My dad's birthday

So, in the past, I talked about dad who is not such a 'computer savvy daddy' but in an effort to broaden his horizons, I am creating a facebook account for him for his birthday! My mom has facebook and so do all of my brothers and I. It would be a great way for him to keep intouch. Since he is finally comfortable with his e-mails, it is time to move up! I am going to wrap a box and inside will be a piece of paper with a user name and passord! I can't wait!

Com 435: Shark Tank Episode

Today in class we watched part of an episode for a new show, that has been out for 7 weeks now, called Shark Tank. This new show gives entrepreneurs the opportunity to bring their big ideas before wealthy individuals who may be interested in supporting them financially and investing in their work. On this particular show, a Purdue student, who participated in the Soy Bean Contest, was asking for 125K to support his Soy-dough (a gluten free play dough). I was really impressed by Sawyer's (inventor) negotiation skills. At first glance, he seems like a regular guy and his pitch wasn't that powerful. However, he had the facts to back him up and his hard work had paid off. He negotiated with these wealthy individuals. Ultimately, he walked away with 300K and 3 supporters. He had to give up 51% of is company...but I believe that he will go very far. How exciting to see his success!

Gamers

Today in Rec we looked at computer games. There are different types of games; such as games for recreation, games with a message, and serious (educational) games. I understand the severity of games becuase my brother once played his X box for so many hours that he passed out and had to go to the emergency room. Games have the power and ability to take control of people. They can be fun and relieve stress but they can also control people.

Exam Reflection

As I reflect on the Exam, it is clear that we have covered a vast amount of information through the first half of this semester. Some of the more interesting topics, for me, were the history and future of the internet and digital literacy. Over the years, from the creation to the internet to where it is today, there has been an incredible change in how we synthesize, evaluate, and use information today. Digital literacy has become a more critical skill as history has taken place and developed the technologies we have today. I am overwhelmed by the thought that the information I know about technologies and the world wide web will be far behind what my children learn someday.

Computer Savy Daddy

In my blog today, I want to take a second and think about my dear dad. He is a great guy, but when it comes to compters...he certainly shows his age. He just got an email accout, so this may put in perspective his abilities and where he stands with the newest technologies. There was a time when he thought his computer had a 'virus.' But, in reality, he was not double clicking on his icons and therefore they wouldn't pull up. I have three brothers and the four of us are working on him, a little at a time, to bring him out of the dark age and into this technological haven. Now, I must confess, I am not amazing with technologies. However, becuase I have grown up in this generation, I am much more familar and comfortalbe using them. I can see that in my generation and peer group, it is a necesity to be digitally literate.

Life without facebook

Today I was thinking about how life would be without facebook. To be honest, I don't really like the idea. I have over 1000 friends, and even though I am not close with them all, I get to keep intouch and see feeds about lots of lives. It is not only exciting but I feel well informed as a result of the easy to access information. Facebook has been such a valueable asset to my life as I have made friends all over the world (either through travel or ministry) and have the privdlege to keep up with them.