Happiest Online

Teenagers are referred to as digital natives. They spend a lot of time using digital communication. This week’s article looks at a study of how digital communication affects the psychological and neurological behavior of young people. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.

The study took place in the UK. Do you think that the results are representative of the rest of the world? Are you part of the 75% that cannot live without the Internet? When do you feel happiest, when you are online or at some other time? Do you agree that “In the future … the need and demand for advice through the internet will become even more critical.”? Were you surprised that 43% of the people being interviewed have known someone who has been a victim of an online scam? Do you know someone who has been the victim of an online scam? Are your visual-spatial skills highly developed? What should be done to provide guidance and support for the “in-between group?”

Survey Article

Walking with a Cell Phone

Using a cell phone is not difficult. Walking is not difficult. Combining the two should not be difficult. But apparently it is. This week’s article addresses the growing number of accidents that are caused by distracted walking. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.

What do you think about the number of pedestrians who go to emergency rooms each year because of accidents that they have while using a cell phone? What do you think about the percentage of people age 16 to 30 who injured themselves? How does this relate to their ability to multitask? What did you think about the study with the clown on a unicycle? Have you ever had an accident while walking and using a cell phone? If so, how did it happen? How did you feel?

Walking with a Cell Phone Article

Hacking for Fun and Profit

Previously, we read about problems that Google had with hackers that they thought originated in China. This week we look more closely at hackers in China and how they operate. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.

Is hacking ever justified? If so, under what conditions? What is your assessment of Majia? Is what he does justified in any way? Would you like to try hacking? What would you do? What would you do if you knew that a friend was hacking in a way that was obviously wrong in a serious way? What do you think the penalty should be for hacking on a level that does not cause major problems and does not involve stealing?

Hacking Article

Dexterous Digits in the Thumb Tribe

Texting is popular among people who are comfortable using their cell phones for communication. With this popularity, proficiency becomes important. This week’s article is about an international competition in texting. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.

How many times each day do you send text messages? At what point would you consider the number of text messages being sent each day to be excessive? Are you part of the thumb tribe? What is the most unusual situation in which you have sent a text message? How often do you send text messages while in your classes? How important is it to text quickly? What would you recommend people do to improve their texting speed? Should texting be taught in school instead of keyboarding? When did you begin using a cell phone? Respond to the following quotation: “When you talk, you often blabber. If you text, you think more coherently because you have to make yourself understood in short but logical sentences.”

Dexterous Digits Article

Too Much TV and Obsolete Things

This week we will look at two different articles. The first one is about children having difficulty speaking because of their exposure to television. The other article is about things that have become obsolete. Go to the links below and read both articles. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the articles, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.

Which of the statistics in the article about speech surprised you? Do you agree that the background noise from TV makes it hard for children to understand their parents’ or older siblings’ speech? How much television should children be allowed to watch? If you had a much younger sibling, what would you do to promote his/her language development?

In the article about obsolete things, which of the obsolete things mentioned are still being used in your house? Is the article wrong about any of the items in its predictions? What do you think will become obsolete in the next decade?

TV Noise Article

Obsolete Things Article

Google in China

Google’s presence in China has been controversial since it agreed to cooperate with the Chinese government in its Internet censorship. This week’s article looks at how things have changed and what Google is considering. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.

Was Google’s initial arrangement with the Chinese government appropriate? If you were negotiating with the Chinese government to have Google available in China, what conditions would you accept and what conditions would you refuse? Who do you think was responsible for hacking Google’s computers and why would they make such an attack? Was Google’s response to the attacks the best choice for that situation? What would you have done? Respond to the following quote: “It’s not Google that’s withdrawing from China, it’s China that’s withdrawing from the world.”

Google Article

Viruses and Social Networking Sites

Social networking websites are very popular. So are malicious programs that hijack people’s accounts. This week’s article looks at how this happens and the impact that it has. Go to the link below and read the article. Write a reflective comment that shows you have read the article, expresses your views, and addresses my questions.

Have you ever had an experience like those described in the article or do you know someone who has had such an experience? If so, how was the account compromised and what happened? Why do you think that people hack other people’s accounts? What advice would you give to avoid having this happen? What would you recommend doing if this does happen?

Social Networking Article