Sexting

After reading the article of "Parents sue school for role in 'sexting' tragedy" in which the parents of Jessica Logan blame school officials and peers for their daughter's suicide, I realized the wrongness in sexting. Before this article, I hadn't heard much about sexting because I haven't have experiences related to it, nor the people around me. I knew there were cases in which heartless and immoral people made use of sexting to harm others but I hadn't put much attention to it. I used to think how stupid some girls can be in sending nude pictures of themselves. Now that I put more thought into it, these girls trusted their boyfriends and it is definitely not fair what was done to them. I think these guys showed cowardice and plain meanness in what they did. Poor Jessica Logan ended committing suicide because she was unable to stand people's bullying and harrasment due to her nude picture that was sent all over. I felt compassionate towards Jessica's situation and feel totally against sexting.
I support the decision of Jessica's parents suing the school. Jessica confronted the people who harassed her and tried to take measures to make them stop. She talked with the school officials, the school counselors and even shared her story with the public. Nevertheless, despite all her efforts, people continued to bother her mercilessly. I think it was pathetic what a police officer said, that there were no security measures to protect her because she was 18. I totally believe schools should take more control about it and make it stop. It would be horrible for your provacy to be violated in that way, and have no control over it. I think it is wrong to take someone else's phone and check it, but I feel it is necessary in cases like this.

Next project

For our next Computer class project, we will be creating a short film that we will edit in January. My proposal is to create a comercial related to cooking with Lea Purpon. We will advertise a cake and sweets like that, through this video in which we will show all the procedure of the cooking and talk about the product.

New Security Measure

Facebook has implemented some new security measures and I think they are very important and valuable and people should pay more attention to it. They are new measures that help you control your information in a better way for you to feel secure. It is a form of letting you decide which information to share and with who. I think they were created due to many problems around the world. Facebook has become too popular and conflicts have arised. I've heard that some kidnappers had gotten information from this social networking place and it has been used as a means of stealing people's data, ideas, etc. I personally am not sure if they will be succesful because firstly not all people will take their time in reading about it, and deciding which informatio nthey want to share with shich particular people. Nevertheless, I think I like them because it gives more control to people about their sharing information and offers a more "innovative" FB. I really don't think it will change the way I use Facebook; I will see and use it the same way I've always have.

There have been some postings on social networking sites such as Myspace and Facebook that have the ASPV community concerned. If I think about people posting videos and quotations of people without their knowing it, I feel it's wrong and needs permission first. I also think that it depends a lot on the video and the quotations. If they are insulting and humiliating in any way, of course it's wrong; but if the person would not mind because it is not bad, then I don't think people should react so angrily. However, yes, people should first give consent to someone if something about them is going to be posted, but I don't think that rule would be followed with social networking networks being so bewildered and busy. The community's reaction to the posting of student videos or work by staff members will be a complete revolt. People will be very angry and start demanding their rights and just express the unfairness felt with any way they find possible. They will definitely try to solve matters in one way or another. I don't think the school should let that happen, and forbid the staff post anything about their students' without their consentment.

Technology integrated into my education

Considering my entire academic career, I honestly haven't had the experience of technology being essential in my education. I have been in this school just my high school years and we didn't have computer class before this year. On my previous schools, we didn't use computers for projects so much. I only use them for writing papers and doing powerpoint presentations. Nevertheless, I feel I am quite acquainted to them because I use them every day.

Some specific experiences I remember from previous years are the "Type to Learn" activities in which we were tested on how fast we write in the computer. I remember I really did enjoy those activities but they were just on primary and middle school. Throughout most of my academic years, computers have been essential in writing essays, stories, and all sorts of assignments from school. Powerpoint presentations have been also fundamental in my development as a student and also the usage of the web. I don't remember having big specific projects with particular computer programs. There was just one time in which I had to burn CD's with a special program but I can't recall how to do it again.

There are many times in which I feel my teachers should have integrated technology in their lessons more. For example when they leave us projects and presentations in Powerpoint, I wish I knew more about other sophisticated programs and make something more original. Also there are some boring teachers who only speak and speak and speak. I wish they would integrate techonolgy more, and show us maybe videos, presentations or something similar. I feel many teachers don't integrate technology into their lessons because they don't know much about technology in general and how to control and use it.

Rotoball Project

I just finished my Rotoball project using Macromedia Flash MX 2004. What I most liked about it was the results. I never thought I would be able to finish it and make it look like a realistic animation. The only thing I did not like was the number of blank keyframes I had to insert every 5 marks. It was exhaustive and besides, having to trace my dog and me every time was kind of difficult. If I were to do this assignment with next year's seniors I would leave it exactly as it is. I really liked how everything turned out. Maybe a little more time for more details could have been better, but in general it was excellent.

Macromedia Flash

I just did my first animation in Macromedia Flash and I can't still believe it. My frustrations were too many. I barely knew how to use the program therefore I had difficulties with absolutely everything; from converting objects into symbols to creating motion tweens, etc, etc. I overcame these frustrations thanks to the teacher's help; Mr. Picketts was very patient and helped me with everything. I really tried hard when working on my animation and with perseverance and effort I learned how. Now, I feel proud of my work. It did came out as I imagined. It is about a girl who started to fly due to a bubble gum and then a bird popped the bubble and made her fall into a boy's arms. They fell in love. I would have like to changed my project by adding more details. I would have liked my animation to have a prettier background and the movements to be more realistic. If I were to extend this project into a minute I would continue with the story. Now the boy and the girl met each other and fell in love, so afterwards I would put them on a date and having fun in a picnic in the beach or having lunch somewhere. Maybe I could even plan it into a further future and make them marry, have kids, etc.

A Family Gathering Memory

Truthfully, I don't have a memory in which my whole family has been gathered together but I do have some other memories in which there have been gatherings involving part of the family. There was this Christmas more than 10 years ago that I still remember. There was a gathering with my mom's part of the family in which we all passed a nice time in one of my aunt's house.
My siblings and I were very small but we did have lots of fun with our other cousins. The reunion also involved family friends and many other people. It was like a big party with so much food. Then, the presents and gifts were amazing too. We all recieved tons of incredible toys and candies. The adults seemed to have a wonderful time too. I remember this gathering in particular because it was one of the few times my family got together due to a holiday. When I try remembering a time I spent with all my cousins, it's that Christmas day. We all had an incredible evening.

Choosing my tree

I chose this tree for my family tree project because since the moment I saw it, I fell for it. In my opinion, it is simple yet unique and shows outstanding beauty. It depicts a very cozy feeling with the tiny pretty birds in it, and also due to its attractive leaves in the shape of hearts. The illustration definitely expresses happiness in an extremely aesthetic way. Moreover, my family isn't so numerous, therefore this little tree is perfect for it.

Is Social Media a Fad?

We just saw a youtube video called Social Media Revolution. It contained extremely impacting stuff that makes you realize how advanced we are in technology. It is simply amazing how our world has gone so far regarding social networking. It has developed with such a velocity its just unbelievably scary. Social networking has reached so many millions of people globally; what a way of connecting our world together.

I am tremendously involved in social media. I have joined a number of social networks (Facebook, Myspace, etc) these past years and I use the Internet every single day. I confess I can't be in a computer without opening Messenger or Facebook. Also Google, Yahoo and Youtube have conquered my daily life. I confess I even watch movies and soap operas via Internet. I also have numerous e-mail accounts and have joined all sorts of web pages. In the present day, I feel as if life would not be the same without Internet; it has become a necessity.

There are countless advantages and benefits in social media but there are also many dangers involved. Hackers and criminals also have access to Internet and use it unwisely and in harmful ways. There have been incidents in which people steal money through Internet, find personal information about people, kidnap them and more. I can protect myself by not going to doubtful sites and places that seem unsafe, and not giving my personal information anywhere I don't trust. Also in my social networks, particularly Messenger, I'd protect myself by not accepting or adding anyone I don't personally know. Our education should definitely be modernized in order to help us be prepared for this world that's dominated by so much social media.

my 1st blog (:

OK. This is the first time I ever use a blog so I am definitely just a beginner and do not know much about it. I believe this is a personal page in which you can share anything you want particularly with the people around you. I expect we will be using blogs more for school purposes but also to express more about ourselves and be able to know each of our classmates and friends better. I created my blog as a school assignment and it was really easy and I admit it was even fun. Today we created a BlogList in which all my classmates and me had to get our addresses together without speaking or standing up, but everything was sorted out quite fast thanks to wonderful Facebook.