Assignment #2: The Pledge

• I pledge to not rely on my phone as the only resource for information.

• I pledge to use less technology towards the end of the night, and to get a healthy amount of sleep.

• I pledge to find other activities that are equally entertaining, but better for my body and brain.

• I pledge to use technology for a good use like communication or finding important information when it is needed more often, rather than unimportant reasons, However, using technology for entertainment is fine.

• I pledge to stop using technology at unimportant times, for example, when I am spending time with people.

Assignment #1: One Mississippi

1. How did seeing these distances in meter sticks make you feel about looking away from the road when driving and why?

After this assignment, it was very shocking because with the distance covered in one second any kind of accident could happen! The speed most commonly traveled on the highway was especially shocking because when you're going so fast and cover so much distance in a single second, it's quite scary. Now, whenever I am able to drive, I will remember this assignment and know that looking away from the road while driving isn't the best idea.

2. Give one reason this commercial is effective and one reason why it may not change anything.

This commercial is definitely effective in the way that it has a huge shock factor and it definitely scares the people who watch it into not texting and driving. After I watched it a while ago I definitely remembered it very vividly and now know that even for an emergency text or if you look away for a second you're distracted! If you really need to text someone while you're driving get someone with you to do it for you or pull over/ It's definitely the safest bet for everyone involved! However, some people may not have been affected by this commercial. If this is the case it may be because they are just irresponsible people in general. Some people will see absolutely no problem with texting and driving because they haven't crashed their car yet, but they don't realize that what they're doing can affect others as well.

3. Think of an invention that can help keep drivers from being distracted and summarize it here.

An intervention that I believe would be extremely helpful to stop distracted driving would be to show distracted drivers how other people's driving habits have affected others. For example, if someone was seeking help for a loved one who was a dangerous, distracted driver, they could contact this intervention group and other people who had lost loved ones to distracted driving or they themselves have had car accidents due to distracted driving would be able to teach them what their actions could do! This type of intervention would definitely scare the people who are seeking help, but hopefully it would be able to scare them enough for them to end their habit.

4. The next time you are in a car with a driver who is speeding or repeatedly distracted do you think you will speak up and attempt to correct the errors? Why or why not?

Personally, it depends on who the driver is. For me, if the driver is someone who I trust very much and know they completely understand the speed limit and rules against texting and driving I probably wouldn't say anything. In that case, I wouldn't feel in danger and I don't believe that they would be in too much danger either because I would know that person enough that it was extremely important or something else like that. Other than that, if it was someone who I wasn't very close with, I would probably speak up just to let them know that I don't care if they do it on their own, but not to do it when I'm in the car with them.

Journal Entry #4 (Netiquette)

For this assignment, we learned about the appropriate etiquette and the unspoken rules of the internet. This assignment was very interesting and quite fun to research! However, the most surprising part of the assignment was when we researched different companies that hide scary information in their Terms of Service Agreements that you've most likely agreed to. Many major social media websites take the photos you post and own them after they're posted, and even companies like Netflix and Amazon scam the people who use it as well as other companies that require you to give them your credit card information when you sign up for a free trail. Some of these companies will take in your information and after the free trial is over, you will not be notified so they end up just taking money from your account! I think that internet users should definitely concern themselves with the Terms of Service Agreements of different companies but not for all of them. For major companies, I believe that it's less of an issue because everyone who had accepted to it would be angry and the company could suffer. However, with smaller, suspicious companies that you have never heard of before, I think that people on the internet should definitely concern themselves with them and read them thoroughly.

Personally, I would rate my online behavior as a 6/10 because when I learned about the different Terms of Service Agreements that I had agreed to, there was a lot of them! At this point, I don't really care too much about what I've agreed to online because I just assume that nothing bad will ever happen to me online (even though I should never assume that I still do). One thing that I can take away from this assignment that could help me improve my online behavior would be to read the Terms of Service Agreements better and understand what I'm agreeing to. If I do this, it would make my internet experience safer and I would know more about what I was signing up for!

When it comes to young people and netiquette, I believe that the biggest issue is cyberbullying. Cyberbullying ties in to netiquette because it regards the inappropriate behavior of someone on the internet and among teenagers it's very common. There isn't exactly anything that we can do to stop cyberbullying entirely,  but if teenagers looked in to what netiquette is and how to behave properly on the internet some of it could be reduced! 

Online Discussion Boards (Assignment #3)

1. How are many of the guidelines similar to how we expect other people to act if they were face to face? Explain
The majority of the guidelines are similar to how we expect others to act when speaking face to face because many of them are regarding how you should respond politely to comments online. For example, saying "please" and "thank you" is important when asking questions in person and also online!

2. Cite at least four guidelines that you feel are extremely helpful and necessary when interacting with other in an online discussion. Explain your choices.
The four guidelines that I feel are extremely helpful and necessary when interacting with others in online discussions are: 

 

1. "Run a spelling and grammar check before posting anything to the discussion board". I feel that this guideline for proper etiquette for the internet is extremely important because a lot of people are in a rush to argue their opinion on a public discussion board and sometime they forget to check if they have made a fool of themselves or not! The incorrect spelling of a word or incorrect grammar can lose an argument in many cases, especially if the comment you've posted is public. To prevent this, I believe that taking an extra minute before sharing your opinion in an argument is worth it. 
2. "Always remember to say "Please" and "Thank you" when soliciting help". I feel that this guideline is very important when commenting on a public discussion board because it makes a difference in the kind of person that you appear to be and it's also just polite to do in general. This is definitely an important rule to remember while commenting online, or even looking for any sort of help online because it's the same has having proper manners in real life. 
3. "Don't write anything that sounds angry or sarcastic, even as a joke". I feel that this guideline is one of the most important ones on this list because in many cases, people will make jokes using complete sarcasm and it may make them come off as a horrible person, and they may even be quoted on that statement/opinion in the future! It's not the smartest idea, so to prevent this, it's safest to ignore the topic and leave the discussion as it is and not post a sarcastic comment with no purpose, but if you feel that it's needed, read over the comment before posting it to see if you're comment comes off as serious or sarcastic. 
4. "Don't badmouth others or call them stupid". I feel that this guideline is important to remember when using any type of messaging program on the internet because cyberbullying is becoming more and more of an issue and although people are doing what they can to help prevent it, there's a high chance that it will never not exist. So, to prevent a major issue from happening, it's smarter to keep quiet about certain thoughts and opinions you may have that could offend someone or hurt their feelings in any way. 

3. Have you ever made comments on an online discussion board? If so, was it a positive or negative experience? Discuss.
Yes, I have made comments on an online discussion board before and it was a pretty positive experience for me! I often ask questions on public discussion boards because I find that it's very simple to get multiple responses quickly and it's usually more simple than writing out an entire email to someone who may not answer for a few days.

4. Do you think you would enjoy a course where you could discuss issues online with other students? Explain why or why not.
Yes, I think that I would enjoy a course where I could discuss issues online with other students because it would be quite interesting to see certain opinions on certain topics and discussing different topics from different points of view.

Do As I Say (Assignment #2)

Five reasons that make me choose the right way of doing things in a digital society are:

1. I don't steal the images or original art of other internet users because I know the consequences and it's wrong to not credit them if I do intend to use them.
2. I choose to not illegally download movies because I know that many actors and film producers have stated that they do not enjoy having their films pirated because then they do not get credited and it's also very illegal!
3. I stay away from the area of the internet that is very hidden but involves serious crimes because I know that even after entering that area of the internet it could have consequences and many videos and pictures of the crimes are never reported because of how hidden it is from the police. 
4. I choose to not say too many bad words on certain social media sites like Facebook because I am friends with some younger children from our school on there, but other websites like Tumblr and Twitter are less worrying to me because I usually keep the account very independent and more personal.
5. I choose to not share images and posts that are not mine on sharing websites like Tumblr, and rather just share them from the sources because it's not appropriate to share someones post if they are not cited as the source.

Online Standards of Service Use: (Assignment #1)

Many social media sites, television companies, and online stores use the information they retrieve from their users inappropriately and users often get scammed because they do not read the "fine print". The main issue here are the Terms of Service Agreements or Terms of Use Agreements that these major sites have that are not mandatory to be read before the user hands out their information. Most people don't bother reading them because of how long and boring they seem (including myself), but some companies hide some scary information in them! After some research, I've found five services that like to be sneaky with what their users are agreeing to.

 1. iTunes

When you sign up for an iTunes account, which is basically mandatory if you own an iPhone, you must accept the Terms of Service Agreements, but if you choose to ignore the fine print, you won't know that you're accepting their use of geo tracking. Geo tracking is Apple's way of knowing your precise location. The location data that your phone stores is sent to a hidden database file that syncs to your computer whenever you connect your phone.This means that somewhere hidden on your computer is a log of everywhere you've been with a longitude/latitude coordinate and a time stamp! Apple states that it exists to "improve our services, content and advertising" but it seems a little bit too scary to be just that. Source: http://live105.cbslocal.com/2012/02/15/6-scary-user-agreements-youve-most-likely-accepted/

 2. Messenger app by Facebook

Facebook has created an app designed for the signature messaging feature on their website, but in the beginning, when only one app existed for the same experience as they provide on the website, it was simpler! However, when they came out with Messenger, it wasn't mandatory if you wanted to use the messaging feature while using Facebook on your phone but now it is! It isn't possible to message people on Facebook with your phone without the Messenger app, so it's an essential to most people. Unfortunately, Facebook has been quite stealthy about what their users are agreeing to after downloading this new app. If you have the app, you're allowing the app to change the state of network connectivity, call phone numbers and send SMS messages record audio, and take pictures and videos, at any time, read your phone’s call log, including info about incoming and outgoing calls, read your contact data, including who you call and email and how often, read personal profile information stored on your device, access the phone features of the device, like your phone number and device ID, and get a list of accounts known by the phone, or other apps you use! Source: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-intersect/wp/2014/08/04/yes-the-facebook-messenger-app-requests-creepy-invasive-permissions-but-so-does-every-other-app/

3. Netflix/Amazon Prime

For services like Netflix and Amazon Prime that require a monthly fee often provide the consumer with a free trial, but later on, the free trail will usually notify you as it's ending so you are aware. However, if you do not read the fine print of their Terms of Service Agreements, you may have opted in for an automatic renewal of your subscription! This is especially true for Netflix and Amazon Prime that require your credit card information upon signing up for a free trial. The company hopes that you will enjoy their service enough to continue beyond the free trail, or forget that you signed up in the first place and they may proceed to take your money anyways! Source: http://www.thestreet.com/story/11375242/3/4-scary-terms-of-service-youll-click-anyway.html

 4. Twitter

The social media website Twitter is one of the most popular for its unique "tweeting" feature and the ability to share many photos in seconds and with a caption! However, their Terms of Service are hiding very important information that should be known by all of its users who chose not to read them. When you post an image to Twitter, you've agreed to allow them to sub-license that photo! Their statement reads, “By submitting, posting or displaying Content on or through the Services, you grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license (with the right to sub-license) to use, copy, reproduce, process, adapt, modify, publish, transmit, display and distribute such Content in any and all media or distribution methods (now known or later developed)."

Source: http://photofocus.com/2010/10/12/photos-on-twitter-what-you-should-know/

 5. Snapchat

The app Snapchat is a very unique form of messaging with pictures that only last up to ten seconds! However, the majority of its users don't bother to read through the long text that is the Terms of Service Agreements and just skip through to the sign-up process, even though there are a few secrets hidden by the company that you may have agreed to. The new Terms of Service Agreements states that with the images you share with your friends, they have the right to reproduce, modify and republish them and save them to their servers, specifically in relation to the "Live Story" feature! These images appear to only last for twenty four hours, but not now that they can be stolen by Snapchat so they can use them for their own purposes! After learning this, I hope that people will be more careful about what they choose to share on Snapchat and other social media sites that do this.

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/snapchats-new-scary-privacy-policy-has-left-users-outraged-2015-10-29

Journal Entry #3 (Digital Rights and Responsibilities)

For this assignment, we created our own Ten Commandments regarding digital rights and responsibilities. The assignment was actually quite fun! We were able to use "ancient language" while talking about modern technology and it was easier to understand the untold rules of the internet. The most surprising part of this assignment for me was how serious some rules should be taken. For example, downloading music and pictures illegally or using someone else's art and needing to pay them can create a huge situation out of something very small that could have been avoided if the "rules" were respected. I believe that the majority of people act responsibly on the internet, but there will always be the odd ones that decide to ruin good things for others! I think that a lot of people are using the internet responsibly because it is becoming more and more developed and professional and just a safer place in general. Social media is being used by more adults for business purposes and parents are being more cautious of their children's activity on the internet. Out of all ten commandments that I created, the most important one, in my opinion, would be "Thou shalt not use the internet for illegal activity" because it can result in horrible consequences. On the internet, there are many people who share videos of crime scenes or deaths and others run drug selling companies. This section of the web can be very dangerous to even enter if the activity done there is serious enough and the majority of these websites and videos are posted and are never reported to the police because they are so difficult to find and the poster could be anyone!

I believe that the biggest issue around digital rights and responsibilities among young people is definitely cyberbullying, and using the anonymity of the internet to cause harm to others. Teenagers tend to use the internet to share any hatred they have for a certain person because most of the time, there's nothing anyone can do about it or the victim keeps quiet about it! The act of cyberbullying can result in death which is one the worst possible consequence of any act and it has happened many times in the past. Unfortunately, I don't believe that the internet will be free of cyberbullying as a whole, but it is being taken care of in some places in the world that have made it illegal, and the people doing the bullying are being charged or, in the more serious cases, arrested.

Assignment: Digital Rights and Responsibilities

Journal #2: Digital Communication

For this assignment, we learned about the different forms of digital communication. The most surprising thing when it comes to digital communication is definitely the list of acronyms that are used on the internet. I usually use a couple of acronyms when I use digital communication but I had no idea that there were so many! Some of the acronyms make no sense and probably shouldn't be used unless the person you're talking to uses the same one because some can be very long and could mean anything if you don't already know before hand. Digital communication also includes communicating by email and we learned more about the proper way to send emails by watching a video about email etiquette. After watching this video, I learned that sending certain files that are saved as Microsoft Word documents can not always be opened by the person receiving it because they may not have the same version of Microsoft Word that you have and it will be ignored! This is especially important to know if someone is sending a digital resume via email or other important documents.

In relation to email etiquette, we learned what is meant by Blind Carbon Copy or BCC. Blind Carbon Copy is when you send an email to someone or multiple people and in the "To:" field, the addresses are made invisible to whichever recipients the sender chooses, and visible to the others. I think that BCC would be okay to use when it is not a very personal email because then it's just casual and not cyberbullying or secret information shared with many people, or if you need to forward the same email to many people because it takes up less time.

In my opinion, the most important thing for young people regarding digital communication is to be cautious of who you're talking to on the internet and to always create strong passwords that are easy to remember! These are very simple things that can make your internet life way safer and a better experience all around. I think these things are very important because a lot of cyberbullying comes out of digital communication and having safe passwords to prevent others from gaining your personal information and conversations can prevent that. Also, being cautious of who you speak to on the internet is extremely important because, especially with online dating, horrible things can happen and it's better to know the person you're talking to before you share personal information or plan on meeting them!

Acronyms Attack (Assignment Two)

1. Can you think of three or more school appropriate additional acronyms (or abbreviations) that can help save time during a digital conversation if the other party is aware of the acronym? Create new ones if you can't.

Three school appropriate acronyms that could help save time would be:

• WAY - where are you
• HW - homework
• TL? - talk later?

2. List four places where you would never use acronyms (or abbreviations) when communicating digitally.

Four places where you should never use acronyms when communicating digitally would be:

• In a formal email or letter
• Communicating with a teacher
• Online job applications
• On any form of a resume

Communication Compass (Assignment One)

1.What is the definition of digital communication?
Digital communication - any electronic exchanging of information.

2. List 4 digital communication advantages and 4 disadvantages in your opinion.
In my opinion, four advantages of digital communication are:
1. It's easier and more convenient to communicate via text and email
2. With Skype and other video chatting programs you can communicate face to face over long distances for free
3. Mobile phones are much quieter than the majority of landlines, so if there was an emergency in someone's home and they needed to contact the police, they could use their mobile device and have help on the way in a matter of seconds and be very silent about it as well!
4. Mobile devices are very convenient regarding school work because if you need a definition or a calculator they are equipped everything and it's all on one device.

Four disadvantages are:
1. You can become too distracted and fall behind on more important work.
2. The monthly phone bill for high-end mobile phones are usually huge!
3. Social media can be the cause of many issues with cyber bullying and the person doing the bullying usually gets away with it very easily.
4. Mobile phones tend to be a usual place for illegal activity and it goes undiscovered or unreported because people think it's okay just because it's on a cell phone and not a crime that's done physically.

3. What are the three most popular forms of digital communication today and why do you think they are popular? 
The three most popular forms of digital communication today are definitely texting, social media and Skype/Facetime. These are most likely the most popular because they are very convenient and (for the most part) private to talk with friends and family on. I think that video chatting is more popular now however because the generation today is starting to realize that they're missing out on the face to face communication and wants to have it again, so using these programs is the first step.

4. What three forms of digital communication may not be around much longer and why do you think they are going to disappear or become irrelevant?
The three forms of digital communication that may not be around much longer will most likely be email, certain social media sites and talking on the phone. I think that these forms of digital communication are going to become irrelevant because they are used way less often than texting and more popular social media sites. The social media websites that will probably become irrelevant or completely disappear very soon are MSN and Myspace because barely anyone who is up to date with new and improved social media websites uses them anymore and they have become pretty much empty!

5.  Can you list five locations or scenarios in real life where you really SHOULD NOT be communicating digitally and suggest why?
Five scenarios in real life that are not appropriate to use digital communication include being at a nice restaurant with your family, a funeral, during an important test at school, on a date and when there is an emergency and you're not using digital communication to help the situation. These scenarios are not appropriate for digital communication because you can either be in the way, disrespecting the rules or just being flat out rude and disrespectful to everyone involved in the situation.

6. In your mind which two forms of digital communication represent the greatest danger to your personal health and safety and why?
In my opinion, the two forms of digital communication that represent the greatest danger to someone's personal health and safety is definitely online dating. When online dating, there is an extremely high chance that the person you believe to be real and a possible significant other in your future can easily be fake! Many people who like to get money and very personal information out of people by lying will use online dating because people hoping for a relationship tend to be very giving when they think they have found "the one" so their information gets stolen. There is an entire television on MTV about fake online profiles called Catfish and it has definitely helped me realize that the internet is full of lies and you shouldn't trust every profile you see unless you have reliable sources like images, video chat conversations, etc.

7. Do you think human kids will continue to be more and more connected or will people eventually find their own healthy balance? Why?
I think that kids will continue to become more and more connected because of the constant advances we have in technology today and how convenient it is, although it's not the most healthy situation. When they are adults I believe that they will be able to give up the constant use of technology and find their own healthy balance because even now, many adults are unable to find their healthy balance!

8.When a person dies, is too sick or injured to communicate or for any other reason avoids all digital communication; what should happen to their accumulated online communications and records of internet activity? What is your solution to this growing problem?
When this happens to someone, I think that their accumulated online communications and records should be ignored by everyone else. That't their own business and just because they are unable to communicate digitally at the moment, chances are they will continue using the internet when they get healthy again and if the person dies I still that I should be ignored. There isn't even a reason to go through someone's internet history and conversations unless they have committed a crime and the police want certain information about what kind of person they were or if the crime was planned, etc. The solution to this problem would be to just mind your own business and stay out of other people's privacy without their consent. It's not anyone's place to investigate someone's internet history or digital conversations other than the person who had the conversations and is unable to use them at the moment.

Journal #1 Digital Security

For this assignment, we used a website that taught us about Digital Security and Digital Citizenship. On this website, we were showed a list of the worst passwords to choose because they are very easy to guess and someone can take your information on whatever social media account that that password is associated with! I found the list very interesting because if I ever wanted to gain access to someone's social media account or even their entire computer system, I would try some of these passwords. The most interesting worst password to me was "monkey" because I honestly don't think I would ever think of that. The only part of this assignment that I found a little bit difficult was the concept of Digital Citizenship, but even then it still made enough sense to understand it fairly easily! After learning about how many horrible passwords are out there, I began to think about the passwords that I have assigned to some of my social media accounts, but after looking at the common themes of the bad passwords, I worried a lot less. I believe that my passwords are very secure at the moment, and I tend to use the same password for just about everything. I haven't had any issues with it so far!

I think that the most important thing to remember when considering passwords and digital security are the major consequences that will occur if someone actually gains access to your computer, phone, or social media account. A ton of your personal information can be retrieved in a matter of seconds! Imagine if someone found out the password for your email account that you used to sign up with on your social media accounts. They could change the password to your email and change all your social media passwords as well! The consequences are very serious and should definitely be considered when deciding on a password and thinking about your digital security.

Digital Security (Assignment One)

1.Would you say the passwords listed as the worst are easy to guess or hard to guess and why?
I would consider the passwords on the list to be very common and if I was going to make an attempt to gain access into someones social media account I would probably try some of those passwords. They are all very basic words or very simple assortments of numbers and I believe that if they were applied to any account the user should be worried because they are very easy to guess!

2. Have you ever used any of these passwords? If yes how do you feel about this list? If NO why not?
No, I personally have never used any of the passwords on this list because I have been using the same two passwords for years and have never been hacked so far. However, I only added a second password recently when I remade one of my social media accounts and wanted a longer, safer password that no one would ever guess after randomly typing letters and numbers into the password box. I believe that it is very important to have a long password with random numbers and letters that only the password creator can remember easily.

3. Do you think seniors and adults are more likely to use these passwords? What can we do to save them some disastrous consequences if they do?
Yes, I think that seniors and adults are more likely to use these passwords because they don't understand social media as well as teenagers do and have a higher chance of choosing something that is easy for them to remember like the passwords on the list. We could prevent the adults and seniors from using these passwords by showing them how their password is very common and can be guessed very easily. We should also teach them about what can happen if their password is guessed by a stranger on the internet, and the personal information that that person can retrieve.

4. Can you think of three extra horrible passwords not found on this list?
Three other passwords that are very easy to guess that I believe should belong on this list would be
1. Your best friend's name
2. Your mother's name
3. Your pet's name

5. How long should a modern password be to be called strong?
A modern password doesn't necessarily have to be very long, but you should definitely use capital letters, lowercase letters, numbers, symbols, and make sure only you - and sometimes someone you trust - can remember.

Apps on Google

For this assignment, we tried out the feature on Google Chrome where you can connect apps to your Google Drive account. I chose the apps Floorplanner and BeFunky Photo Editor.

The google app Floorplanner is an app where the user can experiment with many different features when designing a virtual house! There's a multitude of different options with what you put in the house and how many rooms you want and you can even view your work in a three dimensional view when you're finished. The app is very entertaining and I really enjoyed designing different houses. This app can be very useful to people who would like to begin a career in interior design early on so they can practice and find out if they enjoy it or not. The app is free for use, and, although there are many different options for the house and an array of objects to put in the area, it is not a professional program. However it is a very sufficient program to use if you're looking for a free app to practice interior design on!

The app BeFunky is an app that allows its user to edit photos and even access many features of photo editing that are similar to that of Photoshop, except the app is free! When I used the app, I experimented with the different photo editing options that the app provides and it was very entertaining. I very much enjoyed the feature that allows the user to layer photos on top of each other because you can crop different sections of each photo however you want and make very interesting creations! BeFunky Photo Editor was my favorite app out of the two that I tried. This app could be helpful to the user because it could easily be used to edit and Photoshop pictures for free and with a very simple app! The high level editing features that this app has are amazing for the people who like to edit their photos without spending money.

Acceptable Use of School Computers