Especially a distracted teen who has more to worry about like where they want to shop and how much money they have rather than think about which parking spot they chose that day. Having this device could have really helped me and my brother out since we were pratically screaming profanities at eachother as we searched for the car all night.

===> This technological advancement affects relationships by keeping the peace...At least in my experience.

Electronics affect sleep

Lately I've been having a lot of trouble sleeping. I don't know if it's stress, too much caffeine before bed, or just having to much energy during the day and not getting rid of it. Whatever the cause I was searching the web to find out ways to help, and I found many reviews, blogs and informational sites about how electronics like using a cell phone, IM'ing on the computer, or even listening to the radio before bed can really disturb some of your sleep patterns.
As I kept looking for new ways to fall asleep faster and easier there was one common trend that researchers were talking about. In one article I read a Dr. Michaael Gradisar listed some statistics that proved everyones point that electronics could affect sleep.
These are all statistics for after 9:00pm (For teenagers)
-- 55% access the internet
--24% play computer games
--30% text message
Clearly teenagers and adolescents are addicted to electronics and it is recommended that elctronics like computers, portable gaming devices, or televisions, and any other distractions should be removed from the persons room while they are sleeping so they don't get  interrupted.
This may seem like a great idea in fact I don't have anything like that in my room...Except for my cell phone...This is where the problem for me lies, usually just after I fall asleep(if i've fallen asleep at all) I'll get some sort of facebook update, phone call, or text message which just calls my name waiting for me to answer. As much as I try to ignore these things i'm a teenager and need the latest scoop on everything, or need to help my friend through some kind of dramatic disaster that just happened to them online.
My point to all of this is that maybe if I just tried a little harder to put my phone on silent or shut it off all together I would get some better sleep and not be so tired in the morning, although I know this will never happen it is a nice thought.

Plans for the week.

Okay, Here it is.

1. I've gathered national statistics about teens and technology, It's time for a high school survey.
2. Finish blog post about how electronics affect sleep.
3. Get three more peoples opinions on teens and technology(Guest posts)
4. More facts...Less random statements.
5. More journal like entries(Like this) rather than just information all of the time.
6. Start senior project portfolio(This probably should have already been started)

Let the games begin.

Cash Registers.

 

I bet you never thought of this as up and coming technology, Did you?
Well neither did I until I got a job a few weeks back and started having to learn how to use one. I used to think ohh you just push a few buttons and then I can get my order...Well that is the general concept, but it's a little more involved than that. There are so many different options and buttons to push, but this actually helps the order process. It prints out a receipt showing the persons order so that any miscommunications or mistakes may be fixed before the order is made. Also it makes the ordering and preparing process more quick, and makes those lunch and dinner rushes so much easier to get through.
Cash registers have been around so long they seem like an everyday part of life that we don't usually realize or recognize the help that they can give us.
The affect this can have on someones relationships verys. The most common I have noticed from my experience though is people get frustrated. Since there are so many different tasks bars, buttons, and tools to use on these advanced machines if you don't grasp the concept quickly and learn how to use it effeciently(Basically meaning you better be two steps ahead of the customers thoughts at all times) The customer will not want to wait for you to find out and will glare at you, tap there fingers violently on the desk, and most likely complain and ask if you know what you're doing...Especially if you're on the phone with them trying to take an order for delivery. So although these machines may be a great advancement and speed up the proccess of "Fast Food" it may be slow food if you have no idea what you're doing.

The Radio

Music is a big part of my life. I must listen to some version of music for at least nine hours out of the day. Whether it be on my I-pod, the computer or the radio it's important for me to be connected. I must say ever since I started to drive I listen to the radio more and more each day. It used to be for jut a few minutes in the morning while I was getting ready for school. Now it's turned on the minute I wake up, Get in my car, Come home, Before I go to bed. I don't even use the radio just for music anymore. I listen to it when I want the latest scoop of Hollywood gossip, Or to see what kind of traffic build up ther will be when the latest winter storm has hit. The radio has been around for several decades now, and I don't think that my life would be the same without it.  

                                                    

Guest Blogger

I believe technology can both positively and negatively affect teens. Personally, I believe teens are easily distracted, if they are unable to focus on the task they need to complete, this is when technology becomes detrimental to their education. But, technology and other distractions come together to form the basis of why so many teens spend hours and hours at the computer, and less time on their studies and homework. ~Anonymous

More about Cell phones.

"I'll give you a happy letter if you get three more entries done by monday"
Well, Guess what? It's Monday and I haven't even started them yet. Over the Weekend I did a lot of procrastinating that included getting a job, Going bowling, and catching up on sleep. None of this of course had anything to do with working on my blog. I did however witness several technology uses throughout my weekend.
The use of cell phones among teens was amazing. Everywhere I went there was someone sitting on there phone playing a game, going on Facebook, or texting their friend waiting to find something better to do. I've notice this a lot, and I'm one of them. When someone is waiting no matter what age they are if they have a cell phone they are usually on it instead of looking for someone to talk to or somewhere else to go while they wait for their hair appointment, waiting in line at the grocery store, or walking alone. In a way I guess our cell phones are our security blankets that keep us feeling connected from the world when we're alone at the moment.

Quick Tip: Do's and Don'ts of Cyber Space

Do: Report anything that makes you feel uncomfortable

When on the internet you can never be completely sure about whom you are talking to. Sally the eleven year old girl down the street who wants to hang out later may be that fifty-five year old man down the street who drives a big white van with no windows and offers you candy to get inside. If you ever come across someone who you think is talking to you inappropriately to you or just doesn’t seem right you should immediately walk away and find a trusted adult who can help sign you out of the site, and lead you to a safer site to use. 

 

Do: Set any profiles you have to private

When on Facebook, Tumbler, or even the unused MySpace all your profiles should be set to private. This may seem like it defeats the purpose of social networking and meeting new people, but this will make it your decision whether or not you want certain people to see all of your personal information before you actually add them and become “friends”.  Certain types of information that should not be posted to strangers are your address, your e-mail address, your phone number (cell or home) or what school you go to.   

 

Do: Ask someone for help when you need it

If you are having trouble accessing the site you want, or have a question about what’s the best place to get your research information from ASK someone!!! Don’t just keep clicking buttons

Continuously, this won’t get you anywhere. In most cases if you’re at the library, at school or even at home someone around even a friend might be able to help you and answer all of your questions before you click the wrong button and download some kind of virus that costs hundreds of dollars to fix. (Trust me I’ve seen this happen to many innocent victims). 

 

Do: Stay in public chat rooms

A lot of the safety problems start off when someone decides it would be a good idea to start a private chat with someone. This isn’t always bad if you want to have a private chat by all means go ahead, but do be careful of the safety risks you’re taking and how to avoid most of them.

 

Don’t: Post a picture of yourself or anyone you know

This goes along with some of the privacy issues. Although you don’t think a picture can mean or do much to put you in danger. This is not the case if someone wants to track you down they can use that picture along with the other information that probably doesn’t have privacy settings on it either. You don’t know what people want with your picture so either don’t put one up, or make sure only your friends can see it.

 

Don’t: Let anyone else have access your profiles and e-mail accounts

This is how cyber bullying starts. If you get in a fight with your boyfriend/girlfriend or best friend then this could be their first form of revenge. If they have your passwords they can get into your accounts and release information (real of fake) that you did not want anyone to know. This could cause some serious problems in school, with families, and depending on the situation the law.

 

Don’t: Cyber bully anyone EVER, allow yourself to be bullied

Cyber bullying is wrong. It can hurt many people, and just like above cause problems. There are more than several instances where not just teens, but children have been so abused through this type of bullying that they attempt, or even succeed in suicide or self mutilation. Cyber bullying is a serious crime and should be taken as such. 
 

Don’t: Fill out memberships or surveys on unsecure sites

We have all been on websites where there are no “pop-up” blockers or protection. When these “pop-ups” pop-up we see the words “You are the 1,000,000 visitor, you could win 2,000,000 now! Just click now!” or “Need a vacation? Enter to win a Caribbean Sea cruise”. Although all of these ads are really tempting 99.999% of them are SCAMS.  These companies putting out the ads are mostly just looking for phone numbers and personal information so they can spam your e-mail account or steal your name later on depending on the company. In this case NEVER respond to these adds if you don’t now exactly where and who they came from.

Music and Teens

For most teens music is an important factor in everyday life for them. This means you won't find a teenager without an I-Pod, Zune, or some kind of music playing device at some point during the day. Teens listen to an average of 40 hours of music per week. Whether it be on the radio, their computer, or the new CD kids rarely buy these days since they can just download them off of the internet. Often there is no filter on what teenagers listen to. Of course the radio and music videos on T.V "Bleep" out all of the bad words, and try to keep the content as clean as possible, but most music is about sex, violence, and drugs.
Information found: http://www.swmihoh.org/INeedHelp/TeenStatistics/tabid/71/Default.aspx

The natures of the type of music adolescents listen to can be reflected back on how they treat their friends, families and teachers.
The negative effects:
The adolescents listening to the music could have several affects depending on the type of music. Depending on the type of music this could range from simple outbursts to shocking violence against other teens. One of the most shocking examples I can think of is the Columbine High School shootings. These kids were into Heavy Metal, Screamo, and basic Rock and Roll. Some of the people they listened to were people like Marilyn Manson. If you haven't learned much about the Columbine shootings you should know that many people blamed Mansons violent music that talked about taking out your anger on others for the teens actions. This as an extreme case where children took what they heard from the music they listened to daily and put it into action.
Other negative effects could be a little bit of teenage rebellion towards parents and teachers, listening to music so much/almost too much where you isolate yourself from friends and other peers, or getting the wrong impression of society from a certain song or group.
Two violent acts blamed on Metal, Is it right?  http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2466738/does_heavy_metal_have_an_effect_on.html?cat=7

Two sides to every story, Marilyn speaks out: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Columbine-Massacre-Cost-Me-Everything-Marilyn-Manson-Says-114107.shtml

There are many more POSITIVE affects which I would rather focus on like
Music therapy: Music can affect anyone's mood and help them relax. Depending on the volume, intensity, and frequency of the song or artist people can internalize the emotions of the singer/band and start to feel that themselves. Music can help stimulate our minds and help us.

In reaity sure music may have some bad reputations around some people, but mostly music is a helpful tool around teenagers and adolescents. It helps brings different kinds of people together, and lets them be themselves without having to worry about everyday stresses.

Want more of the positive effects of music? Go here: http://winmentalhealth.com/music_psychology.php

Staying in Touch

February Second.

School had another snow day again. I usually love them, but I'd actually much rather be in school talking to people and getting one step closer to graduating rather than sitting at home doing nothing. Luckily for my television, computer, Facebook, E-mail, and phone these past few days would have been boring, but at least I had something to entertain myself with.
These few days really made me realize how important technology is in this day in age.
Did you know; there are 23million cell phone users under the age of thirteen,
About 115million housholds in the United States own a television, and
73% of houslholds have a gaming systeem

If you take a look at the following site you will notice that Bloggin, Facebook, and other networking sites have grown more popular for young adults rather than "older" ones ranging 30years and up.
http://pewresearch.org/pubs/1484/social-media-mobile-internet-use-teens-millennials-fewer-blog

Heres another site that compares teens to adults in a few different ways(I like this one better) 
Which statistics apply to you?
http://www.frankwbaker.com/mediause.htm

In 2000 only 73% of teens(12years to 18years) used the internet, by 2004 that statistic was up to 84%. Just think how much more it's risin since then...Take a look!
http://www.clickz.com/clickz/stats/1698308/teen-use-of-web-online-technologies-growing

Well that's my excerpt for the day.
Moral of the story, My computer and phone are my life line when I can't actaully see the people I want to.