Blogs...

Ok, I must be almost up to date with these blogs. I am going to do one more right now, and then one more before I go to bed. I am pretty sure they are due tomorrow – well, obviously since tomorrow is the last day of class. I finished the last lab last night… yeaayy… So, I guess I should be up to like 30 or something. Well, I am definitely close. There were some classes that we missed too… And, I don’t think that there were any due the first couple of weeks of class. I don’t even remember at this point, actually. The good thing is that I did all of the ones that had specific things that we had to write about. I am like 99% sure of that. I posted the videos and pictures and all that good stuff… Watched the video about how people who do not have the internet are negatively affected. I am totally just going to keep blah blahing about this right now because I never know what to say. What do people usually say on these blogs? I’m not going to get all personal and stuff… And I don’t feel like sharing my opinions on the internet much. Quite frankly, I do not even have that much interest in getting on the internet for much… Except shopping. Even I think the people that are like obsessed with facebook and stuff are tapped. I guess I shouldn’t say that because all my friends are, I just think its so boooring – probably because I have to sit on the computer for 8 looong hours a day at work… Sometimes longer! The last thing I want to do after work is come home and sit on the computer any more. Ok, I am so done with this blog… One more to goo later on…

Reality TV...

I don't know what it is about reality tv that really sucks me and my friends in... So I am here with my friend and we are like on demanding The Hills episodes that she missed because we are crazy and have to make sure that we see them all. Like, if we miss one, it just ruins our week, lol... It’s kind of stupid when you think about it too… I will totally admit it. Like, this show, for example, it’s a bunch of rich kids who have had everything handed to them by mommy and daddy who have the stupidest drama. It’s not even anything super interesting – I mean, it’s drama that happens in our own lives every day. I don’t know why theirs is just so interesting to watch. All we do is see the girls fight over guys and the guys bounce from girl to girl - typical stuff that happens every day in our lives. I don’t know man. Even the show Jersey Shore, which I can not WAIT until it comes back on by the way… It’s a bunch of ridiculous people who are obsessed with their looks, drinking, and hooking up. Again, nothing that we don’t see everyday around us. I guess it’s their over-the-topness… Like, the character Snookie – people really act this way? Well, yeah – actually my cousin is just like her. And the guys – gym/tanning/laundry obsessed alcoholics… But we love them! Well, at least I do… Lol… Paulie D is my boyyy… I don’t know – I guess my excuse is that I am so busy with school and work sometimes so I live vicariously through these losersss livesss… Oh well, school’s like OUT now, pretty much, sooo I can stop obsessing over this realityyy tvvv

Ok, last one didn't work... Let's try again.

This paragraph is draggable

This one is not

Draggable Paragraphs...

This paragraph is draggable.

This one is not.

Getting Ready...

You know what can get so annoying sometimes?... How long it takes for me to get ready in the morning. I don’t get what my problem is. I mean, I wake up like an hour and a half before I have to leave, and I still end up scrambling around to fly out the door. It kind of sucks being a girl for that reason sometimes. I mean, yeah it’s fun getting dressed up to go out on a Friday or Saturday night, but for work… Ugh, it sucks. Have to straighten the hair, put on make up, pick clothes – because I never feel like wearing what I picked out the night before… It’s all just so time consuming and annoying. Guys have it made! They can just roll out of bed, crawl in the shower, slap on some deodorant, brush their teeth and be out. I can’t even imagine what I would look like if I left the house in those easy steps. They’d probably send me home from work, haha… Well, my hair sucks, that’s half my problem. I hate those girls that can just get out of the shower and let their hair air dry and it’s fine. Not mine! It has to be blow dried and straightened or it’s a beasttt! Legit: beast. Sucks. You know what’s funny though, I feel like with girls, no matter how long they take to get ready, they always look the same… haha… it’s kinda sad. Like, if I get ready in half an hour or if I get ready in two hours, the finished product will still not look all that different. Well, I think I see a difference, but I notice that of my friends so I am sure it’s the same with me too… I don’t know… I guess you just feel better or something.

Neighbors...

I want to take a second and explore a rather colorful subject that is a large part of my every day life: my neighbors. I live in an apartment complex in Lowell. When I first looked at this building, one of the things that attracted me the most was that there were no shoes lined outside of everyone’s door, and there was no thick smell of cooking ethnic food lingering in the hallways. Practically every other place I looked at had both – yuck. Upon moving in here, I have stumbled across a few pairs of shoes hanging out in the hallway, but never every door all the time. In fact, I remember when I was being showed the building, I commented on the lack of shoes and smell and the girl showing me the apartment said that it was actually against their policies to leave stuff out in the hallways. Anyways, since I moved in I discovered that there certainly are days when I come home to the obnoxious smell of some strange food. Maybe it’s curry or something. I think the majority of my neighbors are middle eastern – isn’t that what they eat? I haven’t really MET anyone that I can like, tell you their name or anything… Except this one kid who turned out to be a complete weirdo and I began avoiding him because I THINKKKK he had the wrong idea about me. Sorry pal. There are some girls that live upstairs around my age too that told me they have parties and I should go up there sometime. I forget their names, buuut maybe one night I’ll head up there for a drink or two.

Slackinnn...

So here we are coming up to the last week of class and I have been slackin on my blogging. I don’t even know how I fell behind – kinda stupid considering it’s like the easiest assignment. Pretty much, all we have to do is type of 200 words of thoughts twice a week. Actually, I guess it is a little hard because I always feel like I have nothing to say. I hope that nobody actually reads this because it’s all a bunch of blah blahing about nothing. I wonder if the professor even really reads these. I couldn’t imagine he would go through all twenty something blogs of everyone and read them… How boring would that be? - Especially if they are all as useless as mine. I wonder if anyone in the class actually had anything interesting to say. I wouldn’t know and the last thing I am going to do is go through and read any of them. Sorryyy… Actually, I doubt if the professor has read any of these if he hasn’t even checked his email! Or, if he did check his email, he hasn’t taken the time to write me back. This most recent lab has no directions and I am very confused. I watched the video and it pretty much told me nothing about what we are supposed to be doing in Blue and Green… DIV HTML or something like that? What? I have no idea what you are talking about man, and I hope that you are not going to mark my grade down because I don’t have it done for next week when nothing was even explaineddd…

Blah Blah...

Ok, I am super tired and just realized that I haven’t posted anything to my blog in over a week. We didn’t have class last week so I totally forgot… End of the semester is approaching and all I’ve been doing is writing papers and finishing up all the stuff that I have had ALL semester to do, but I am such a procrastinator so I am not doing them until now. Oh well, I work best under pressure, anyways. I wonder why that is? It’s like, if I have months to write a paper or something, I really can’t start it too early. I feel like once I write it, if I keep going over it over and over, I change things that I didn’t really need to. It’s like, I get bored of the way it sounds or something, but if I had just left it the way I originally wrote it, it probably sounded best the way it first came out of my head. I don’t know… Whatever, bottom line: I’m done. I am pretty pumped that I am not even taking classes this summer. I only have four left at this point until I graduate, so I figured I’d give myself the summer off and just take two the following fall, and two in the spring. This will be the first summer in four years that I am getting out in May and not going back until September. I usually take a class on campus for during the first session, and one online which runs until like the end of July or something. I can never take an on campus class during the second session because I go to England to visit my mom. It is such a pain to be in England doing stupid online classes though… What a relief I won’t have to worry about that this summer. First time in four yearsss… yeayyy… Ok, it’s like 11:15 and I have to be up at like 5:15 sooo I am done writing on thissss…

Haircut...

Oh man… I just got my hair cut like, super short. I got like 8 inches off! I’m freakin out a little bit about it. I neverrr get my hair cut. I am sure it’s been well over a year. Yikesss… I think I like it. I definitely need to get used to it, but it certainly looks a lot healthier. I guess I need some opinions from my friends, but of course I can’t go see anyone because I have school work school school school… Consumes my life. Dude, I even cut bangs… Like, I always had side bangs, but now I got some legit bangs. What the heck am I gonna dooo with it? Once I get used to it, I am sure I’ll feel different. I have been freakin out about this hair cut all day… Hahaha… I thought I was going to have to take some kind of anxiety medication earlier. My ridiculously long hair is like my security blanket. And now, I just chopped it off. I really hope the people at work like it. They are the ones who convinced me to do this to myself. Oh man, I feel so silly going on and on about this. I guess if you’ve ever made a huge change like this, you’d understand. Otherwise, you probably think I’m just a baby. I kinda am I guess. But, I don’t care. This is big important stuff to me. I think I just spent approximately two hours just looking in the mirror. No exaggeration. Finally, I just motivated myself to get on this homework thing. Now I gotta go read for my philosophy. I’m sure I will go spend another hour in the mirror first though… Lol. God, it's really hard to be a girl! There is so much pressure to make sure your hair/make up/ clothes look great at all times. Blahhh I guess I'll get my verdict tomorrow. Wish me luck!

Philosophy Class Provoking Thought...

This week’s topic in my philosophy class is the debate of the existence of God. It’s really had me thinking a lot. Like, I grew up in a super Christian home, but when I reached the age where I could make my own decisions I pretty much got away from that. It’s not like I’m against it or anything, I just really don’t know what I believe. I am the kind of person who needs to see it to believe it, so for me to just have ‘faith’ that something exists… Well, it isn’t easy, that’s for sure. So, we have to post our thoughts on the discussion board and read other people’s postings and respond and blah blah – all the normal online class stuff – and some of the things I have read have been very thought provoking. Like, if evolution is how we got here, and we all just evolved from amoebas or whatever we were supposed to come from back in the day, how come humans are so different from other animals? Why did we develop emotions, the capacity to distinguish right from wrong, the ability to communicate our ideas through speech, read, write, create incredible technology, etc.? Why don’t we see dogs and iguanas going to school or building computers? Supposedly, humans were created in God’s image. So, I guess comparing ourselves to the likes of a chimpanzee or a dolphin is like comparing apples and oranges. People have the power to improve and destroy the world in ways that other animals wouldn’t even come close to. It’s pretty interesting to think about… Maybe there is something more out there than meets the eye... Hmmm… I dunno, that’s pretty much my position as of right now.

Summer Plan?...

School is going to be out in like a month. I am so excited – this is going to be my first summer not taking classes in forever! No school from mid-May until September is going to be, like, unbelievable! I don’t even know what I will do with myself with so much time on my hands. I wish I wasn’t such a procrastinator and really got on the ball with trying to find a summer internship. That would be sweet. I need something to put on my resume, it’s like all I have going for me is that I can hold a full time job, and I will have a Bachelor’s degree. But, I don’t have any experience in my field at all. I was pretty discouraged to hear when I went to my advising appointment that the graduate program that I am interested in – Clinical Psychology – is one of the most competitive programs to try for. I just feel super disadvantaged because I work full time, so I don’t get the opportunity to participate in things like “psych club”, or any other extra curricular activities that regular undergraduate students get to do. Sucks. I’m screwed. See, I sit here and complain about this stuff, but do you think tomorrow I will research places that offer internships that I am interested in, update my resume, and start applying? Make some phone calls maybe? Reach out to my resources? Nooo, of course I won’t. Ok, so I am making a goal for myself: this weekend I am going to set aside time to make sure my resume is updated and in good form, design a fitting cover letter, find at least 5 places that offer internships, submit my resume, AND get the numbers so that I can call to follow up next week… Yeah, now, let’s see if this actually happens…

Monday...

As usual, I don’t really know what to write about for this ‘choose your own topic’ blog… Sooo… It’s Monday, how was the day? The chick I work with who I share a workload with called out because her son was sick, so I was stuck doing EVERYTHING at work today. Which, to a degree, I don’t mind because I am so busy that the day just fliiies by. However, it aggravates me when I am running around like a chicken with my head cut off and there are certain people who COULD be helping me, but they choose not to – because they are mad at me right now for absolutely no reason. Like, she got called out for basically lying to get me in trouble, and I stood up for myself… And that’s my bad? Negative. I should be the one mad, but I’m not. I’m over it. Time for you to get over it. Yeah, work was ok other than that frustration. I had my statistics class in the middle of the day and that actually went really well because I actually understood what was going on. Hallelujah. Clearly, that rarely happens in that class. I mean, who came up with these formulas and stuff anyways? Seriously pal, WAY too much time on your hands. I can’t wait for it to be over. After work, came home, had a nice fire alarm go off in my apartment complex – that was rather interesting. I didn’t know whether to wait outside or just wait it out in the house. Real smart right? The building could have been burning down and I am too concerned with watching reality TV. Genius. Other than that I did some super thrilling homework and now I am blogging before bed. AND, that’s my word limit sooo that’s the end of that. Good bye, Monday.

The Digital Divide

1. What is the impact on Marcella Morris and her family not having the Internet?

Because Marcella Morris does not have the internet, it is harder for her to get information on what is going on in the world. She mentions that she reads the paper and gets her information ‘word of mouth’, but this is not as convenient, fast, or updated as the internet. If Marcella was to take a class or go to school, or if her children did, they would be at a significant disadvantage as much of the work would require access to the internet. She is very much out of touch with the rest of the world. By having no access, or familiarity, with the internet, her chances at finding a decent job are also very much hindered. The majority of jobs today require employees to be able to navigate the internet easily. There are numerous websites and programs that people need to know how to get to and use in order to be successful in the position. Without having the internet, Marcella and her family’s chances of working their way out of their low-income status are very slim.

2. How do you feel about the free wireless internet access project in Charlestown, SC.

The wireless internet access project in Charlestown, SC probably sounds like it will be more successful than the reality. I am not quite sure how it will be possible for the entire city to provide internet access without any costs associated. However, even if they were successful in doing this, it would only work for people who actually have computers. There many people who do not even have computers who need to be taken into consideration. Also, for the families who do have a computer, but have never had the internet, who is going to teach them how to use it? If they do not have kids in school who take a computer class where they learn how to surf the web, how will these families learn? One question I have about this project is how well the network will work with an entire city plugged in… Will this make it slow? I don’t really know much about it, but I always hear people at my work saying that the internet is slower when everyone is on the server… Would this problem occur with this project also? I think that the idea of the project is great – the internet really is a necessity in this day to stay current with the times. However, I just feel like the whole thing sounds too good to be true.

3. Who has benefitted from it?

Obviously, those who do not own computers won’t be benefitted as much by this project as those who do. Also, those who do not know how to use the internet will not be as benefitted as those who do. The reading mentions that the people who have been able to connect to the network so far are mainly those who were able to afford it in the first place. This is probably because they are the ones who did already have computers and know how to use the internet. I am sure that this isn’t the case with everyone. There are probably also many families who did have a computer with no internet who are now able to connect, but it sounds as though the results have not been as successful as the designers of the project anticipated.

4. What would you suggest that they do with the project?

I do think that they should continue a way to get the city online. However, they need to also spend some time and energy to figure out a way to get the people with no computers and no internet skills up to speed. Perhaps a program could be developed where computers are donated. Also, time may be donated to teach adults – who are disadvantaged because they are not in school – to learn how to navigate the internet. I also think that a campaign needs to be developed to teach those who have no interest in the internet just how important it is for them now and for their futures. They need to see that acquiring computer skills is a potential way out of their unfortunate circumstances. They can go to school and eventually get decent jobs.

Education Video Links

These links will take you to some videos of science experiments...

Follow this one to see some simple experiments for kids...


Click here to see an experiment demonstrating the importance of science...


Check this link out to see a science experiment that your pet will appreciate...

Embedded Education Video

So, Calculus is a pain to learn... Watch this video to help ya get a better understanding in 20 minutes!

Blogging About Blogging...

I watched a pretty cute but corny movie the other day – Julie and Julia. (I think that was the title.) It was all about some girl who was fed up with her boring life and decided to cook every one of Julia Childs’ recipes in her cookbook within a year. She blogged about this project every day. By the end of the film, when her year was almost up and her task almost complete, her blog was one of the most popular on the site she used. She was being offered publishing and writing opportunities, a cooking show, articles in magazines, etc. Basically, she kept an online journal of her cooking endeavors and she got rich and famous off of it… Really? Does this kind of stuff happen? I must admit it is almost intriguing to me to think that I could babble on about the random junk that happens to me throughout the day, acquire some sad fan base, and get famous from it. Obviously I would have to have some interesting things to say, but I’d like to think that my thoughts are just as interesting as cooking recipes. The movie is supposedly based on some truth so maybe this stuff really does happen. Or, maybe it’s like a ‘right place at the right time’ kind of thing where you just have to be lucky enough for the right person to read what you have to say. That kind of thing would never happen to me. Haha – Good luck doesn’t get close enough to me to throw a rock at. Whatever… Maybe someday, if I find the time between work/school/social life/errands/whatever else that comes along to busy me up, I’ll try spatting off my weird and wonderful thoughts on the internet and see how far it gets me… Ugh, even the thought of wasting any of my free time typing away on a computer is gross. How do these people enjoy it???... Yeahhh not for meee…

Procrastinating...

So, I’m not entirely sure how it happens… But, here I am – as usual – hours before an assignment is due, finally sitting down to complete it. I have had a week to type up two blogs on absolutely any topic that I choose, and I couldn’t find any other time to do it… In seven whole days!? That’s not true, really. I’ve had plenty of time to do it… I am just a professional procrastinator. No matter how long I have to do an assignment – even 15 page term papers – I will always wait until the last minute. I hate myself for it sometimes. I can think of numerous occasions where I have had months to organize and complete large assignments, but I will always find myself pulling all nighters to complete it at the last minute. Luckily, I have adapted to being this way and I am actually pretty good at working under this kind of pressure. I have definitely gotten A’s on assignments that I completed in a few hours – which I had months to work on. This does not change the amount of stress I cause myself by going about my school work this way. It is not only stressful at the point where I have no other choice than to stay up all night completing it – if I wish to turn it in on time – but I am also stressed out the whole time prior knowing that I should start it, but just not being able to bring myself to do it. I wish that there was something that I could do to change this, but it’s deeply ingrained in my being at this point. Maybe it will take the one time that I forget to do something all together and screw up my grade for the term that will finally teach me a lesson. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this never happens, though.

Who Am We?

What are the positive and negative impacts on the lives of the users of the MUDs from modifying their identities?

Wow… Honestly, I think that people who spend all their time using ‘MUDs’ to escape reality probably have some ‘real life’ issues they need to deal with – IN real life. I mean, one of the kids in the articles mentions that he spends around 40 hours a week on these MUD sites. What??? That’s as much time as people spend at a full time job! I’ve watched shows on TV and stuff about people who are unhappy with their real lives, so they use virtual worlds as an escape. What a waste! – in my opinion. But, who am I to judge? I guess if I had to list some positive impacts on these people’s lives, I could come up with a few. It occupies their time with something that isn’t physically harmful, like overeating or drugs – which many people who are unhappy with their lives turn to. I’m not saying that everyone who uses MUDs are necessarily depressed with their own realities, but to spend 40 hours a week in front of a computer screen living a fake life sounds like a problem to me. They can experience things that they might not be able to in real life, like dating, traveling, or living as an animal. If they choose to, people who use MUDs can experiment with different personalities – be outgoing, shy, demanding, passive, outspoken, flirtatious, macho, etc – and see what works for them. Maybe, some people actually develop friendships through MUDs and become comfortable enough to share their problems with others when they normally wouldn’t in real life. Maybe they feel uncomfortable talking about their issues verbally, but in an impersonal setting they are able to open up. The problem with living through MUDs is that they aren’t really living. The physical problems are not going to go away because you ignore them and focus on some fake reality. I think it’s kind of sick that people actually go on the computer and perform acts like rape, or have sex as animals, and they think it’s ok because it’s just on the computer. I mean, sure it’s better than doing it in real life – but it’s still a bit abnormal that it gives them pleasure to behave this way whether it’s reality or cyberspace. I guess in moderation, the MUD life has entertainment value… But the people in this article just sound like they have some pretty heavy issues… And as for the wife of the guy who wants to have sexual endeavors with cyber people – but not have it considered infidelity – lady, lose the weirdo. He should be more interested in hanging out with you than chatting to his fictional mistress who he can’t ever even really be sure is a female. Ugh, it’s just WEIRD.

Which is their real identity: their physical or their digital identity?

I’m pretty sure my feelings on this subject are summed up in the previous question – but, I’ll answer it anyways… Their real identity is their REAL IDENTITY. The role they play in REAL life. The one their mothers gave birth to, who goes to school, who goes to work, who pays bills, who eats, breathes, and goes to sleep at night. The one they can get up and look in a mirror at is their real identity. Get over it and learn to love it.

Internet Tools and Education

The internet has presented so many tools that have made life as a student so much easier...

E-mail is something that practically everyone uses on a daily basis, and it’s such a great communication tool for students and teachers. If I miss a class, I can e-mail the teacher or another student to get the notes and assignments and I don’t have to fall behind.

Another fantastic tool that the internet gives students is access to the school’s library from home. When I need to conduct research and find scholarly journal articles for my psychology courses, I don’t have to make the commute to campus. I can sign in from home and search a full catalog of resources.

ISIS – our student datebase, which is another tool that is only available because of the internet, helps me keep track of my gpa, grades, classes that I need for my degree, my school finances, which courses I am enrolled in, etc. Without it, we would only be able to acquire this information by contacting the school or taking the hike to the campus. I would hardly be able to find the time to do this on a regular basis.

One of the most convenient tools that has impacted my life so greatly, and I can thank the internet for it: online classes. Numerous bills make working full time a necessity, and working full time makes it hard to find the time to take college courses, but having a class online that I can do from home makes it possible for me to find a balance. I can do school from home.

Without the internet, I don’t even know how I would survive college. How the heck did people do it before?

Social Networking Sites and Education

Social networking sites are fun and a good way to get and stay in touch with friends you don’t see very often. They offer games, jokes, funny pictures, and quizzes to keep you entertained, but they have also had a more practical use – a positive impact on students, teachers, and education in general. Schools can make their own sites – like UML’s facebook page – to advertise, post events, alert students of available resources, and numerous other activities. Social networking sites also offer a more impersonal form of communication between classmates and teachers so that even the shyest student can ask their questions and make their comments. Purdue University, in West LaFayette, Indiana, developed an interesting use for social networking sites that works very much to the benefit of the teachers and the students. They created a program called ‘Hotseat’ which can be accessed by facebook, twitter, and mobile devices. Hotseat is designed as a forum for students to raise questions, make comments, and rate what other students have to say to make it easy for teachers to judge how well the class actually understands the material and to see where the most confusion is. The conversation is generated from a topic that the teacher will propose about the material, and from there the students participate in a discussion. Based on the comments presented in this site, the program seems to be working rather successfully.

The Internet as a Tool for Education

So, as we are living in the year 2010, I am pretty sure that just about everyone has had a taste of the internet. Whether they use it on a regular basis for work, entertainment, research, school, etc, there is no doubt that it is a valuable resource. The internet makes all of the necessary information that anyone could possibly need accessible by just the click of a button. Who goes to the libraries anymore? Poor libraries… Besides the one at school that I have to use for classes sometimes, I couldn’t tell you the last time I have visited a library. As an educational tool, however, the internet has numerous uses. Students have a quick way of e-mailing their teachers. We can get assignments even if we weren’t in class. Individuals who work full time and are busy taking care of their families or whatever can even take online classes in their own time from the comfort of their home. I know that I take advantage of this luxury. I can’t even imagine how people got by in school – middle school, high school, or higher education – without the internet. According to my findings on this subject (which I found on the internet) both parents and students both agree that it is a tremendously helpful tool for schoolwork. In fact, one of the websites I found conducted a study on this and made a claim that 94% of youth ages 12-17 who have Internet access say they use the Internet for school research and 78% say they believe the Internet helps them with schoolwork. As for other opinions, 87% of parents of online teens believe that the Internet helps students with their schoolwork and 93% believe the Internet helps students learn new things. For more interesting statistics that I found from this study, click here.

Introduction Assignment... Again?

Seriously?
Another one?
Ok, well it says in the assignments that we are supposed to do another intro about ourselves… Talking about my job and what I am doing in school is super boring and getting rather repetitive. Ummm… I’m loud, random, and energetic – but I probably won’t be like that in class because school is a downer. I am taking three classes right now – one online, one during the day, and this one at night – on top of working full time. As a result of these unpleasant circumstances, I live vicariously through reality t.v. during the week. Jersey Shore and For the Love of RayJ 2 got me by for a while, but now they are over… Booo… On the weekends I do what most college kids do… Enough said. I have a sick shoe obsession and I really like the sound of a cat’s meow – especially kittens really. Cheese and chocolate are great… Cinnamon flavored stuff is gross… Clearwater Beach, Florida is my favorite place in the whole world.
That’s all folks…
Oh yeah, Nicki Manaj is my favorite five-star chick…

Ipad and Education...

From what I have read about this apple ipad, it has the potential to have a huge impact on the education industry. First of all, the device could practically eliminate the need for cumbersome laptops. According to an article posted on campustechnology.com, about 90% of students have a use laptops. However, as a student I can tell you with certainty that the majority of these laptop owners do not carry them with them around campus. It is much easier to just take a trip to the library if you need computer access than have to lug it around. The ipad weighs in at a light 1.5 lbs with a slim design and a 9.7” screen – certainly more convenient for a student to bring around. Another perk to the device is the option for use as a digital textbook. Pcworld.com predicts that even if the ipad does not take off as some predict it will as the replacement of smartphones and laptops, it will certainly excel in the market of e-textbooks. A student would be able to read material on a subject integrated with movies and sound. Heavy textbooks with paper pages filled with words could become a thing of the past upon release of the ipad. Also, as if the numerous mentioned features are not enough appeal for a student, the price is also a plus. Steve Jobs announced that the ipad price will start at $499 – a decent fit for a student’s budget.

http://campustechnology.com/Articles/2010/01/27/Apples-iPad-The-Future-of-Mobile-Computing-in-Education.aspx?Page=1
http://www.pcworld.com/article/188239/apple_ipad_vs_kindle_dx_which_is_better_for_education.html

Adding Images to a Blog Post...

I recently discovered Betsy Johnson purses... Huge fan now!

Three more links...

Here's three more sites that I use regularly...

(Honestly, not the most interesting - but they are just the first ones that come to mind.)

UMass Lowell

Facebook

Myspace

NEXT STEP!!!

Links To Other Sites...

How exciting!

Here's my first attempt at adding links to my blog...

Click here to go to my neighbor's blog!

I learned how to create hyperlinks at annunziato.org!

Alright... Now, let's hope these things work...

Blog Number Twooo

So, what do I expect from this course?... I am pretty good at navigating the internet, but there is always room for improvement. This is the first time I have ever participated in the activity of blogging - so there ya go: something new. Besides the obvious, I want a good grade and credits for taking the course. Well, I guess really that kind of goes unsaid too.

I don't read blogs... I've never been one of those people who thoroughly enjoys sitting on a computer for hours at a time. I do enough of that at work and for school. To be honest, I really don't understand how people get so much enjoyment out of getting all fired up and typing up a storm about whatever is on their mind. It's almost kind of funny to me. However, if I had to choose what topics would most interest me, they'd probably have to be fashion, celebrity gossip, and reality t.v. entertainment - yeah, I am pretty much obsessed.

Considering we live in the year 2010 now, I am going to assume that pretty much everyone has had some sort of internet experience. Unless you are really old - and I'm sure even most of the oldies at this point have. In summary: yes, I have had previous experience with the internet.

1st Blog - Intro

Hey,

My name is Francesca Lynch... I think this is the third time I have had to type up a short paragraph introducing myself since starting this class...

I was born in England - moved to the U.S. when I was five - my father was in the Air Force. I grew up on Hanscom Air Force Base. I work as a customer service representative in an office in Billerica. I am a psychology major at UML - planning on graduating with my bachelor's in May. I will still be taking classes over the summer, however. In fact - I have to bang out seven classes between now and August in order to be able to participate in the graduation ceremony in May... So yeah, wish me luck.

Ok, that's enough of that...