Safe Schools?

Blog Post #4 - 2016

                                 Image courtesy of THE CANADIAN PRESS

At 8:30am on Tuesday February 23^rd, a 14 year-old female student brandishing two knives injured six students and three faculty members at Dunbarton High School in Pickering, Ontario.

Since the attack, more information has been reported on the mental health of the girl. Tricia Goodchild, an Educational Assistant that worked with the accused, reported that, “Bullying is a huge thing that she had to deal with and I think people should know that was something that could have triggered her. I felt that she was so sad and so depressed. I though that, if anything, she would try to hurt herself. I never thought she would try to hurt other kids,” she said.

 Goodchild also said although the girl reported bullying to school administrators, noting was done to correct it. Instead, even after reporting the bullying, the girl told Godchild, “Nobody believes me.”

            As a result, Goodchild believes the school failed the little girl and could fail others, as well. “Is it really safe at that school? I don’t think so. This happened; it was only a matter of time. There are probably other kids who are also struggling with bullying and other issues,” she said.  

Image courtesy of THE CANADIAN PRESS

We are all aware of many past acts of violence that have been committed at other schools. The impacts of such incidences are felt not only within the community they happen in, but across the world whether any injuries or deaths occur or not.

Schools are intended to be safe communities where members protect and build one another up rather than tear each other down. However, we are all also aware of instances where such communal support is not always the reality. Instead, some individuals are singled out, torn down, and bullied to the point they feel alone in a school full of people and as if they have no one to reach out to for help.

How do you think schools and communities can avoid these acts of school violence in the future?

What services are available to you at Mary Ward that allow you to reach out in the event you or someone you knew was being bullied?

What are some new services you think your school could provide to better help students being bullied in and out of school?

Of Course the Internet is Telling Me the Truth!

Blog Post #3 - 2016

Lately in the news there has been much buzzing going around about the upcoming American lottery that is worth 1.3 billion dollars.  A huge amount of money is up for grabs, and both Americans and Canadians alike are scrambling to try and get their hands on a winning ticket.  Well that's all fine and dandy - and quite frankly, of no importance to me.  But of course, with anything that is making the news it isn't too far behind that a meme will show it's face on the internet.  Just look at how quickly all of those memes of Steve Harvey appeared after he accidentally announced the wrong winner at Miss Universe!  It doesn't take long for someone out there to quickly put together a meme!

So, of course - there is a meme running it's course on the internet about this upcoming lottery.  And I am sure that the creator had good intensions in mind ... but, well, take a look ....

Do you see the problem?  Take a look at it this way ....

So .... math is important I guess .. but to me this just demonstrated a bigger problem ... people are just too quick to believe what they read on the internet!  I can't tell you how many people decide to share this post of Facebook, believe it to be true - without even taking a minute to think for themselves!  I am no math whiz ... but as soon as I saw this I said to myself ... the math just doesn't seem right!

But what amazes me more is just how many people DIDN'T notice this ... according to this article by Matt Novak, as of January 11 this meme had 253,266 likes and 574,007 shares!!! Wowza!

So I guess then the thing that bothers me the most is just how quickly people accept what they see and read on the internet.  To me this is a big concern, to think that so many people don't really stop and take a moment to think for themselves.  Here is a great article about how we can try and make things a little better for ourselves when reading things on the internet.  Take a moment to give it a read.

Think of how much traffic the internet gets on a daily basis.  Do you see a problem with what was discussed in this blog post?  How do you feel about memes and the kind of impact they can have?  What do you think about the millions and millions of bytes of information that comes across your computer screen every hour? And what measures can you take to maybe make a change?  Have you ever fallen victim of maybe accepting what you read without taking a moment to think for yourself or do you know someone who has?  Be honest and think about what this could mean or do to others and yourself.  Think about this from a different perspective ... if others are quick to believe things that are on the internet, what kind of responsibility do we have when it comes to posting information? Reflect and respond.

Would you pay???

Blog Post #2 - 2015

Ads!  They can drive you nuts - pop ups on your computer, ads within your downloaded game, ads on Facebook, ads on Youtube - those darn ads are everywhere!

Of course there are measures out there to help keep those pesky ads at a minimum, software for your computers that can block those ads from appearing when you least want them.  But they don't always work, and if it is a game on your phone, then there isn't much you can do other than purchasing the full version game.

Well here is one thing you can do ... Youtube is releasing a subscription you can get, that will be totally and completely ad free!  Sounds too good to be true - maybe so, because this little feature will cost you $9.99 a month.

Read this article about Youtube's new launch.

So is this something that you would purchase just to eliminate those ads?  Is the price worth it?  Or do you feel that this is over-priced?   What about looking at this from the side of the advertisers?  It's their job to reach out to the people to sell their product - do you think that this will be a hit for advertisers who rely on this medium?  Or do you think they will be fine on their own?  Tell me what you think about an ad-free option for our digital outlets.

TV is DYING! ... or is it?

Blog Post #1 - 2015

Ahh the TV - for me the television and I have a love/hate relationship.  I love watching shows and I think it can be a great form of entertainment, but I hate how it takes up time as if you got sucked into a black hole!  I love being able to watch shows that I find interesting, I hate commercials, boy - I really hate commercials.  I love finding time as a family, sitting down together - watching some of our favourite shows, having a good laugh.  But I hate scheduling my life around the tv show schedule.

 ... You see, my relationship can probably be described as quite the oxymoron.

Since the introduction of wonderful inventions such as Netflix, Apple TV, Shomi, Crave TV, and of course Youtube, people are starting to 'watch' tv on their own terms.  So what does this mean for regular cable tv?  Is it really dying out?

kanelart.com

Some business insiders and entertainment promoters are predicting that TV may very well be dead in only ten short years!  I find this very interesting and something to ponder.  More and more families are opting out of cable packages these days - and instead are adding more GIGs to their internet plans at home.

Think about your own TV usage at home, or that of your family.  Observe over the next couple of days who watches the TV and who decides to get their entertainment from other vices.  What do you think will happen to the life of the TV - and cable networks?  Do you see an end on the way?

Blogging Rules!

Image Source: awesomelytechie.com

Having an online presence can be a lot of fun, but also holds a lot of responsibility!  Here are some key tips to remember when creating posts for your blog.- Don't divulge personal information: use your FIRST NAME ONLY, don't give any details with regards to contact information, home address, phone numbers, last names of friends or relatives, instant messaging names, age, or birth date.
- No questionable photos of you or anything else: If you wouldn't show it to your grandma, don't post it on the web! Avoid posting photos of yourself.
- Remember the internet is permanent! Anyone on the Internet can easily print out a blog or save it to a computer.
- Use blogging provider sites with clearly stated terms of use, and make sure they can protect the actual blogs, not just the user accounts, with password protection. (Even so, it's better to assume anyone can see it.)
- Avoid trying to "out-do" or compete with other bloggers.

- Keep it clean and positive: Our blogs are reflective of our Catholic values. Sexist, racist, homophobic, or any type of oppressive and offensive language will not be tolerated!

Welcome to 2015-2016!

Image Source: www.brainsonfire.com

Welcome to the 2015/2016 grade 10 Media Arts/Comm course.  I am happy to have you all as students in this new and exciting school year.  For this blog unit we will be sharing some news, stories and events that involve digital media along with various other forms of media.


As part of your media arts / communications technology course you will be required to create and maintain your own media arts / communications blog. Blogging has quickly become a very popular form of communication and online journaling.


Through this course your will be required to reply to six different media / technology issues or topics that will be posted here for you to respond to on your own blog. Each response must be no less than 300 words and should have discussions relevant to media arts and communication technology. You will also be required to respond to 6 other people's blogs with thoughtful ideas and comments with a 100 words (min). The evaluation for this unit is found in your unit guide. Once you have completed all tasks (which will take you several months) you will submit your unit guide, with a list of the six blogs that you responded to, for evaluation.


Happy Blogging!
Ms. Powell

Blog Post #6 - 2015

Self Stick Banishment ....

Oh selfies ... truly a household word now-a-days ... and really - one of the most popular form of photography that seems to be taking place.

According to a Samsung poll, selfies now account for a full 30% of the photos taken by people between the ages of 18 and 24.

And of course, just like everything else, things expand, growth happens and then along comes the Selfie Stick!

I was listening to the radio the other week and actually laughed out loud - because now it seems as though many places of business are actually banning the use of the selfie stick - for safety reasons!  Even Pizza Hut was so kind in making an actual safety video for the use of the selfie stick!

 
Of course - we laugh - but really - I suppose it could be an issue ...  so what do you think ...  Selfie stick - should it be banned or not???  Make sure to do a bit of a google search and get opinions and examples to support your thoughts.