Cyberbullying

Cyberbullying has been around ever since the creation of social media, which allows us to interact and commuicate with others online. Cyberbullying is harrassing and abusing someone on the internet. Over the years, you hear on the news about teenagers ammepting to commit suicude because they were bullied by someone on the internet. Everyone has been bullied at least once in their lifetime, even the popular singers and actors you see on television. Recently, a 12 year old girl, Rebecca Ann Sedwick, commited suicide due to cyberbullying, and it's just a shame because she was so young, with so much to look forward to in the future.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/14/us/suicide-of-girl-after-bullying-raises-worries-on-web-sites.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20130914&_r=1&

AI and Robotics

Robots are starting to take over the world; they are taking over jobs that used to belong to humans because they are more efficent and they work for free. Large companies love to spend as little as possible to manufacture their products, so I think robots will eventually take over all of the manufacturing. But, there are in some cases where robots can do things that humans cannot do. For example, NASA designed a robot for Mars, something a human cannot do, yet. Robots tend to make less errors than humans because they are programed to do the same things every time. I say "less errors" because sometimes even robots will make a mistake, but overall, humans will make more mistakes than a robot. When an error is made, either by a robot or a human, it is the human's fault because humans created and programed the robot.

http://www.manufacturing.net/articles/2014/03/nasa-designs-a-robot-for-mars?et_cid=3827304&et_rid=280995797&type=cta

Legal and Ethical Issues

Creative Commons' mission is to help people like you and I share our knowledge and creativity to the rest of the world. They do everything in their power to maximize digital crativity, sharing and innovation. Some information should be free to everyone because, quite frankly, I do not think anyone would be willing to pay. Also, people with blogs or websites would just summarize the paid information on their personal site. It would be very difficult to enforce a payment for information because there are lots of ways around it. Are they going to start charging people to borrow books from the library? Books are a great source of information, although it may not be as convenient as doing a Google search. Music and movies should not be free because people work hard to produce them, but like I said, there are ways to obtain them for free. Piracy is a huge problem in our society today. According to Communications of the ACM, people who are more familiar with computers tend to commit more misuse than others. In conclusion, I believe some information should be free to the public, like news articles, journal articles, and just general information. Other information, like movies and music, should have a small fee, but we need a solution to the priacy problem today.

http://cacm.acm.org/magazines/2006/6/5903-piracy-computer-crime-and-is-misuse-at-the-university/fulltext

Security and Privacy

After the enormous breach at Target over black Friday weekend, the company has started to work on heavily secured credit cards. Security and pirvacy on the internet is a huge problem because hackers are getting smarter, and there is no way to create the perfect security system. Hackers will always find flaws in the coding, and they will try to exploit it. If that wasn't bad enough, the government has been under a lot of heat for spying on United States citizens. A former NSA analyst that goes by the name of Edward Snowden has leaked documents that show the government spying on us. So, in conclusion, beware of what you do on the internet because there are people out there watching your every move. They probably know more about you than your own family. How crazy is that?

Future of the Web & "the Cloud"?

Let's get right to the point. The future of the Worldwide web that we all use on a daily basis is bright. There is a lot of potential and plenty of room for improvement. The web has been around for quite sometime now, and things usually fade away over time, but the web is an exception. Frankly, the web is, in my opinion, growing faster than it ever had due to many of these smart gadgets that companies are releasing to the public. Today, it would be strange to go through an entire day without using the internet for one thing or another. 

Large and well-known companies have started to in cooperate their own storage systems, generally known as "the cloud." The term cloud in this sense generally refers to an online storage where users are able to back up their files. Major corporations, such as Apple, Google, and Amazon, have developed and are building upon their own cloud systems. I do not know much about Google or Amazon's cloud, but I do know much about Apple's because I am an Apple user. Apple's iCloud lets users back up files or pictures from any iDevice, and it will automatically sync on to all your other iDevices logged into the same iCloud account. In my opinion, "the cloud" is a very convenient way for users to keep their files from being deleted by accident. According to ABC News, Microsoft's new CEO, Satya Nadella, has said that Microsoft will be focusing more on "mobile-first, cloud-first world." This sounds like a very intelligent move by Microsoft, seeing the success that "the cloud" had for Apple.

http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory/nadella-head-microsoft-gates-leaves-chair-role-22357505

Networks and Communication

Nowadays, people communicate through text messages probably more than any other way. I think this is because everyone has a phone with them at all times. Smartphones have the unique ability to send and receive messages and emails. Text messaging and emails keep us in touch no matter where we are in the world. It takes just a split second for our messages or emails to be sent. In my opinion, using text messaging, emails, and any other forms of online communications will allow us to have discussions with people from around the world. "Skype in the Classroom, from York to Antarctica," it opens up opportunities for us to learn from professionals. A class of 3rd grade students chatted with a scientist through Skype who is in Antarctica studying penguins. Lastly, these technologies can be used to start an online lecture and class discussion.

http://www.yorkdispatch.com/localnews/ci_24976145/skype-classroom-from-york-antarctica

A Little About Myself

Welcome to my blog. Here, I will discuss my thoughts on technology.

My name is Calvin Liang, and I am a freshman at Northeastern Illinois University. I am a business major, but I am also really interested in computer science. I intend to finish my general education at NEIU before transferring to another school. My hobbies are playing basketball, riding my bike, and just hanging out with my friends.

I feel that a course can take full advantage and effectively integrate blogs, Twitter, and other web 2.0 technologies into the class by learning about such technologies, and of course, working with them. According to the article "60 Ways To Use Twitter In The Classroom By Category," a NIU professor uses Twitter as a bulletin board for students. He keeps his students updated with the latest news, for example if class was to be canceled at the last minute. I think this is a brilliant way to integrate Twitter in the course. It is a great way for the professor and students to communicate outside of the classroom because there is a limited amount of time students get to be in a classroom. With social media networks like Twitter, professors and the students can keep in contact outside of class.

http://www.teachthought.com/social-media/60-ways-to-use-twitter-in-the-classroom-by-category/