AT&T Center for Learning and Technology

Today, I went to the AT&T Center for Learning and Technology for the first time during our computer class. I am so glad that now I know that this center exists because it has a lot of advanced software and computers that might come in handy. I learned that students are allowed to check out material such as cameras which I know will come in handy later in some of my business classes. The software that is available here such as Photoshop will also be very helpful since I do not have it installed in my personal computer. I had never used Photoshop until we used it in class and I find that it can be very helpful especially for editing pictures that can make my presentations appear more interesting. I also learned today that there are many people that are willing and able to help you with anything that you might need when working on a project at the center. I know that I will come back in a few weeks to work on my homework for computer class which will require me to use Photoshop.

This is a self-portrait that I did in 15 seconds.

My thoughts about Excel...

I am so glad that I am learning so many different functions in Excel. I know for a fact that I will use it in future classes and in real life especially since I am studying business. I wish I had learned it before because it could have come in hady when I opened my two businesses during high school. I was awarded the Texas Youth Entrepreneur of the Year Award along with a few other teenagers and one thing that I noticed was that many of them were using Excel to keep their "books" for their businesses. I never learned how to use excel properly so I wasn't able to use it and now I can see that it could have saved me A LOT of time. There is nothing I dislike so far about Excel, on the other hand I really like all the different functions that can be used not only for businesses but for persnal budgets as well. I will definitely be using it after our computer class finishes this semester!


These were the finalist for the award and I am on the right top corner.



Pictures that lie!

When I first saw this picture, I was in complete shock and could not help thinking what Oprah's reaction must have been when she found out that her head was placed onto the body of actress Ann-Margret. Oprah Windfrey is not only an amazing and succeful women, but also respected by thousands of people. I can't believe that someone would manipulate an image to make her body look so different. This picture was published on the cover of TvGuide in 1989.
I tried to figure out why someone would do this without permission of the person, but it is very hard for me to come up with an answer. I used to think that using photoshop to make somebody's body look skinnier was wrong, but this is just out of control because that is another person's body!
I am certain that this manipulation was harmful, especially to Oprah who is such a strong woman and this was just extremely disrespectful.

The YouTube video I added below carries a very strong message that women should not let modeling industries change their look. This image manipulation has gotten too far and people are being manipulated to an extent that they look like a completely different person. This needs to change and the only way is if we express our feelings.

Who is to blame when teenagers commit suicide with help of the internet?

Thousands of teenagers commit suicide each year and many people wonder who is to blame when these distressing events take place. For this blog entry I will discuss a hypothetical situation about a first-year medical student in California who posted in her personal blog explicit directions how to carry out an assisted suicide. The problem arose when a teenager who was being treated for depression read her post and ended her life with an overdose of drugs. Her family found a note that she left behind for them and it stated that she was able to end her life with the help of the blogger who described the process.

First, I will like to state my opinion that is it unethical for people to post such harmful information on the internet. I believe it is also illegal since there are a number of laws that have been passed to help reduce the rising suicide rates among teenagers. This blog entry can be considered something that provides information aiding people to commit suicide. Not only is this information available to anyone since it is posted on the internet, but it can be accessed by younger children who are not able to reason and make educated decisions yet. Even though the blogger intended to provide this information to help adults, she is still making an unethical and illegal mistake. Her information is allowing for people to take their life which makes her responsible for the death as well. If these people had not read the information, they could have been treated and still be alive. The blogger is also responsible for the damage and pain to the family and friends of the deceased.

In my opinion the person responsible for this tragedy is the medical student who posted the information on her blog. First of all, the teenager herself could not be responsible because when people suffer from depression they have a health problem which keeps them from making knowledgeable decisions many times. As Julie Thomerson stated, “Suicide is ultimately a mental health problem, but there are triggers and contributing factors that lead young people to turn to suicide as a solution, rather than dealing with their problems in healthier ways”. The weblog content provider is also responsible because they should have some kind of software that allows them to detect when people are posting harmful information. The parents should not be prosecuted because they were doing their part by making sure that their teenage daughter was getting treated for depression. I am unsure whether they were monitoring their daughter carefully, but all of this could have been prevented if the medical student hadn’t posted the information on her blog. I understand that when teenagers suffering from depression show any sign that they might commit suicide, parents must monitor them at all times. It is impossible for a parent to be watching their teenage daughter every second of the day and that is why I believe they should not be prosecuted.

Thomerson, Julie. "Violent Acts of Sadness: The Tragedy of Youth Suicide." State Legislatures 28.5 (2002): 30. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 13 Feb. 2011.

Copyright Presentation by Jason Hardin

In today’s class, Jason Hardin gave us a presentation on copyright that I believe was extremely helpful and interesting. First, I learned that there is a difference between the term copyright and plagiarism. Copyright would be reproducing someone else’s work as your own while plagiarism is presenting someone else’s work as your own without giving credit to the author. Not only are these two terms different, but plagiarism is more of an ethical issue, not a crime. Another thing that Jason said that really caught my attention was that “technology itself is not illegal”. Jason explained that we can use this technology to share stuff that belongs to us, such as art or music. This doesn’t mean that if we bought a movie or CD it now belongs to us, but that we can share movies or music that we created. 

We learned about an issue involving a 17 year old girl who downloaded 37 songs using a file sharing program. She was sued and felt she was innocent, but she still lost the case and has to pay $27,750 to the recording industry. On one side, I believe that she was guilty but the amount that she has to pay is just ridiculous. The reason why I believe most of us found this presentation extremely helpful was that many of us did not know most of the things he told us or we were unsure whether the things we get from the internet are safe to use.

Copyright Presentation by Jason Hardin by Karime Gonzalez is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.