Chapter 7 Technology Blog

The textbook discusses assistive devices for PCs to help individuals with visual impairment. Research and post apps that Google and other developers are creating to help visually-impaired users use smartphones.

There are many apps which can help users with poor vision use their smartphones more effectively. By changing screens, making the usually visual reminders audible and alerting users the smartphone can be used effectively by the visually impaired. 

Apps for the visually impaired:
Voice Brief- This app can read your emails, Twitter, facebook posts etc. out loud for the visually impaired making it easier to get your work and socializing done. 
Alarmed- An app which works with Voice Over and keeps the user organized with alarms and schedules. 
VisionSim- Can help Iphone users see better by changing the screens to suit the visual impairment making it able to be read by users with low vision.
("Apps For The Blind And Visually Impaired: iPad/iPhone Apps AppList," n.d.)

The textbook gives the example of the OLPC project as one method used to lessen the digital divide. Post examples of other products and ideas that are emerging that could help lessen the global digital divide.32. The EPA estimates that the e-waste generated by digital devices produces more than 2.5 million tons every year. Research and post "green" initiatives to promote sustainability and reduce the amount of e-waste.

While OLPC is attempting to close in on the digital divide by providing laptops to children in developing countries in order to teach them about technology, there are still other ideas for bridging that gap. Such ideas include reducing the price of internet access so that it is available to everyone, and developing classes to teach people how to use computers and the internet at local public libraries.(Martinez, 2012) Another group providing computers and internet for low income families within their homes is Network For Good. This is a project similar to OLPC. In addition to the problem of restricted access to computers there becomes an issue of excess electronics causing pollution.("Network for Good :: Bridging the Digital Divide," n.d.) As technology is every changing electronics quickly become out of date and must be disposed of. There are many initiative to recycle old electronics such a drop boxes at local stores and programs like Recycle Bank which allow you to turn in your electronics for points. Some others give cash for electronics as well. Another idea to reduce e-waste is to buy green electronics and energy star computers and accessories.  (De Asis, 2010)

References

Apps For The Blind And Visually Impaired: iPad/iPhone Apps AppList. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://appadvice.com/applists/show/apps-for-the-visually-impaired

De Asis, R. (2010, April 21). Tips to Reduce Your e-Waste. Retrieved from http://www.womensconference.org/tips-to-reduce-your-e-waste/

Martinez, J. (2012, April 5). Five lessons bridging digital divide. Retrieved from http://www.knightfoundation.org/blogs/knightblog/2012/4/5/five-lessons-bridging-digital-divide/

Network for Good :: Bridging the Digital Divide. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.networkforgood.org/topics/education/digitaldivide/

Chapter 5 - Technology Blog Post

The Arab Spring has been called the bloggers revolution.  What role did social media play in this revolution?

The Arab Spring was a political uprising in 2011 in the Middle East. There have been studies done to show that the influence of social media on sites such as Facebook and Twitter across the USA influenced people in other countries in the Middle East to think more seriously about democracy and freedom. Twitter showed the highest number of posts regarding uprisings and revolutions to prove that democracy and freedom are on the minds of people in these areas just as it is for the people of the United States. Posts grew in numbers from mere thousands to hundreds of thousands in a very short time period just on Twitter alone. YouTube also played a critical role with videos going viral in a very short period of time which were also proof that this is what the people of these countries hungered for.
 (O'Donnell, 2011)


Lindsey Stone was fired over a picture she posted on her Facebook page.  Is it fair for 30,000 individuals, most of them probably strangers, to have the power to determine the course of an individual's life and livelihood based on one poor choice made on a social networking site?

I do not agree with employers getting into the personal business of their employees. They should not be "trolling" their Facebook pages looking for something to fire them for. If a customer or someone who was threatened or offended by a post made, I believe it can be brought up to the employee but firing should not be an option. It is a very fine line on this thought however because in this day and age everyone is offended by something and they know they can use it to hurt people and get their way. This world has become entirely too sensitive and unfortunately it is used in a selfish manner. In Lindsey's case, this photo should not have been brought up to her employer as it is her personal business. Beyond that we are protected by freedom of speech and protest so if this was something she felt she wanted to do by "disrespecting" the Arlington National park, then she has the right constitutionally. 
(Sieczkowski, 2012)

Your online reputation can make or break you.  In fact, college admissions officers and prospective employers look at your digital presence.  Do you monitor your digital presence?  Can you get rid of your digital footprint?  Research and provide tips for managing your online reputation.

I personally often forget to monitor my Facebook. I do not subscribe to Twitter and I do not post to YouTube etc. I do occasionally forget that I can not get rid of the things I have posted however I do have a profile which is not searchable or readable by anyone who is not my friend. I believe this is important, I also have my daughter's account set-up this way.I do think it is important to have a professional page such as Linked-In. This can be something to point potential employers or college admins to without putting your personal life out there for them to see. There is not a true way to get rid of your footprint. Unfortunately even if you delete something it can be cached by Google and Facebook will always have it available on their servers. Once it is out there it can never disappear. There are a couple good ways to help monitor your online rep without having to think about it daily. Google has a personal data alert for people who have accounts with them. There are also companies like reputations.com and Technorati who will monitor this for you 24/7. These are paid services though so you must have a serious commitment to needing to be monitored in order to use those. I personally would not pay when I am not employed or worried about anyone searching me. 
(O'Donnell, n.d.)

References

O'Donnell, C. (2011, September 12). New study quantifies use of social media in Arab Spring | UW Today. Retrieved November 23, 2014, from http://www.washington.edu/news/2011/09/12/new-study-quantifies-use-of-social-media-in-arab-spring/

O'Donnell, A. (n.d.). How to Monitor and Protect Your Online Reputation. Retrieved November 23, 2014, from http://netsecurity.about.com/od/advancedsecurity/a/Protecting-Your-Online-Reputation.htm?utm_term=your%20online%20reputation&utm_content=p1-main-1-title&utm_medium=sem&utm_source=msn&utm_campaign=adid-f6f33ac5-4005-4cb7-9bd4-e4f2205c9b35-0-ab_msb_ocode-4516&ad=semD&an=msn_s&am=broad&q=your%20online%20reputation&dqi=&o=4516&l=sem&qsrc=999&askid=f6f33ac5-4005-4cb7-9bd4-e4f2205c9b35-0-ab_msb

Sieczkowski, C. (2012, November 20). Lindsey Stone, Plymouth Woman, Takes Photo At Arlington National Cemetery, Causes Facebook Fury. Retrieved November 23, 2014, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/11/20/lindsey-stone-facebook-photo-arlington-national-cemetery-unpaid-leave_n_2166842.html

Blog #2 - Chapter 3

Blog #2 - Chapter 3

In watching the video I learned a lot about how it might feel to be treated differently because of my race. It can be a barrier for people to be treated this way and to have these conceptions of themselves when it comes to being successful and productive in life. This can be both a personal and social barrier if it is felt over time. In the book a personal barrier is defined as individual factors that get in the way of our success. Such examples may be our self esteem and what we believe we can do. Social barriers on the other hand are defined as barriers created by society. (Diversity Consciousness, Bucher, pg. 62) While I believe that the kids in this video were learning more about social barriers, it seemed over time it became personal because they came to believe this stereotype/. The thing I liked most about this video is that the children really seemed to get a grasp on what was happening and kept them with them as they grew up. I was not surprised at how the kids treated each other. Children are very much products of what they are taught by the adults in their lives. I believe even at that age they have a good capacity for knowing what is right and wrong in treatment of others. I think I will remember most how the teacher actually taught the kids. It angers me that these days the kids do not seem to be taught in this fashion. They are being taught to pass tests and not taught to live their lives in an authentic matter. I truly wish my kids could be taught this way. There really was not anything I did not enjoy about this video, it was very insightful and eye opening. 

References:

PBS. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/divided/etc/view.html Richard D. Bucher, Patricia L. 

Bucher (Fourth Edition). Diversity Consciousness

Blog #1

Assignment #1

It means something different to everyone to be an American. This country was built on immigrants arriving here and setting up a new home for themselves. While we may have been born here, we are still part of a culture of mixed groups and a wide variety of races, ages, cultures and backgrounds. I do not think that Ms. America represents America as a whole in any shape or form except for the fact that she is living in America. The current Ms. America is Indian American. She is not Representative of the US according to our text because she is a minority here. According to our text non-white races are only 3.5% of the population. (Diversity Consciousness, Bucher, pg. 4)

In researching zipskinny.com, I compared my zipcode (21015) to 21237 and found the following information. I live in Bel Air so I researched zipcode 2015 and compared it to 21237. I found that my zipcode is closer to the numbers you may have found in a census from many decades ago while 21237 has a set of demographics which look more like the 2010 census in our readings.  (Diversity Consciousness, Bucher, pg. 4) Bel Air has a 92.8% white non-hispanic group while Rosedale has a 76.7% rate. 

The U.S. demographics for the 2050 are not as different as I expected but still yet different. There will be more women than men in the workforce as opposed to 2000 when there were more men. There will also be 53.4% White non-Hispanic workers down from 73.1% in 2000 where as the Hispanics in the workforce will go up about 13%. Finally another notable difference is the increase in workers over age 55 by about 7%. (Diversity Consciousness, Bucher, pg. 8)

References:

Richard D. Bucher, Patricia L. Bucher (Fourth Edition). Diversity Consciousness

ZIPskinny demographic information. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://zipskinny.com/zipcompare.php