There's an App for That!

People in today’s society are always on the go. Mobile apps allow you to perform tasks from mobile devices.  Apps are making many things accessible that weren’t accessible in the past. Most people in today’s society have access to resources that were once very expensive. Cameras, video cameras, GPS, and editing software are now available on phones and tablets.

People are finding innovative ways to incorporate the use of apps into our daily lives. This has changed the way that we interact. Some apps provide communication through audio, video and text. People are becoming closer because they can use Facebook and Skype apps to communicate from their phones.

Studies show that apps are making us smarter individuals. People have access to information that was harder to obtain in the past.  Libraries and schools are no longer the most popular avenues for learning. There are many educational apps that are available to people of all ages. Quizzes, trivia, and DIY apps are actually teaching people about various topics.

Mobile apps are extinguishing boredom.  App stores have a large supply of entertainment. Many of these apps connect people from around the world. Some game apps show the country that each player is from. Some games even allow you to chat with opponents. People are able to connect with people from different cultures. This increases interaction with people that are outside of our communities.

Businesses are able to use apps for advertisement and marketing. Businesses use news, and stock market apps to stay up to date on important information that may affect their business. Apps have also changed the way that we shop. People shop while using QR code readers to check prices and find discounts. Mobile apps opened the door for smart shopping and virtual stores. QR code stores, restaurants, shopping centers, schools, public spaces and even business are encouraging the use of mobile apps.

WARNING: Post with Caution!

      It is no doubt that many people of all generations are using social media sites these days. Even my grandma has a Facebook! Not to mention, a lot of her friends have a Facebook as well. Although social media is great for keeping in touch with one another, it has its dangers. When we post things on the internet, there are a variety of people who can see what we post. Our "friends" can definitely see what we post, but who else is seeing our daily lives?
     My mom often lectures me about my privacy settings on Facebook or Instagram. I have always understood why she tells me to make my page as private as possible, but its never really been important to me. I usually just nod my head and brush it off. Then one day she told me to do an experiment to prove why it is so critical to make every aspect of my Facebook page private. She told me to type in a random name and go to the page of someone I did not know. She then asked me to tell her all the information I know about that person just by looking at her page. I was able to see where she lives, where she used to live, where she went to high school, where she is going to college, who she is in a relationship with, and when her birthday is. On top of all that, I was able to see exactly what she looked like thanks to her pictures. It amazed me. If I was a stalker or psycho person (which I am not), then I would easily be able to find this girl that I don't even know. It never really hit me how easy it would be for someone to find me if they wanted to.
       On Youtube, I saw a guy perform a similar experiment only he was using Instagram. He would search random people's Instagram around the area where he lived and find where they were at based on a picture they posted. He would go up to them and say their name and talk about things in their life that he saw from their pictures. Like if one of them had a picture posted of a dog, he would mention their dog, or if they posted a picture on their birthday, he would mention their birthday. Many of the people were creeped out, some were very mad. After he told them what he had done, some of them immediately made their pictures private. A lot of the people took it very well and thought it was a cool idea to get people to be more careful about who they share their information with.
     I now have my social media pages completely private so that someone who is not my friend can't see anything about my life. It is important to protect ourselves when using the internet. Make sure that if you post something, it is something you do not mind a complete stranger knowing about you. How private is your life?

The Transformation of Banking

Sometimes it takes society a while to catch up with technology but when it does anything is possible.  For example, the ATMs are widely used every where, everyday, thousands of times a day and yet in the 1960s when it was first introduced in the United States people had a hard time using a machine to transact their business.  For this reason it was discontinued.   History:  John Shepherd-Barron invented and installed an ATM in the Barclays Bank in London in the 1930s.  Don Wetzel invented an American ATM in 1968, which could only dispense cash. Then in September, 1969 Chemical Bank revolutionized banking with the first ATM but it also only dispensed cash.  However, by 1971 ATMs had evolved to where they could not only dispense cash but it could also provide customers with their balances, and some other functions.  By the 1980s ATMs were in wide demand, and like every good thing with time comes change.  In the 1990s the banking industry came up with a new way to make money, they started charging for the use of ATMs.  For a customer to use their bank’s ATM it will cost nothing, but when it comes to the use of any other bank’s ATM there will be a charge associated. Today banking has evolved so drastically that the way we think of banking has taken on a totally different image.  There are still tellers in the bank, people still stand on line to cash their checks or make deposits and the banking industry continues pretty much the same in its day to day activities.  However, technology has given us online banking, direct deposit, the use of smart phones, it enables the taking of a picture of a check and deposits it directly into an account.  It doesn’t stop there, the financial industry and technology continues to change and expand every day.  We’ve come a long way baby!



Bring on the Snow

In my first post I briefly mentioned that my family and I were stranded for a few days without power due to a snow storm. We didn’t have electricity. No electricity meant no internet, no cable, no refrigerator, and no microwave. We had none of the technology that we’d come to depend on. The experience was not fun, but it was educational.

The power went out around 4 am, according to the power company, but we didn’t notice it until 7, when my mom woke up because she was cold. She crawled out of bed to check the thermostat and realized how quiet the entire house had become. She let me and my sister sleep but she woke my Dad and they built a fire in the fireplace to warm the house up a little.

Thankfully, we have a gas stove, so we weren’t worried about not having food. At first we thought it might be nice to have a day with no distractions, just have family time. That worked for about an hour, until my sister tried to turn the TV on. She realized she couldn't so she got her laptop out and was going to watch YouTube videos… but she couldn’t because the Wi-Fi was down too. Needless to say, she was a grumpy Gremlin for the next few hours. We were all kind of grumpy.

My dad missed his silly electric blanket that he puts on his feet because he refuses to wear socks. My mom missed watching House Hunters International on HGTV. My sister missed searching anime movies on YouTube and I missed watching How I Met Your Mother on Netflix.

It was then that we realized how much we let technology affect us. We used to have game night every Saturday where we’d battle one another for the title, Champion of the Board, but now we play apps on our smart phones. We used to sit at the kitchen table when we had dinner, but now we huddle around the TV and fight over the remote. We used to cook dinner together as a family, but now we just throw a frozen pizza in the oven and go back to our respective rooms and ignore one another.

I’m not saying it’s all technology’s fault, because some of the blame lies with us. But technology has been detrimental to my family. I am very thankful we were left without power for a few days because it took some of the technology out of our lives and put family time back in. 

Laptops In The Classroom

By, Khephra Hines

“Fixing Our Schools”

Technology and computing has always been an important part of education. Students have to become familiar with current technology so that they can effectively operate in the careers that they choose in the future.  Most schools have libraries and computer labs for students. This provides them with access to card catalogs, the internet and educational software.  Schools across the nation are now allowing laptops and tablets to be used in classrooms.  This has encouraged many people to create, eBooks, applications, and software that can be used during class. Allowing laptops into classrooms has a positive influence on education and society.  

Allowing students to use laptops gives them a chance to develop computer skills. Laptops give students the opportunity to become familiar with keyboarding, spreadsheets, databases, word-processing, internet and multimedia.  Many students are able to use their laptops to stay organized. They can use homework apps and online programs to manage their assignments.  Websites, like turnitin.com, can be used to check students work for plagiarism.

There are downsides to allowing laptops to be used in classrooms. Using a laptop can become a crutch for students with illegible handwriting. Many teachers complain that students are too dependent on spell check.  Simply sitting in the back of the classroom will expose another major problems with allowing laptops. Students become distracted by social media and other websites during class time.  There are programs that teachers use to monitor the activity of students in class.  

Permitting students to have more access to technology in class, has a great impact on society. Most jobs require that the employees have some experience with technology. If students have advance computing skills, then they can contribute to society when they have jobs.  





'Hybrid' Charter Schools on the Rise

Social Media: Potential Threat on Future Job

By: Rena Smith

 
             In Seattle, Matt Watson, a bitter-barista, as his blog was also called, learned the harsh consequences of social media activity on a job. Unhappy with many circumstances of the job, such as repetitive customers, Watson's blog gained popularity quick but unfortunately resulted in the loss of his job.
              In Denver, a 10th grade math teacher, Carly McKinney was fired for very inappropriate comments about her "hot" students. In addition to promiscuous tweets, McKinney's employers discovered controversial photos of the teacher smoking marijuana. While the teacher was placed under leave during the process of the investigation of McKinney's twitter account, she was ultimately fired.
                     
               While both Watson and McKinney lost their jobs during their shameful social media posts, activity on the Internet can also prevent job seekers from employment. While parents, professors, and mentors advise many teens on the reality outside the Internet, social networkers are still unaware of the severity of their Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook posts.

                According to Forbes.com, 34% of employers who scan social media profiles of applicants found material that prevented them from hiring the candidate. Among these employers, over half noted that the material found was inappropriate of provocative photos.

So, while your resumé may be professional be mindful of photos and posts on your social networking sites.