Journal 8

The video that particularly stood out to me was A Day Made of Glass. This video was just amazing to me. I really didn’t think that technology could completely be everywhere in your life. For example, from the bathroom mirror, to the kitchen counters. And with the touch of your hand on these clear/see through surfaces, you can do anything you imagine. By placing your phone down, everything that is in it pops out. This technology is great for the younger generations on America.

However, I was thinking about how practical is this for people? How expensive would this cost to do to your entire home and or workplace? I personally do not believe that this kind of technology would be accessible to everyone. For example, elderly people. There is no way that these kinds of technologies would work out for them. Especially if they are disabled. Also, how would the lower class of America afford changes like this? And if changes like this are coming, what is the alternative? Are we even going to be able to buy normal stoves that aren’t a touch screen, or really even have our privacy from the outside world anymore? I feel that people should take these thoughts into account and realize how much this kind of technology wouldn’t work out for everyone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Cf7IL_eZ38

Journal 7

                Educational uses apply to many things in the virtual world. One example I am going to share was involving the iPad. There are so many learning opportunities available on the iPad. Students and young children learning are very much interested in using all the apps and tools available on the iPad. Students are able to access textbooks on it without the struggle of carrying around the actual book. There is an unlimited amount they can do on here.

                The virtual community can also very much affect our world offline. Research shows that around half a billion people spend 20 hours a week wearing avatars. Avatars are a real life representation of a character within the virtual community. It’s something people choose to wear basically acting like a character from the online world and if you think about it, it’s strange. People also tend to make their online avatars better all-around than their actual selves. Its unbelievable how attached people are to their smartphones looking at all the different social medias like Facebook and Twitter. People don’t know how to even talk any more at a social dinner or event without being glued to their phones wanting to see what everyone else is up to, rather than the people that they are around. Is this all really that important to our lives? People should learn when to be on their smartphones and when not to be. Its not necessary all the time.

sources:
 http://www.bruceclay.com/blog/2012/02/virtual-world-versus-physical-world/

http://www.apple.com/education/ipad/

Journal 6

Intellectual property refers to the way our mind creates things; dealing with literacy, inventions, creations and symbols. Some more known types of intellectual property consist of trademarks, patents, and copyrights. Intellectual property also contains its own law and it allows owners to access certain rights to a range of things such as different discoveries, symbols and inventions. Intellectual property is something that should be protected from others besides the owners. Certain ways to protect to viewing of it are: a design patent, which guards the unauthorized use of the new/original design before manufacturing it. For example, a new product like a tablet or iPhone is protected by design patents. Another example of protecting is trademarks. Trademarks protect names, sounds, colors, and words that differentiate goods and services so that they are not allowed to be re-used for any other company or business. For example, Disney’s Mickey Mouse ears and Disney in general.
              Intellectual property in cyberspace is seen somewhat as a threat. Things online aren't as safe and protected as people think. But some things are made to be copied from the internet. An example of this is Google images. You are able to copy and paste most things from there without any trouble. That is one of the advantages of using Google.
                Video Sharing is known to be one of the fastest growing online activities and it involves the process of uploading them and sharing them with the online community. One of the most popular video sharing sites is Youtube. It attracts people from all around the world and it allows them to put on content from all around the world. Studies have showed that every single minute, a video is uploaded to Youtube, which makes 24 hours of videos. Another example of video sharing that is most certainly not as popular as Youtube is called ICYou which is a sharing site for heath videos.

Sources:

http://socialnetworking.swsi.wikispaces.net/VideoSharing
http://www.wipo.int/about-ip/en/
http://www.uspto.gov/web/offices/ac/ahrpa/opa/museum/1intell.htm
http://aids.gov/using-new-media/tools/video-sharing-sites/

Journal 5

Regulating internet privacy isn't an easy task. Almost everything that is put on the internet can be seen, even if you think it’s private. There is a thing called The Electronic Communications Privacy Act (ECPA) which regulates intruders from entering various computer networks and different electronic communications. This act has made it illegal to hack into emails and email accounts. It also prohibits intentional interception and the hacking of any electronic communications happening. In my opinion, if someone is not 100% sure they should be sharing something on the internet that should not be seen, do not put it up in the first place. Certain internet privacy services can only go so far.

Internet security and safety is a little more reliable than trusting the privacy aspect of the internet. This is because you are able to download an internet security system on your computer to help protect your computer from any bad sites or viruses. There is a program you can get that is called Norton Internet Security. Norton provides your computer with what is called SONAR technology to keep users ahead of any developing threats that they aren’t aware of. It also uses a fast detecting system that will stop most threats before even opening a certain site so no harm is done to your computer. I myself use Norton and I am very happy I do. I like that when I Google something, it automatically shows me the “OK Norton” logo which shows me that I can click on a particular site without causing harm to my computer.

Wikis are when a group of people gather, work together and share information online. However, wikis information can also be changed which can either be a good or a bad thing because anyone is able to edit and change the information at any time. You may never know if what you are reading is accurate or not. I myself try my best to avoid websites like Wikipedia just because I am not 100% sure that the information I am researching and reading is completely accurate.

Sources:

http://ecetech.wikispaces.com/What+are+wikis%3F

http://us.norton.com/internet-security/

http://internetlaw.uslegal.com/regulation/privacy/laws-regulating-privacy-on-the-internet/

Journal 4

            An example I found that deals with free speech and content control was dealing with a college newspaper. The point of a college newspaper is for students to have the ability to o be able to express their own opinions freely. It can get serious if they write things that can be taken the wrong way. So of course colleges would want to try to control the content being put in the newspapers. If they are talking about politics and clearly call candidates’ names and quote people on it that can cause some issues for that particular person. Also, since most colleges post their papers online, this would be viewed by many more people than the person quoting had though. I completely agree with freedom of speech and expressing your opinion, but to some extent. If more students have some opinions that they would like to get out there, maybe organize some sort of open discussion about any issues dealing with politics for example. This ways, they are still able to express themselves freely but in a safer environment.

            An example of photo sharing that I have found was the website flickr. Here, you are bale to upload and share photos from your everyday life. Their slogan is: “Share your life in photos”. I think that’s very creative. On this particular photo sharing site, you are able to upload pictures by using a photo application. Once uploaded, you are even able to share them on Facebook. It’s almost like all these virtual community sites are linked together. Flickr also states on their photo sharing site that you are able to view the world from other people’s eyes by viewing their photos. This is creative. My understanding of flickr is mainly the use of taking pictures of what’s around you every day and sharing that with flickr viewers.

            A way of enhancing your blog would be through the heading. This is what is really going to grab someone’s attention right away. But you must have a creative or well-known one to do so. The heading is what everyone will look at before reading something, or not. If there is an eye catching heading, more people will most likely want to continue reading. Another good example of enhancing blogs is keywords. Using specific keywords in a blog post is important because it will give readers a full understanding of what a person is talking about. Also, having the keywords listed throughout the content and in the title, is also a great way of having readers like what you have wrote.

sources:
http://www.networkworld.com/newsletters/sec/2010/122010sec1.html
http://www.flickr.com/
http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/26-ways-to-enhance-your-blog-content/

Journal 3- Module 3

               Internet regulation is nothing new to today’s world. It is a topic that has been around for a while. This has been an intense debate throughout the entire world.  Internet regulations are the process in trying to control specific information and access within the internet. The internet is such a huge domain and seems to me like it’s not possible to regulate certain things that go on within the internet world.  I feel that trying to stop people from expanding the internet functions won’t work. Trying to preserve that may not be as easy as certain companies or governments think. The internet is such a great creation in our world and is an amazing tool to communicate with. It allows people to freely express themselves in whatever ways they choose. If people choose to abuse it, that is their own problem and mistake.

            An example of the government not being able to regulate and control things like they think is sexting. This mainly goes on between kids through their cell phones and also through web cameras and computers. How does the government plan to regulate their cell phone use though? There is one group that is trying, and they are Harvard Law Schools Cyber law Clinic. They have done surveys and the age group that sexting is affecting in 12-17 years old. And only 15% of the images receive, are from people they know. Who or where are they getting the other images from? That’s quite disturbing. These teens need to be regulated by one person, and it’s not the government, it should be their mom/dad or guardian. Parents play a huge role in this issue. I thought that this information that Harvard Law School provides people is a great source for someone who needs a clear understanding of this topic.

           This next topic is something that I haven’t heard about before until I read    about it, it is called Podcasting.  It has improved our ability to communicate much better globally. My understanding of it is that it’s a face to face video on the internet. And it also can be listened to like a radio and can be divided up into separate parts. This particular site about Podcasting, that I researched, was informative to me. It was created back in 2004 and apparently many people still do not know about it. They are mostly used with IPhones and IPods, hence the name podcast, but it can also be accessed using a computer or laptop as well.
     

http://cyber.law.harvard.edu/sites/cyber.law.harvard.edu/files/Sacco_Argudin_Maguire_Tallon_Sexting_Jun2010.pdf
http://www.ipodder.org/whatIsPodcastinghttp://cyber.law.harvard.edu/sites/cyber.law.harvard.edu/files/Sacco_Argudin_Maguire_Tallon_Sexting_Jun2010.pdf
http://www.internetsociety.org/regulation?gclid=CI7dnOb63bICFQuk4Aod_lUAEA

Nina Ciccotelli-Module 2

Virtual communities can also be considered to be an online community. Within an online or virtual community, people basically get to know each other through a computer. This is how they choose to communicate within an online community. The main reason to communicate online is to network, meet people, joining chat groups, and just getting to know one another without that face to face contact.
            Ethical values involve a few different factors. One is being integrity which is when someone provides good judgment within a workplace or professional environment. Honesty and responsibility are also key factors in ethical values. To have good, ethical, values one must be fair and sincere. Being fair, faithful, and loyal to let’s say a particular company, is another key factor. Also having the tolerance and compassion with in a work place shows great ethical values where ever someone may be.
            Social networks are such a big thing in today’s world. Social networking is providing people with a service. It allows people who share interests to connect socially and virtually. Mostly all social networks are internet or web based. For example, email. Social networks also allow people from all over the world to be able to connect with each other by basically this click of a mouse. The most popular worldwide social networks we have today are Facebook and Twitter.
            These are all related in one specific way, communication. Without virtual communities, ethical values with in people, and social networks, people wouldn’t be able to communicate as well. However, I feel that throughout the virtual world, it doesn’t necessarily mater if you show good ethical values because you aren’t standing face to face with someone.

http://www.fullcirc.com/community/communitywhatwhy.htm
http://www.niee.org/case_of_the_month/ethics3.htm