Blog Reflection

Blog Reflection
I think that the blogging experience for this class was overall a good experience. I have not had a previous blog or live journal or anything of that kind on the internet so this was new to me. I do not usually volunteer my writing for peer comments or often have anyone read it, so this opened up my mind to it and it turned out to be a positive thing. I think I may actually keep up the blog, not with assignments, but with posts about random thoughts.

I also enjoyed reading the other student’s blogs. It was interesting to see the variety of setups of their blogs and their names for them. It helped me with my own assignments sometimes to get an idea about what I was supposed to do. It is nice to be able to go back on the blog and be able to look at my previous assignments because I usually forget about them once I turn them in. But in this case I could look at my progress. I really liked that we got to do a personal blog about anything. That kept it from getting boring or too structured. Blogging our assignments made the whole experience more visual and interesting. It was nice to not have to actually turn in a physical copy of our assignments because on the blog we could edit the font and colors and make it more attractive. I also liked that we did not have to print out our assignments because it saved paper that way.

Extra Credit - Second Life

Second Life Experience – Extra Credit

I created a person in the Second Life community on the internet for extra credit, and it was somewhat of a strange experience. I do not have a lot of experience with video games or computers, let alone an online community like Second Life, so this was a new event for me.

When I went to the Second Life website, I was a little surprised that it wanted your real name in addition to your Second Life name. I do not like giving out my information so I made up a fake name similar to my Second Life name. I chose Ally for my first name because it is similar to my real name. There was a list of choices to pick for your last name, so I chose Hazelnut. Ally Hazelnut is a strange name and I think it almost sounds like a stripper’s name. So right away I felt weird about the situation. I was creating the community alongside of Karra, and when I saw which image of a person she chose, I made sure to choose a different one. I chose a female figure with funky hair and colorful and creative clothes, basically because that is the opposite of what I look like.

When I logged on to Second Life for the first time after creating it, there was a tutorial available in the top left corner of the screen that gave directions and instructions about how to do certain things, which was a helpful tool. The first and most important thing it told was how to make your person simply just walk and move toward different directions, which is done by just using the arrow keys on the keyboard. There is also a way to make the person fly, which I was surprised about. The Second Life world seemed very big, but I found myself just basically moving in circles. I tried to go into the ocean to see my person could swim, but it would not let me.

I did not see many other characters around in my area which I was surprised about also. I suppose that I thought there would be multiple people around me. I even “walked” a fairly far distance and did not see many people. I did see one male character that was sitting on a ledge near the ocean and I walked up to him. He did not move or anything so I kept “moving” and actually stood on top of him which was weird. Then I noticed that next to him it said that he was “away” so that explained why he was not responding. I also randomly saw a group of people flying together, but I could not seem to catch up to them.

I did see a link to click to chat with people but I was not interested in that because I have heard too much about cybersex and creeps on this type of internet tool. I have read about people who join the Second Life community and it actually takes over their real lives and that creeps me out. Overall, creating my character was a decent experience because I had never done anything like it before. At least now I know what communities like Second Life are like and the basis of them.

Podcast Script

Podcast Script

The Allison Show

Complete Show Length in Minutes: 5:05

Episode 1: Topic: The Disappearance of Caylee Anthony

Intro Music Clip: Title: “Where is the Love?” by Black Eyed Peas
Minutes: 25 seconds (chorus)
Intro: Imagining Your Child Being Harmed and Intro to Caylee Anthony Case Minutes: 1:15

Good morning. I’m Allison and welcome to the Allison podcast show. For all you parents out there, do you often get frightened about the thought of your child being abducted or harmed? I’m sure it’s a pretty terrifying thought. I’m also pretty sure that most of us could not imagine harming our own child. Even though having children changes your life and they must become your top priority, could you imagine actually killing your child? Today’s topic is about the tragic and mysterious story of the disappearance of four year old Caylee Anthony and how it affects the public.

This situation is happening near Orlando, Florida. It involves a missing little girl and a suspicious and crazy mother. All the facts and evidence point to the mother, Casey Anthony. She doesn’t show any concern for her missing daughter and just seems to be concerned about herself, which is pretty disturbing. It’s pathetic how people these days can become so self centered and psychotic, especially when they have children they are responsible for.

Segment Music Clip: Title: “Calling all Angels” by Train Minutes: 30 seconds
Segment: Parents Harming Children Minutes: 1:30

Even though it’s horrible to hear about child abductions and murders, it’s even more sickening to hear that the child’s parent is behind it. We hear all the time about parents neglecting their children. Parents do things like leave their kids in cars in the extreme heat and cold, and do not feed them sufficiently. Most of us would agree that we can’t even imagine doing those things to our children, let alone KILL them.

Casey Anthony finally reported her daughter missing about a month after she had actually last been around. This makes many of us angry and we wonder why and how a parent could be so neglectful and careless. Because all the facts and evidence point to Casey being guilty of murder, we all wonder how someone can actually be capable of killing their child. If Casey did kill Caylee like the evidence suggests, what do you think possibly drove her to do it?

End Segment Music Clip: Title: “How to Save a Life” by the Fray
Minutes: 20 seconds
Ending: What Could Have Made Casey Anthony Kill Her Daughter? Minutes: 1:20

Casey Anthony has a narcissistic personality and obviously is detached from others emotionally. She only has the capacity to care about herself. Why would you go through with having a child if you know that you really only care about yourself? Casey openly admitted multiple times that Caylee interfered with her party life, which was her top priority. We all know that having a child changes your life and may interfere with things, but is that any reason to kill your child? I don’t think so. Even though I don’t have a child, I know that someday when I do, the child will become the most important thing in my life, not PARTYING. Even though this case is a tragedy, hopefully it will make us aware that there are parents like that out there. We should do our best to report anything we may think is child abuse or neglect. Even though it may not be your responsibility directly, we should do all we can to make sure this does not happen again. It’s a shame that an innocent little girl with her whole life ahead of her had to suffer because of her mother’s psychotic problems. Thank you for listening.

Casey & Caylee Anthony

Module III Event Essay

The Caylee Anthony Case and How it Affects America

Child abductions are not an uncommon thing in the world today, especially in America. Inconveniently, there are no official exact national statistics concerning the amount of child abductions per year, and kidnapping is not included in the FBI’s yearly national crime report. However, a report issued in October 2002 by the National Incidence Studies of Missing, Abducted, and Runaway Children estimated that 58,200 children are victims of non family abductions per year (10). Though non family abductions are undoubtedly a horrendous thing, most would agree that being abducted and possibly murdered by a family member is even more horrifying and surprising, and many people ponder how someone could do such a thing.

Three year old Caylee Anthony from Florida was reported missing in mid July of 2008 by her mother Casey Anthony, about a month after she actually went missing. Casey’s parents were persistently asking where Caylee was, so Casey finally stated that she did not know. She told police that the last person that was with Caylee was a babysitter named Zenaida Gonzalez. When the woman was confronted by police, she claimed she did not know who Casey Anthony was. Police proceeded to search Casey’s home and vehicle, and found evidence that there may have been human composition in it. She was soon charged with child neglect, not cooperating and fabricating information to investigators, and interfering with a criminal investigation. At first she was denied bond because she showed a total disregard for Caylee. However, later on her bail was posted at $500,000 and a bounty hunter bailed her out. She was released from jail and has since then been put back in jail, and new information is consistently being released about her being a pathological liar, a thief, and using forged checks.

Finally, on October 18th, 2008, Casey was indicted with many things, including 1st degree murder, child abuse, and providing false information. All the evidence seems to point against Casey, and facts like that she was out partying at bars and clubs just days after Caylee went missing, do not help her. Her mother even admitted that Casey originally wanted to put Caylee up for adoption.

It is a frightening thing to imagine that a mother could possibly neglect, let alone murder her own child. Many people are drawn to this case simply because they do not understand it. People want to know what possibly may have gone on in Casey Anthony’s head, because obviously, a sane mother would never do such a thing. According to a doctor named Deborah Schurman, who specializes in these kinds of cases, mothers who kill their children a usually have a narcissistic personality and are obsessed with drama.

Most of the information we learn through the media about Casey Anthony seem to point to the idea that she is narcissistic and obsessed with drama, just as mothers who kill are. She has an amazing ability to lie and deceive, and shows no panic or concern about her daughter, which is shocking and disturbing.

People with narcissistic personalities only care about their own desires and seem to be emotionally cut off from the world. Casey may have committed this murder simply because Caylee got in the way of her own life and desires. Casey’s party life seems to be her first priority, and has admitted that her daughter significantly got in the way of that. Her friends have come forward and stated that she often complained about Caylee and called her a “snot head”. Casey was still a teenager when she had Caylee, so that also may have contributed to her resentment.

Although being a pathological liar and having a narcissistic personality are not excuses for killing anyone, that is most likely what led Casey Anthony to murder Caylee. Although she was probably not kidnapped by a stranger, cases like this one have a great affect on America. They bring up the issue of distrust and make you wonder what people could be capable of. It also reminds us how child abuse and neglect is something that must be taken seriously. It is a shame that an innocent little girl had to suffer because of her own mother’s actions, and that no one interfered if or when they noticed that Caylee was not being taken care of properly.













Works Cited
Crary, David. “Solid Data Scarce for Child Abductions”. Boston.com National News.
19 January 2007. 18 November 2008. http://www.boston.com/news/nation/article
s/2007/01/19/solid_data_scarce_for_child_abductions/
Flores, Robert. “National Estimates of Missing Children”. NISMART. October 2007.
18 November 2008. http://missingkids.com/en_US/documents/nismart2_overview
.pdf
“Casey Anthony-A Criminal Mind?” Momlogic. 14 November 2008. 20 November 2008.
http://www.momlogic.com/2008/11/casey_anthonya_criminal_mind.php
Mitchell, Juliann. “Casey Anthony: Profile of a Sociopath”. Blogcritics Magazine. 19
October 2008. 21 November 2008. http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/10/19/222
920.php

slide from Activity IV

research essay for project II

Facebook Appropriateness

The online social network of Facebook has undoubtedly changed the internet world and has created a quick new way to communicate with others and a new way to express yourself. People are free to create their own profile with photographs and include any information they wish. However, this freedom to post and share almost anything one wishes is not necessarily a good thing. Many people, mostly younger users, are irresponsible with their internet usage and actually are causing harm to themselves and/or their reputation.

There are many things that people post on Facebook that can be considered inappropriate, from posting questionable photographs on your page, to simply using ill chosen words while posting comments. I have viewed a high number of profiles with racy, sexy pictures that are completely inappropriate, like girls posting photographs of themselves in lingerie, provocative poses, and even pictures of themselves making out with their boyfriends. People also post photos of themselves holding guns or other weapons which can get them into trouble with the law. People post “bumper stickers” on their own as well as other people’s pages that are offensive or insulting to others. It is not smart to use extreme profanity or talk about things like doing drugs on other people’s “walls” because more people than you realize are reading it and will make judgments about you.

Although some people make numerous bad choices on their Facebook, there are ways to express yourself tastefully. I have noticed that many young people choose to put their senior pictures on their Facebook. That is a good choice because it is usually a photograph that the person especially likes, and most of the time are tastefully done. It is not difficult to decide what photographs are appropriate for the internet. It is also important while listing your hobbies and activities to not be too sarcastic, because some people will take it seriously. A main reason why it is important to make sure your Facebook is appropriate is because future employers may be looking at your profile if it is not private. It is doubtful that an employer will want to hire someone who has multiple photographs of them drinking alcohol or partying excessively. I read about a gentleman who updated his “status” and in it stated that he was not going to work because he was still “trashed”. This was not a smart move because one of his coworkers had access to his Facebook page and tattled on him, and he had bad consequences to face. It is also important to not post negative ideas or feelings about your current job or about working in general, even if you are just joking.

I believe that one’s age definitely affects the content and professional aspect of their Facebook. Younger Facebook users, possibly high school aged, are more likely to be less conscious of what they post and are much more naive. They do not always fully think about who may be looking at their profile and what consequences they may face. I believe that younger users are more likely to post provocative photos as an attempt to gain attention. Older users, in later college years or after, are much more conscious of what they post on their Facebook, one reason being because they are aware of the dangers of the internet and consequences. They realize that their current or future employer may be able to view their profile, as well as family members and other people of importance in their life. They realize that what they post does indeed matter, and that people may judge them by the information they see.

Not only can irresponsibility on Facebook hurt your reputation and professional life, it can also just be plain dangerous. An article by Laurie Chanigo has stated that certain studies have revealed that many people feel a “false sense of security” when they use their Facebook, which leads them to reveal too much information about themselves and their lives. This becomes unsafe due to online predators, or people who dislike or want to harm you. People give them the opportunity to do so by posting their contact information, like address and phone number, and even where they work. We live in a time where it is getting difficult to hold onto a lot of our privacy, so it is important that we do not freely give out information that could potentially cause us harm.

An article in the Michigan Journal by Raquel Parks points out that social networking sites like Facebook are not intended to be a place to “expose” yourself. She says they are “meant for self-expression and communication” which I completely agree with. Facebook users today, especially younger people feel much too comfortable putting anything and everything about themselves on their page. They need to tone it down and begin thinking about the consequences of their actions, and learn that there are ways to have a fun, but professional Facebook. How you portray yourself matters, and more people are watching than you may think.

The Dangers of too Much Information in Your Status Updates on Facebook. Computer Weekly. 22 October2008. 4 November 2008. http://www.computerweekly.com/blogs/editors-blog/2008/10/the-dangers-of-too-much-inform.html

Charnigo, Laurie. Checking Out Facebook.com: The Impact of a Digital Trend on Academic Libraries.

Parks, Raquel. “Common Sense is Key to Internet Safety”. The Michigan Journal. 4 November 2008.

Project #2 questions

1. Explain, in detail, how Facebook has kept you in contact with others. Explain why you prefer to use Facebook over other mediums of communication for keeping in touch with certain people. Agnes

2. In your opinion, what is appropriate behavior and content for your Facebook; and how does your age affect this? What creates a "professional" looking Facebook? Jordan

3. According to the article, how do most librarians feel about Facebook? Why do they feel this way? Do you believe there is such a thing as Facebook addiction that causes people to use Facebook from the library? Amouna

4. According to the article, what are the advantages and disadvantages of Facebook; do you agree or disagree? Allison



My question for the paper: According to the article, what are the advantages and disadvantages of Facebook; do you agree or disagree?

Experiment:

Survey of how many people actually go to the library to check out books, and do research. Then, break it down and see how many are graduate and undergraduate students.

random blog assignment

I'll start off by saying that I am a news junkie. I'm pretty much obsessed with cnn.com and clickondetroit.com. I feel the need to check cnn.com in the morning, sometimes even before I check Facebook, which is saying a lot. Although I do read the main stories, I always make sure to check the “weird news” section at clickondetroit.com right away. It always entertains me and either gives me a laugh, or makes me feel better about myself to see how stupid some people are. I recently got made fun of for reading an article about a man who ate a 15 pound burger in 4 hours. Useless information? I think so.

I really get into some of the stories I follow. A recent one, that has actually been going on for about three months, is the Caylee Anthony case. Now this really pisses me off. For those that are not familiar with the story, I’ll sum it up. Casey is the mother of 3 year old Caylee. One day in July, she randomly confesses that her little girl Caylee has been missing for a month. A MONTH. It took her a month to tell police that her daughter is missing. Obviously this is suspicious. Most parents would be freaking out, but she was not concerned. There are photos of her at clubs doing “hot body contests” just 2 days after Caylee went missing. After she told the police about her missing daughter, she obviously got questioned a lot. All of her stories conflicted, and apparently she has a past of being a pathological liar. To make a long story short, she has been in and out of jail, because the cops have reason to believe that there was a body in the trunk of her car. As of now I’m pretty sure she’s back in jail and they finally have enough to attempt to convict her. I know that there is a legal process that must be followed, but it’s frustrating because it’s so obvious that she killed her daughter, and it sickens me. There are so many other things that she could have done if she did not want her daughter. What actually makes someone murder their child? I know it’s disturbing to think about, but watching too much Nancy Grace makes me think about these things. If you don’t know who Nancy Grace is, she’s a crazy blonde lawyer who has a show on one of the news channels. She can be pretty obnoxious but it’s great.

Another story that I recently heard that irritates me is about how at Western Carolina University, someone wrapped a dead bear cub in Obama signs and put it on campus. What the heck? I guess my point about this story is that I admire people who feel strongly about their political beliefs, but instead of committing a violent act, why not try to change people’s minds by educating them about why you believe your belief is correct? Doing something absurd like these people did at Western Carolina University is not going to change anyone’s mind about who they plan to vote for. I know that the issue of who our next president will be is an important one, but I cannot wait until after November 4th.

Activity #3 - question 4

Vaidhyanathan is wrong in categorizing certain groups as always more “digitally adept” than others, and sounds condescending in some areas of his argument.

Vaidhyanathan states in his article that privileged socioeconomic groups are mostly digitally adept, which I agree with for a few reasons. Young people who are born and raised in wealthier families and attend schools in wealthier areas are more likely to know how to use technological tools simply because they can afford them. Schools in wealthier areas have more computers and tools and are more likely to be able to spend more one on one time with them in school because they have sufficient funding to purchase enough to go around. They are more likely to have instructors who know a lot about them and will teach the children. I have cousins that were raised in wealthy areas and their schools always had a large amount of new computers and tools. I noticed growing up how they always knew more than I did about using computers and claimed that they had learned those skills in school, while I always just knew the basic skills. Wealthier families also have the luxury of being able to purchase certain items for their children like ipods, newer model cell phones, mp3 players, and computers so they are able to use them and learn about them in their free time as well. Obviously, a child who owns an ipod or computer will know more about them than a child who does not own one. Although it is not fair to lower income families, higher socioeconomic groups are more digitally adept because they have the advantage of being able to purchase them.

Vaidhyanathan also argues that young English speaking people are more digitally adept than others, which I disagree with. This seems condescending because he offers no evidence or reason for making this claim. Japan is a more technologically advanced country than the United States is. Therefore, their young people are more digitally adept than young American people simply because their country is ahead of us in that area, and they most likely are not English speaking. Most young people in the United States are English speaking, so if Vaidhyanathan is only speaking of this country than he is correct, however, if he is making this generalization about the whole world, he is incorrect.

I believe that Vaidhyanathan?s statement about white people being more digitally adept is accurate on some levels, but not entirely. I know plenty of people who are of different races than me and are much more digitally adept and often teach me things about computers and other high tech items at school and work. I think this issue goes back to whether they live in wealthier socioeconomic areas and their financial situation. Whites tend to have higher incomes than other races in many areas, so this disparity could be a reason for this statement. People who are well off financially are more likely to buy certain technological items and therefore become more digitally adept, regardless of their race.

Vaidhyanathan states that males are also more digitally adept than women, which I disagree with. Women are just as good at technological tasks as men are; they just are not always given the opportunity in the workplace to show it. According to a study by Arenz and Miheon, when children are young they somehow gain the impression that computers are more masculine than feminine, and the more that males continue with computer courses, the more they feel that their computer skills are superior to those of females. This may cause females to have less confidence in their technological skills, which causes them to not continue or pursue an education in computer or technological fields. Therefore, in the workplace, one is more likely to see a male than a female in computer oriented jobs because from childhood, society wrongly expresses that males are more digitally adept. For example, at my job most of the computer technicians are male, yet I know of women that I work with who would do a better job than the male technicians.

Vaidhyanathan stereotypes certain groups of people which I do not agree with. I do believe that socioeconomic status has a lot to do with technological knowledge, but it is not accurate to assume that particular groups like whites, males, or English speaking are categorized into digitally proficient.

Works Cited:

Canada , Katherine. Educational Technology Research and Development. Ariel. 2007. 13 Oct 2008.

http://www.arielpcs.com/resources/articles/etrd.shtml

Project 1 Reflection

I have never been an avid recycler or one who thinks about it very much. However, recently I have become very aware of how much plastic is wasted, the problems it causes, and what I can do about it. With the popularity and talk of “going green” and saving the environment, I decided that this topic was an appropriate one. I chose to create a six slide power point presentation discussing why I began noticing the problem and what we can do to help it. I chose to only discuss plastic issues because I wanted to keep it simple since I was only creating six slides.

The first slide in my power point simply introduces my topic and tells how I have noticed how wasteful people can be and while there are many people who are making the problem worse, there is also a growing population of people who are trying very hard to help but cutting back on their plastic use in order to help the environment. I chose to use only green font on the first slide to convey the point that my presentation include a lot about recycling and why it is important for our environment and for our health.

My second slide is about excessive packaging. I first began noticing excessive plastic packaging while at work. When we get boxes and packages from the shipping department, items are constantly wrapped with way too much plastic. Small and unbreakable toys like whistles will be wrapped in multiple layers of plastic and bubble wrap and then placed in separate plastic bags. Stuffed animals are also placed in individual plastic bags. I find this ridiculous, so I began saving the all the bubble wrap that I could from the packages so we can reuse it in the store. On the second slide I also included some food items that people have reported to have the most unnecessary packaging, like Lunchables. I included a picture of a bunch of plastic packaging.

The third slide is about plastic bags. I stated how I now ask every customer if they want a bag before just giving them one, and I found that nearly half of the customers say no. I also included various facts about plastic bags like the fact that if one person uses five plastic bags per week, in a year they use 260 bags. I included a picture of a piece of land covered in plastic bags and trash, and an image of a person whose torso says “say no to plastic bags”.

My fourth slide concerns tote bags and what a big help they are. I have noticed a huge increase in the amount of people who use tote bags and who encourage others to do so as well. It is good to see that stores like Meijer and WalMart sell these tote bags and encourage people to use them instead of plastic bags. I included some facts on this slide like how plastic bags do not biodegrade, but photodegrade, which means that they slowly break down into tiny pieces that contaminate the environment.

The fifth slide talks about plastic water bottles and how it is not that hard to cut back or even stop use of them. I used to use them constantly and even throw them away in the trash rather than recycle them. If we are lucky enough to live in an area like southeast Michigan where the tap water is safe, that is what we should be drinking. I included some images of plastic water bottles on this page, as well as some facts including how bottled water is not tested as much as tap water is.

My last slide of the presentation is all about very simple things we can do to cut back on our plastic use. I added an image of a recycling container and an image of ziplock bags. I stated how we are much more likely to recycle if there are recycling containers in sight alongside trash cans, so it does make a difference to encourage places to add recycling containers. I included tips like to buy food in bulk, and invest in a Britta water purifier to clean your tap water if you are concerned that it is harmful.

I am glad that I chose this topic for my project because I believe that if people realize that there are many simple things they can do to help, they will be more likely to make an effort. It does not take much to make a difference.

sources:

http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/149/1/Impact-of-convenience-packaging.html

http://earth911.org/plastics/facts-about-plastic-bags

http://ezinearticles.com/?Bottled-water-Harms-You-And-the-Planet&id=1176232

Activity #2

I chose Belief by John Mayer for this activity because it it one of my favorite songs and I believe that a lot of his statements in the song are true. It was hard for me to decide at first which of his songs to chose because many of them have a great meaning to me, but when I remembered this one I knew it was the one. As a young person, I think that many of my peers may relate to this song as well.

I think that in this song, John Mayer is trying to explain that the reason for many of the struggles and conflicts between people are sometimes simply because the sides have different beliefs, and it is not always possible to change someone's beliefs. For example, he says that no one changes their mind just from "paint on a sign" or from someone just yelling "loud one time". Everyone has their own beliefs and not many people are willing to give them up, hence the line "Everyone believes in how they think it ought to be... and they're not going easily". Another line in the song says "We're never gonna stop the war, we're never gonna beat this if belief is what we're fighting for". This could be applied to the current war our country is fighting because I believe that it is true that we cannot win the war if we begin to fight for "belief" and to try to change the beliefs of others.

This song means something to me because the lyrics are powerful and it tells how powerful beliefs can be and what they can do to people, like put "a hundred thousand children in the sand" or a "folded flag inside his mother's hand”. I can also relate to it because I know that when I see someone being obnoxious about trying to change people's beliefs, like about the upcoming election for example, it definitely does not change my mind. I think that many others feel the same way as well, and also appreciate John Mayer's lyrics.

I changed the font of quite a few of these lyrics to try to express what they mean to me and possibly to others. I changed the word "belief" throughout the song to a light blue curvy italic font to express that beliefs are intimate values that people hold. The fact that I put the words “one time” in very small letters shows how insignificant it is for someone to yell something loud just one time. The phrase “they’re not going easily” is in a bold font with capital letters to show that people are not going to change their beliefs very easily. For the phrase “like punching underwater” I used a small and curvy blue font which is hard to read to signify that it is difficult to punch someone underwater. I believe the chorus of the song is the most important part. For the one of the phrases, “we’re never gonna win the world” I bolded the word “never” and used red white and blue font for “win the world” to express that this part of the song could apply to our country. The last section of the song is fairly sad, because it talks about how beliefs and standing up for them can cause horrible things. For example, one line reads “what puts a folded flag inside his mother’s hand? Belief can…” I put the word “flag” in red and blue writing to show it may possibly represent a fallen soldier.

I think that the changes I made to the font of the lyrics help to express the meaning of them and show the power of belief. Making these changes also made me think more deeply about the words and the song in general and what its purpose is.

Project #1

For my project, I plan to do a 6 slide power point presentation. The topic I chose is simply how every day plastic products are used too much and how they harm the environment, but also how I have noticed an increase in people trying to cut down on their usage. I chose this topic because where I work, when we receive boxes from shipping with items to sell, I always notice how unbreakable items are wrapped in ridiculous amounts of plastic.

After I became more aware of how most plastic bags are not biodegradable, at work I began asking every customer if they wanted or needed a bag instead of just giving it to them. I was surprised at the amount of people who say no, when normally they would have taken one if I had just given it to them. Pictures that I plan on using will include stacks of plastic bags, and small items wrapped in large amounts of plastic.

I plan on explaining in the power point how I noticed how people use too much plastic, but also how I have been noticing more people carrying large tote bags when they shop so they do not have to use plastic bags, so I may include a picture of someone using a tote bag. I chose this topic because I never really thought there was an effort-less way for me to help this problem, but now I see that I can in very simple and easy ways.

Screen Capture

My screen capture shows Activity 1 in progress, my Facebook window up, and AIM on the side. I chose this screen because at first I had a little difficulty with Activity 1 and what I needed to do. I have never had a blog before so I was slightly confused at first. My Facebook window was also up because it always serves as a great distraction from my homework. I am also logged on to AIM on this screen because this also serves as a distraction for me. As you can tell, I rarely finish a task in one try at home because I allow myself to multitask on other things that are not as important.

Composing changes shape and is very different in digital spaces. Working on tasks on a computer is usually very different from hand writing things. For example, using a word processor is different from writing it by hand because spell check instantly highlights any possible errors and counts words. Emailing also makes a big difference if I were to have questions regarding an assignment. It makes it possible to send a message immediately. In addition to that, rather than drawing out pictures, we can simply browse the internet and paste them on our piece of work.

We can better understand the digital composing process by using it more and more and by viewing others’ work. With the internet and computers being such a huge part of the world and growing every day, it is very important that we do our best to become adapted, aware of, and appreciate and recognize the digital composing process. Making sure to keep up to date on new additions and advances will make a big difference in our knowledge.

Activity # 1

4. The image I chose tags for was the picture of the peep. Tags that I would choose for this image would be peeps, easter, candy, rabbit, bunny, french, purple rabbit, holiday, and animal.





6. The Alta Vista logo is professional and futuristic looking. It looks like it would be reliable, though you cannot judge something like that by it's look. The Yahoo logo is energetic looking because of the exclamation point and the shape of the red scattered letters. The Google logo is colorful and attractive. I like the Yahoo logo the best because of its energy and active look. The color red stands out and is attractive. I like the Alta Vista logo the least because it does not catch your eye like the others do. It is simple and boring.


13. I would advise people conducting research on the web to be careful what they believe and to do careful research before deciding if something is legitimate. I would tell them to look for sarcasm and jokes that may mean that a certain site is not a serious one. Just because something looks professional does not always mean that it is. It is also important to look for a bibliography or a list of their sources to see where they got their information and if it is credible. Contact information if available may also be helpful in deciding if the site is valid. Using advice on the help page of a search engine may provide additional help. When evaluating visual content, you should look for background information on photographs and copywright information. Look for the name of the photographer as well. Also trust your own eyes when looking at it to see if it looks like it has been changed or edited somehow.



Mini-Glossary

Representation (noun) is "the act of representing or the state of being represented" (http://www.answers.com/topics/representation). It is usually a symbol or design that stands for something else like another idea, thing, person, etc. Example: a heart symbol is a representation of love.










To design (verb) is to create and conceive something in your mind, and/or then express it in a physical form. It is planning and preparing something artistically. An example would be deciding and imagining an image to draw, and/or actually drawing it out.














A design (noun) is an artistic and visual representation of an idea. It is something you can see that is created by someone like a painting or drawing. An example would be the painting Starry Night.













Seeing is the act of viewing a fact and observing something visually. It is a visual perception. You see something and you may remember the image in your head later. An example would be simply seeing and watching a person walk by.











A document design is the way someone creates texts or compositions, combining the use of words and pictures to effectively communicate a message. Someone could use Microsoft Word, Paint, Power Point, Excel, etc. An example would be someone creating a power point presentation including text and photographs to provide information or persuade someone about an idea.

Composition Choice : Lucky

The composition I chose to write about is the cover of a memoir called "Lucky" by Alice Sebold. The cover for the current version I own was created in 2002. ALice reveals the story of how she was brutally beaten and raped (not pleasant, I know) near Syracuse University when she was a freshman in college. She titled the book Lucky because a police officer told her she was lucky because her rapist usually killed his victims, though she did not feel very lucky. The cover of the book is ironic because it has a picture of a rabbit's foot on it, which is a symbol of luck.