Google Cars

This article discusses Google's efforts to make a car that drives itself. There's a video that shows a car driving around, but the people inside aren't doing anything. I think it's crazy that technology has advanced to the point where someday we might not even have to drive. It sounds kind of dangerous to me, but I'm sure if the cars were on the market in the future they would be very safe. Sebastian Thrun is the engineer in charge of this project, and he found his inspiration through a childhood loss. His friend was killed by a car so he has worked to make driving safer. Maybe some day the driving world will be completely different thanks to Google.

What I Believe About Learning

People have a natural tendency to distract themselves from things they need to do so I think teachers should find a way to eliminate all distractions in the classroom. Teachers should make students put their cell phones and ipods somewhere else before class starts so they are not tempted by them. I think technology can play a great role in learning because it's a quick and easy way to find what you need. When I do reading for English class, if I don't know what a word means I just pick up my ipod touch and use my dictionary app. Within seconds I have a whole new understanding of what I'm reading as opposed to taking the time to look it up in a dictionary. I also think teachers should not give homework every night. A common argument for this is that college professors give work every night, but the difference is that in college you don't have that class every day. With sports, clubs, work, and many other responsibilities after school, students have to stay up very late at night to complete their homework. This is probably the main reason why kids are always so tired and can't even pay attention or stay awake in class. In one of my classes we have homework maybe once a month, yet I've learned so much. Learning is definitely evolving and will be very different here at BHS for the years to come.

Osama's Death

When looking back to September 11, 2001 I remember a lot of choas and worry among the teachers. We weren't allowed to go outside for gym that day and I did not understand why. They told us there were machines working on the field, but I didn't see any when I looked outside. When I got home that day my mom was hovered over the TV watching the news, and she was on the phone with my uncle who lives in New York. I never understood why the attack happened, and to be honest, I still do not fully know the history between our country and the Middle East. The death of Osama has definitely already brought American pride, and I'm sure many people feel a sense of relief. Hopefully after this huge step we can move forward and bring our troops home soon.

Facebook Effects Grades

I definitely agree with this article that discusses how Facebook effects students' grades. Although Facebook is a great social network that can help students interact, it can also be extremely distracting. When I'm writing a paper and I get bored or lose my train of thought, I open up Facebook and distract myself from getting the assignment done. The night before my term paper was due, almost everyone in my class was on Facebook making statuses about the paper and joking about how they were so distracted. I found it really interesting to read that, "Students who use Facebook and hit the books simultaneously found their multitasking led to 20% lower grades than those of their more focused peers." I am guilty of being distracted by Facebook when trying to do school work, but hopefully I can break the habit when I go off to college.

Fitness Builder App

An app that I really like is called Fitness Builder. This app gives you hundreds of different workouts targeting all areas of the body. You can search for workouts based on what you'd like to work on. If you want to do a set of abs, you can select many different ab cycles to do. The best part is that each exercise has pictures and step by step instructions to make sure you know how to do it correctly. The app also allows you to make your own workout by choosing your favorite exercises. If you're at the gym and run out of exercises, you can take out your iPhone or itouch and search for one on this app. The only downfall to this app is that it's now $9.99 and when I got it, it was free. If you're looking for some good exercises at your fingertips, I recommend the Fitness Builder app.

My Life at BHS

 The library where we use the computers or hang out during study period

The cafeteria where I've had lunch for the past 4 years

 The main office where I do the morning anouncements

The rock wall where the Seniors spray painted our names

The statue in the lobby where everyone meets after school

The gym that we've had phys ed class, pep rallys, and sporting events

The student parking lot.. such a mess to get out of every day

Open Campus

I definitely think our high school should have an open campus. It's such a hassle to have to get dismissed every time you need to run home for something. If I forgot a lunch, I would just go home and eat if there was open campus. Sometimes I don't have time to eat breakfast so I just grab something little on the go. If there was open campus, I could just run to Dunks during my study or go back home and make myself something. I understand that the school faces liability if anything happens while we were gone, but I honestly don't think parents would blame the school if they had an understanding that their kids are allowed to leave. This reminds me of the whole preparing us for the real world idea. If we're locked up in the school and can't leave without the consent of a parent, we're being babied and not preparing to make our own decisions. Our high school should definitely consider having an open campus and allow the students to be more independent.

Softball

With tryouts coming to an end, the softball team is anxious for our season to start. We have very high expectations for our team this year with the hope to be Middlesex League champs. Our infield consists of Courtney Lanfranchi pitching, Jill Mazure catching, Amber Eisenhauer at first, me at second, Christina Raso at short, and Haley Currie at third. The outfielders are currently working hard to earn starting positions. Our coach will be working with us for the next couple of weeks to be absolutely prepared for our big season. This is my last softball season, and I really hope that we can pull through and make it the most memorable season of my life.

School Schedule

The past three days we have come into school at 9:00 instead of 7:30. I felt so well rested getting two more hours of sleep, especially after a day of school and hours of practice. Today we went back to the regular schedule and I had to get up at 6 instead of 8. I just fell asleep in my last class because I'm so tired from the schedule change. During MCAS, the schedule was switched around so we had classes at different times of the day. I had my first period at 1:30 instead of the usual 7:35. I actually felt awake and energized in that class for the first time. I definitely think the schedule should rotate so that it's not the same thing every day. It was refreshing to have some variety in my day and have my classes at different times. I feel as though I'd be more productive and take in more information if the schedule was different.

Japan Earthquake

This video shows the disaster that recently struck Japan. After facing a tsunami and a devastating earthquake that is one of the worst in history, many Japenese have lost their homes. A tsunami occurs when huge waves hit and just keep going. We can see in the video how the water completely covers the land and knocked down buildings. There are many support systems developing to help the Japanese through this crisis. On the radio this morning I heard an add where you can text a number to donate $10 to causes helping Japan recover. I truly hope that the Japanese quickly rise above this disaster.

Weebly

The Weebly website is a simple way to make your own website. Their tutorial page shows the easy steps to creating, designing, and publisizing a website. They make the process very simple and clearly outline the steps you take to create the site. This website is really useful for people who are trying to spread the word about something like a new business or a cause they feel strongly about. The tutorial even offers a way to tweet about your new site to help spread your work to the public. Another feature they offer is "How to Add a Blog Page." I think this is a really helpful tool to have on a website because it allows people to communicate and voice their thoughts about the contents of the website. You can add pictures, banners, and more to really personalize your site and make it your own. Weebly is a great site that I would definitely use if I wanted to make my own website.

iPad 2

The iPad 2 has a new design and more features than the original iPad. It's much thinner, and has two cameras for taking pictures and using FaceTime. Apple's website offers information about their new product and the accessories that go with it. I think the new iPad is really incredible because it's so thin and you can do so much with it. At $499, students could purchase one in place of a laptop and save a lot of money. I personally would get frustrated typing on a touch screen, but the new iPad could definitely serve as a less expensive laptop. This product is really impressive and shows just how much technology is progressing.

Researching

Today we discussed different ways to research and technology has allowed us to get information so much quicker and easier. Instead of going to a library and thumbing through books and pages, we have the privilege of searching on the computer. As an example, we googled Martin Luther King Jr. as if we were researching to write a paper. The second link that came up on Google was a white supremacy website that was vulgar and offered no beneficial information about MLK. I was pretty shocked that a website like that even exists on the internet anymore. We also looked at Google Scholar which helps to make sure the websites you look at were written by educated people. This website really shows how technology has become such an important part of researching. I realized I'm really lucky to be in school in a time where information is very easy to get.

My First Celtics Game

On Thursday I went to my first Celtics game! We sat up in the balcony in the Garden and watched the Celts battle the Nets in a tight game. The Celtics came right out of the gates taking a huge lead in the first quarter, but the Nets slowly made their comeback. By the third quarter the Celtics were losing and made an awesome come back with the help of Allen doing what he does best: hitting 3's. Wearing my foot tall, bright green styrofoam hat, I was dancing, singing, and cheering as most Boston fans do. Unfortunately, the people in front of us were just sitting there in silence and giving us dirty looks when we got loud. I don't understand why anyone would pay money to go into Boston and watch the Celtics or any other team to just sit there looking miserable. The games are supposed to be fun, and you really have to make the best of it. Despite the dirty looks we got, we had a blast, and we left knowing we had a good time. We were just glad to be the people that other fans want to be around that will make you laugh and definitely have a good time with. As for the people in front of us, I think they simply wasted their money. They could have just watched the game on TV at home in silence in stead of bringing down the people around them. Luckily, the Celtics pulled off a win for my first game and I definitely made the best of the night!

Banning Cell Phones From Schools

The Massachusetts State House should definitely reconsider their thoughts on banning cell phones from schools. Cell phones can absolutely be a distraction to students and teachers if the phones are being used during class. However, teachers can easily take control and make sure their students are not using their phones. My english teacher has a wall with about 25 pockets on it that we put our phones in at the beginning of class. This way, no one is tempted to check their phones from their purse or pocket and the phones are not a distraction. Attending a school that allows cell phones has made me realize how important they are to have with you. People tend to make the excuse that if there's an emergency, students can always be reached if someone calls the school's phone. I had a personal experience when my mom needed to talk to me so she texted me and I went to the bathroom and called her. She told me my grandfather was dying and I needed to leave school and go to the hospital to say goodbye. If I didn't have my phone with me, my mom could have called the school, but I would have rather heard something like that directly from my mom and not the secretary. To be honest, I don't even think my mom has the school's phone number anyways. I think having cell phones in school is not as big of a deal as people make it out to be. For the past couple of years, we've been allowed to have our phones and there haven't been huge problems. The Massachusetts State House should absolutely take these points into consideration before they ban cell phones from schools.

I just made a new Voki. See it here:

National Anthem Gone Wrong

Christina Aguilera has always been a highly respected and talented singer, but her performance yesterday at the Super Bowl left millions of viewers in shock. Singing the National Anthem at any sporting event is an honor to the performer, never mind being chosen to sing at the Super Bowl. Driving to school this morning I heard a radio station taking calls to discuss how Christina messed up the words to the National Anthem. Some people thought she should have been more prepared and that she definitely was not nervous because she's been performing for so many years. I agree with them because if she can remember the lyrics to all of her songs for concerts then she should have easily remembered the words to the National Anthem.. I mean, I know all the words off the top of my head, so she probably could have spent a little more time memorizing. I am a big fan of Christina, and I do feel badly for her because her mistake will always be talked about and she's already been publically embarrassed. On the other hand, if you're chosen to sing the National Anthem for an event that millions of people are watching, you should probably put the time in to make sure you don't mess up. The Super Bowl always seems to leave us with memories outside of the game itself, like the performance years ago with Janet Jackson's wardrobe malfunction. Christina's National Anthem mess up joins the list of performances gone wrong at the Super Bowl.

Facebook Strengthens Student-Teacher Connection

This article discusses the ten ways that facebook can help students and teachers. . The point that stuck out in my reading was that students can quickly have access to ask their teachers questions. Sometimes when I'm doing an assignment and I need help, I have to email my teacher and usually do not get a responce until the next day. Being able to just Facebook IM a teacher and get a responce in seconds would be so helpful to me. Facebook can also be used to help absent students keep up and participate even though they're at home. Teachers can send students assignments so that they're not smothered with work when they return to school. Some of my teachers have made pages only for certain classes; my media production class had a BHS Media group that we could share videos and comments on. I think students lose sight of the fact that Facebook is more than just a social network between peers to talk and post pictures and videos. Facebook is a very effective website to help people stay updated or spread news very quickly. Whenever we do a fundraiser for student council, I use Facebook as my way of spreading the word because almost everyone in the school has their own page. Facebook has become an extremely helpful tool for people of all ages.

Changing Education

I think the speaker was correct in his statements about education being outdated. I agreed with his thoughts on students losing interest in learning and feeling as though the process isn't worth the effort. Students should definitely have more of a hold on what they learn as to fit their interests and head to the direction they wish to go. I also agreed with his discussion on ADHD and how students are medicated to clam down instead of having excitement for learning. He made an excellent point when he said that everyone learns differently, whether they like to work in groups or alone, and school has a tendency to push students to do everything on their own. I really didn't disagree with anything he said because I strongly believe the education system should be changed and more modernized. Not only can school be boring, but most schools fail to take advantage of today's technology. I was surprised by the fact that as children grew older and had more education they actually scored lower on the "genius" test. I would think that as people learned more throughout the years they would only get smarter, but I guess that's not always the case. This speaker definitely grabbed my attention and made great points on how much the educational system can improve.