Final Reflexion

     I have learned a lot in Internet this year that I did not know in the beginning. The information has really helped me a lot, and I am more aware of all things on the Internet. I was introduced to many websites that I never knew existed, and they have helped me with research and sharing things. My resources and general knowledge of the Internet have expanded since I have been in Internet class.
     I already had an igoogle page set up from last years English class, but I have figured out and searched my page a lot more this year. I like all the features that you can add. I mostly have a lot of games on mine to keep me entertained, but there are also things such as calculators, measurement converters, music, social networks, and lots of pages of random things. I like that I can pick and choose what I can add to my page. One thing I like about igoogle is that I have a countdown. On my countdown I have things such as a countdown to my birthday, the end of school, and vacation. Igoogle has helped me with a lot of things. When I need to ask my teacher a question, I can ask them on chat, I can talk to my other classmates through chat, I can open gmail up right from my igoogle, and I can also compose mail and play games from my igoogle. The advanced searches that I explored in Internet have made me smarter. I've researched and learned about things I probably would never look up on my own. Other than research, facebook, youtube, and a couple of game websites, I never really use the Internet for anything more. I was not aware that under the search  button on google was an advanced search that allows me to narrow down my search on google by a lot. I think that this will be useful to me in the future for schoolwork. If I need to look up a direct quote, or if I have to type something in word for word, the advanced search can really come in handy. Through the packets we have done, I have learned a lot about the history of the Internet, commonly searched items, history in general, and common uses and safety tips about the Internet. The packets were not hard, but they contained a lot of questions that simply typing into google could not always find. So, through the packets, I have learned some websites that may help me in the future.
     Voicethread deserves its own paragraph so I can talk about why I like and mostly dislike this website. Voicethread can be good for many things. Projects are sometimes easier on there, and also other students and adults post threads for you to view. Either for research, or just leisure time, they're are voicethreads that will fit each.  I mainly dislike this website. Voicethread is hard to use and sometimes understand. First, it's kind of hard to concentrate on what you are saying if they're are other people in the classroom that are speaking into a microphone also. If your doing the voicethread at home, it is easier, but most uses are for projects and commonly done at school. Second, you really have to check the microphone often so that your voice can be heard, and to see if you are being to loud in the microphone. Listening to other people's voicethreads can useful, but sometimes they have an annoying voice, they are laughing, or make mistakes often. It is very easy to make a mistake on voicethread, and if you do, most likely people tend to start over. I remember having troubles with voicethread last year and English, and still today I don't think that voicethread will be more useful to me in the future than other websites will. I think that if you are educated on the website and explain to others how to create a voicethread really well, than  it can actually be a useful tool to share information with the public.
      The google presentations were fun. I like making presentations because I like creating all the slides and adding the effects. Public speaking does not bother me, so I did not mind researching and giving a presentation about what I learned. Ms. Naylor even showed the class some helpful websites that are directly linked to the schools home page, so I can access them anywhere there is Internet.
      Diigo, I never knew this website existed until this year. We haven't done a whole lot with Diigo, only a few assignments, but that is all the farther we have gone with Diigo. I think  that Diigo is helpful because you can instantly bookmark and page, you can also add your friends and share information on it too. Even though we didn't spend to much time on the website, I took away some tricks and tools that will help me if I need to use Diigo again sometime.
      The last thing I liked was watching the Internet safety video as a class. Watching the video gave me lots of opinions and made me realize that even though the Internet is helpful, it can also be a very dangerous tool to use. Lots of people use the Internet because it is quick and easy, but there are also lots of risks, and harmful viruses that you computer can pick up. Safety on the Internet is all about how you portray yourself, and what you want to be seen as. The Internet can be great for being discovered, but also very dangerous in chat rooms and on social networks if you do not use it wisely. The video opened my eyes to how many stalkers might be out there, and I do not want to be their next target. I think that the video helped me to watch what I am doing on the Internet and open my eyes to the other possibilities.
      Overall, I have learned a lot in Internet so far. I will take this knowledge and use it for future reference, because I know it will come in handy.  The google maps helped me and I'm sure I will use that again. Everything we have learned applies to life somehow, and the websites we viewed makes research and organizing easier.
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Holiday/Vacation Travel

Harrison Park, Springfield IL to Hollywood, California
Starting Point: Harrison Park, Springfield Illinois
First Destination: Hollywood, California
Distance: 1,933 Miles
Time: 1 day and 7 hours travel time

Hollywood, California to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Starting Point: Hollywood, California
Second Destination: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Distance: 2,536 Miles
Time: 1 day 17 hours travel time

Myrtle Beach, South Carolina to Las Vegas, Nevada
Starting Point: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
Third Destination: Las Vegas, Nevada
Distance: 2,319 Miles
Time: 1 day 14 hours travel time

Las Vegas Nevada to New York City, New York
Starting Point: Las Vegas, Nevada
Fourth Destination: New York City, New York
Distance: 2,526 Miles
Time: 1 day 17 hours travel time

New York City, New York to Death Valley, California
Starting Point: New York City, New York
Fifth Destination: Death Valley, California
Distance: 2,676 Miles
Time: 1 day 19 hours travel time

Death Valley, California to Harrison Park, Springfield IL
Starting Point: Death Valley, California
Ending Point: Harrison Park, Springfield IL
Distance: 1,809 Miles
Time: 1 day 5 hours travel time


Total Distance: 13,800 Miles
Total Time: 9 days 7 hours travel time
Total Gas Usage: 396 MPG

Cities to stop for gas:
Lincoln, Nebraska
-Gas Station: Phillips 66 ($2.83)
Haxtun, Colorado
-Gas Station: Cenex ($2. 94)
Victorville, California
- Gas Station: Circle K ($3.14)
Los Angeles, California
-Gas Station: ARCO ($2.89)
Birmingham, Alabama
-Gas Station: BP ($2.51)
Augustana Richmond County, Georgia
-Gas Station: Sunoco ($2.69)
St. Stephen, South Carolina
-Gas Station: Kangaroo Express ($2.79)
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
-Gas Station: Cash and Dash ($2.53)
Marietta, Georgia
- Gas Station: Shell ($2.58)
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
- Gas Station: Goodies ($2.52)
Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Gas Station: Sams Club ($2.59)
Las Vegas, Nevada
-Gas Station: Funnys ($2.79)
Denver. Colorado
-Gas Station: Everyday ($2.40)
Omaha, Nebraska
- Gas Station: Conoco ($2.75)
Cleveland, Ohio
-  Gas Station: Gas USA ($2.67)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Gas Station: Shell ($2.86)
Scranton, Pennyslvania
-  Gas Station: Pilot ($2.89)
Chicago, Illinois
- Gas Station: Costco ($2.78)
Des Moines, Iowa
- Gas Station: Casey's ($2.67)
Grand Junction, Colorado
- Gas Station: Sinclair ($2.54)
Bullhead City, Arizona
- Gas Station: Maverik ($2.63)
St. George, Utah
- Gas Station: Costco ($2.81)
Manhattan, Kansas
- Gas Station: Cenex ($2.70)
Springfield, Illinois
- Gas Station: Shell ($2.79)

Coupons

http://www.couponclub.com/-Puma

http://www.ae.com/web/browse/hp_womens.jsp?catId=womens&icid=HP:Womens:ShopWomens - Clothing

http://ebm.cheetahmail.com/r/regf2?aid=528207786&a=0&n=47&D_CODE=3674&cm_mmc=CH-_-20101122VIP-_-10021984-_-mainPRINTCOUPON&cm_lm=&sid=cc-sccp-0720-479609-00-00-0000-112310-033123 - Bath and Body Works


http://www.dell.com/us/p/large-screen-laptop-deals?dgc=CJ&cid=47997&lid=1510956&acd=10788580-1348619-cc-sccp-0076-472947-00-00-0000-112310-033123 - Computers

http://www.getrestaurantcoupons.com/bar-grill-restaurants/chilis-id-131/- Chilis

http://www.getrestaurantcoupons.com/american-restaurants/applebees-id-17/- AppleBees

The experience of finding coupons online was somewhat difficult. There are many sites that have coupons and places where you can get coupons, but when you click on the link it usually took you to the homepage  where you would have to search for the coupon. The sites that took me directly to the coupon were most useful because they allowed me to get the coupon faster and also allowed me to print the coupon right from that page. I think that some of the sites above that I looked at were useful. My parents can use them to get me Christmas gifts. Coupons would be good if money was tight, but it also takes a lot of work, so there is a lot of time involved. The coupons were useful. There were many specials and deals, especially since Black Friday is soon and Christmas is right around the corner. This is the time to start getting coupons. Overall, it wasn't a horrible experience, but I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would. I was hoping to be directly transferred to where the coupon was, but instead I had to search for some on the site, and eventually just gave up if I did not find it. I wish the coupons had higher savings, but they honestly weren't bad the ones that I found.

Growing Up Online

Part 1: Depending on whether or not my sister or mom lets me borrow their computer, decides whether or not I get online. I am usually online probably a couple hours a day. I get on facebook and occasionally will finish the competition with my mom on bubble spinner. I basically never get online at school. During Internet is the only class where I am actually online and sometimes at lunch when I will periodically check my facebook from my phone. I probably do about 20% of computer time on homework. Chatting with friends, updating my profile, and checking other's profiles all go together and i would probably spend 75% of my time doing that. Another 5% goes to extras like playing games and downloading, or listening to music.

I think that 90% of people online is a realistic representation of the American community. I agree. A lot of kids are online alot. Either checking facebook, myspace, or any other way they stay in touch with friends and family. It is like our community because I know that when people are bored, or sick, they go online. Its a very easy way to spend time, or make the time pass faster.

Part 2: There are many ways that media can be incorporated in the classroom, but the school limits the means to access them. I think that the teachers using technology is a great way for students to pay more attention and to learn more because they are used to being in a place where technology is so common, so chalkboards really do not help. The most common things that can be used on a phone are calculators, and calendars because you can use a calculator for tests and homework and you can use the calendar to schedule in important dates and tests that you need to remember. Also, the web is a useful tool for researching as well as saving notes, bookmarking websites, etc. Well the least common should be texting and getting on the web, but those are the most common. I think that all grade levels are capable of using technology as long as it is not abused. I think that there should be a limit in middle school, but once you reach highschool you should be a little more free to use technology in the classroom, but of course with rules.

Part 3: I think that a profile is more your own than your bedroom and other places because you are truly the one that runs your profile. Yeah, your bedroom is your own, but you don't own it, your parents do because they bought the house. If you don't have locks on doors to your room, or any kind of privacy in your house, then a profile is way more your own. I think that they are good because you have your password and sign in information and can change it anytime. They are a good thing to have and you can access it most anywhere. There are places that are like online diaries basically where you can describe your feelings and thoughts without having to speak them aloud to your parents. I think that parents see them more as a bad thing, but when you think about it, your profile shows your image, and how you want to be portrayed. You have information that you want people to know, sometimes pictures, decorations, and they all describe your personality. A diary can easily be found, but you can control who sees your profile. You choose to accept and delete friends, and which pictures and pages are private to only you and your friends.

The girls that were fighting in the video, well we saw their function. They turned to violence to try and solve the problem. There is lots of drama that can happen on websites and its brought into the school environment. They probably got in a lot of trouble from the school board and their parents not only for the fight, but also for posting or saying mean things on the websites. The situation played out very badly because someone decided that it was time to say something, and when they did, things got out of hand fast. Stuff like that should be taken care of outside of school. The person who filmed it and uploaded it really set more fire to the situation. After the fight, I'm sure the girls were all very angry and probably feeling guilty about what had happened. Colleges and other places see those things on your records even though you may not know it at the time. By video taping it, they were in the action just as much as the girls fighting. Uploading it was even worse because unless they delete it, it will always be there and the girls will have to watch the video and feel guilty and angry about what happened all over again. The person who video taped it was probably a drama seeking person, and she should have gotten in just as much trouble as the girls who were fighting. I know that the parents of the girls were horrified. I don't think that any parent expects their kids to start fighting at school or to fuel a fire. I bet they were disappointed and angry first because the fight happened and second because no one tried to stop it. The parents, I feel bad for because they probably think it is their fault and its not.

Part 4: There are many positives and negatives between being a famous person and a regular person. Some positives are that you can create an image for yourself for others to see, and you can actually start a career by posting videos online. If you monitor your hits, you could actually become famous that way. Some negatives include not having a regular life. The difference between a famous person and a regular person is that a famous persons life is always watched, by media, by photographers, by people, by everyone. Autumn Edows is a good example because that is not even a real name. People knew her as Autumn Edows and not as her real name. Even though she was more like Autumn Edows, she only loved the attention of it. Its hard to change that personality into a regular person if you ever decide to be one again.

Part 5: Parents play a big role. My parents trust me. Yes they are concerned and they look at the information I have posted, but they are not constantly in my face watching my every move. Its common sense. To me, parents do need to keep a close eye on what is going on, but without ruining their relationship with their kids. You have to gain trust from your parents first. Parents shouldn't ask for kids passwords unless they think something is seriously wrong. That's an invasion of privacy, even more so than going through a kid's room or personal belongings. I think that parents need to monitor actions, but I also think that kids should let their parents in more and talk to them about the things that might be going on. Some factors might be trust, your group of friends, and how you act, because those are all key points in your personality.

Part 6: Long term consequences might include things such as losing friends, losing scholarships, not caring about school, not caring about sports, not taking things seriously enough, and pushing everyone you love away from you. You can severely hurt someone by the things you post online. What the popular girl did to the boy was wrong, she boosted his self esteem and then crushed it completely. The kid committed suicide, not his parents, the girl, and all the other people who were mean to him have to live with that for the rest of their lives. Especially the parents because losing a child has to be extremely hard. Short term would also be losing your friends, and slowly reaching your breaking point.

Part 7: I have thought about disconnecting. I think it would be extremely hard. Outside of school, I would have no way to talk to my friends. I think that it would be better in the long run because people wouldn't be so absorbed in the drama, but its truly difficult. I think that cell phones and computers are great tools when used wisely and responsibly. Disconnecting completely would be a waste because you know that when you see a cell phone or computer you will want to go back. I would enjoy not having so much drama, but I would miss being entertained, not being able to talk to my friends, and not being able to express myself.

Storm Questions!

1) How many people are killed or injured by floods each year?

2) How does a flood start, and can they be stopped?

3) What is the main cause of a thunderstorm?

4) When does lightning strike the ground?

5) What is the difference between a tornado watch and a tornado warning?

6) What is your favorite kind of storm? Or which do you find the most interesting?

7) How does a mud slide begin and what are the effects of the mud slide?

8) Where do hurricanes occur the most?

9)Which is the most dangerous type of storm and why?

10) What is a thunderstorm?

Current News

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2010/10/19/search-missing-north-carolina-girl-turns-landfill/

In the news story that I found, a little girl named Zahra Baker was kidnapped. She is a bone cancer survivor and she is only ten years old. She has a couple disabilities such as hearing aids, and a prosthetic leg. Her father reports having found a ransomn note stating that the kidnappers were taking his boss's daughter. Instead, after a fire was set in his backyard, they took his daughter, and he thinks they plan on going for his boss's son next. Zahra's stepmother is one of the top victims so far. The police have been frantiqually searching for over a week, and there is still no sign of Zahra or her body.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_MISSING_GIRL_NORTH_CAROLINA?SITE=FLSTU&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

This link above is similar to the one from fox news. In the link above, they talk more about the mother's charges, and increasing her bond. The ransomn note that her mother wrote on the day she went missing makes the police suspect that the girl is dead, but without any evidence towards her body, they haven't charged anyone with her killing yet. Her stepmother's other three children were present in the courtroom and they said they were scared of their mother and often moved as children.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/zahra-baker-case-searching-evidence-north-carolina-landfill/story?id=11926357

In this story, it just restates what the other two stories already told. The mother was arrested for obstruction of justice and has many charges towards her for her missing daughter. The police are searching a landfill that is close to her home for evidence that might help them in this case. The police did not state what piece of evidence they are looking for yet.

This story is really sad. I feel horrible for this little girl. She has already gone through so much in her life, being a cancer surviver, losing her left leg, and having hearing aids at the age of ten. I respect her so much, I think she is very strong. To hear that her stepmom has addmitting to writting the ransomn note is heartbreaking. I don't understand how she could put Zahra through any more trouble in her life. To think that she might be dead, is one of the worst feelings.

Voicethread!

http://voicethread.com/?#q.b150713

This post was kinda funny. It is interesting how you can make arrows and drawings on your voicethread, like if you needed to point something out in the background, or circle it to draw attention. The girl in this thread seems weird. It wasn't very long and had nothing in it, but arrows and a little bit of talking. The purpose was to describe a friendship between her and her friend Al, but it didn't say anything about their friendship except for he has white teeth, she didn't like him in sixth grade, and she has purple lips. This video was a waste of time.

http://voicethread.com/?#q+Romeo+and+Juliet.b1011524.i5396939

This is my video! It is from Honors English last year. It was my first time using voicethread. It was confusing and hard to understand, but somehow we pulled it together. It talks about Act 1 and Scene 1 of the play Romeo and Juliet. We tried to put a lot of information in our presentation, so people knew exactly what was happening in the story. Also we incorporated vocab words so people have a little more understanding of the language and everyday talking back then. This project shows that we still need to work on voicethread because there is a ton of features we didn't use.

http://voicethread.com/?#q.b425796.i2574380

I like this voicethread. It has teachers and students talking, so there is changes in the voices. The pictures are very sad and really show the struggles people endured throughtout the years during the Great Depression. The children are especially sad because they talk about not having anything, enough food, clothes, rain, jobs, and all the other things that came along with the Great Depression. The pictures really opened my eyes to the way people lived. They had nothing and today we take a lot for granted. I like this project and I think the kids did a really good job. The voicethread also has a lot of information, or poems that deal with the time period, so you can actually image what was happening during the Great Depression. The teachers did a really good job with this project!

Spirit Week!!!!

I love homecoming week. It is the one week of the school year that I look forward to most. It gives you the chance to dress up and act stupid, and no one will care. It also proves that homecoming is right around the corner. I love spirit week because its a week that you can just let go, but everyday that you dress up it helps your grade. I also like it because a lot of people get into it. If you have good themes, you will have a lot of people participate. It all leads up to the Friday that you play games and have fun. I think Homecoming week is important to the school because its almost like a week off. The first couple days of the week you may have some homework to finish off, maybe some projects, but for the most part its a slacked week. The teachers dont give out much homework, the students are not under so much stress, you can dress up in different outfits, express yourself, and show others a different side of you than the student side they always see. Spirit week is a great week because it puts everyone in a good mood. The students are happier, taking lots of pictures, and enjoying school. When the teachers get into it too, its especially fun because you get to see a different side to the teachers than what you usually see. I think that the principals and staff also have fun watching the students and seeing what they are going to wear from day to day. Spirit week gives the students something to look forward to since after summer most don't want to come back to school. Homecoming week is most exciting because that means homecoming is just days away. Homecoming is one of the best days of the school year, so the students are all excited, and they have a better attitude towards everything at school.

Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker!

I began looking for research on the internet for the job as an architect so I know a little bit of background information and all that the work entails. Researching and writting down notes helped me put together the presentation above. I also thought about what I already knew about architecture, so that helped me some. I had to use common sense and because none of the jobs I wanted were on the 50 top careers list, I picked the job that was the most like my others. Mainly the research helped because I was able to learn about the career and the pay to see if an architect is a job that I may want in the future. Putting presentations in a blogging format could help me in business situations and personal life situtations because I have direct access to other information and my own information/blogs. It would be most helpful in a work environment because it would be a fast and fun way to get information across to all the employees. It would help me in my personal life because I could save school presentations and other projects and get advice or comments from my friends. Either way it helps me to have easy access to information.

My Career

To be completely honest, I do not know what career I want to pursue or what type of schooling it entails. I change my mind constantly and throughout the past few years, it has changed many times. Each time my mind changes, it changes my likes and my dislikes, therefore changining my career. I have had many careers in mind such as interior design and photography. I also was leaning towards magazine editor, publisher, or something along those lines. I think that it would be really fun to be an interior designer. I like going shopping and picking out things. I also like helping other people. I have read that it is a hard business to get employed into. Depending on where you live, the people there might not have a high demand for interior design in their homes. I think photography would also be really fun. I take pictures with my friends all the time. I always have my camera on me whether its my actual camera or my phone. I like going onto photoshop and editing pictures too. They look a lot better, and even though it takes awhile it is really fun to do. Magazine editing would be an amazing job. I would like to get with a really good company and open my resources to some of the top magazines. I would love to do a layout for a magazine, pick what pictures to add, edit the writing, make sure the cover looks good. I think that I would enjoy that job a lot, especially if I was the editor and chief or publisher of the magazine. When I was younger I want to go on Americas Next Top Model so I could take to the girl from seventeen magazine who does the cover photos. Even though I dont know what career I want to pursue I still have a lot of time left to decide. Right now I am just keeping my options open. I will let my career find me. Who knows, one of these days, my career is going to fall into my life and I will love it and be completely hooked on it. As of now, I am just exploring my options, and taking different classes to ensure that I am educated in all aspects.

`Fast Growing Careers

Money and Careers

Courtney Brewer

September 13, 2010

A4 Internet

I disagree with the statement that “the most important consideration in choosing a career is whether the career is a fast growing career.” I disagree with the statement because in my opinion the statement is directed toward people who are more interested in the money. 

            Yes, the more the money you make in your career, the better for you, but there are people who love their career no matter how much money they make. I honestly want to find a career that I love. I want a decent salary, but if I love my job, then I see nothing wrong in not caring about the salary. As long as my career has decent pay, I can always ask for a raise, but I can also enjoy myself when I am at work.

            I think that if I find a career that I absolutely love and enjoy coming too, then the pay will not matter. There are two options you can do in that situation: Either get another part time job for some extra pay, or after working at your job for awhile, and proving yourself worthy, ask your boss for a raise. If you are in a job that has amazing pay but you do not enjoy, you will have no interest in going to work every day, and you are not really interested in your job, but just in the currency.

            You never know if a business is going to grow or decline, but if you are in the highest paying jobs, then you have to have lots of schooling, and probably finding a job in your field interests will be really hard. If you start out on a lower paying job, you might learn to love it, or you get another job to have better pay. If you enroll yourself in a lower paying job, you will gain more experience for higher paying jobs.