2 Single Story 2011

" Danger of a Single Story "

1. What does it mean to have a " single story " about a place or community ? To have a " single story " is to have an opinion or perspective about an area, without knowing all there is to know. Like forming a biased opinion about that place. 
2. Describe a single story you have heard told in your community. What is missing from that story? How could people learn more about about that community? Everyone outside of East Austin, has this idea that the people living in this community are either uneducated, poor, a criminal, or a trouble-maker. What they don't understand is that just because certain bad things tend to happen does not mean that all of the people in that community are exactly the same way. There's is bad to all communities, just like there is good.
3. Describe a single story you have heard about another community. How did you learn that story? How could you find out more about that community? Let's take West lake for example, everyone has an idea of how the people are. People outside of the community think that everyone is snobby and sophisticated and boring and RICH. When really every person is different. Yes, they have money and yes they have big houses, but they are human just like everyone else. So they aren't exactly perfect. I belonged to a summer soccer that team that was mostly Caucasian and the girl always used to talk about living in different areas like Westlake, East Austin, etc. Most of the things the girls described when talking about Westlake, was "snoody", conceited, big headed, etc. Also when you read or listen to news, mostly they say how Westlake is so perfect and pretty and great, when really there's two sides to the story.
4. How could a game let players experience many stories about a place or community? A game could show people the different types of communities in one game and contrasting and comparing the different ideas of people and communities. 

1 . Cyberbulling 2011

This is my first blog post of the 2011-2012 school year.

What is a cyberbullying? Cyberbulling is when someone bullies you from the Internet. No one necessarily knows who it is, but that person picks on another person.
What are the different types of cyberbulling? Some examples could be exclusion, harassment, cyberstalking, and anonymity
What should you do if you are being cyberbullied? Tell a trusted adult or friend about the problem and/or report the person to the webmaster to get them blocked or deleted.
"Cyberbully" :
How does the main character feel about using "clicksters" at the beginning of the film?
She doesn't really care to be on the website because her mother is very protective and she wouldn't be able to have her own freedom on the site.
What is her family situation?
- Challenges ; Being bullied at school by Lindsay and her followers
- Relationships ( Mother, Father, Brother ) ; Her mom is overprotective and involved, Her father left the family for a younger woman and her brother and her have a regular, love/hate relationship.
What type of friendship does she have? She had a trusting, average friendship.
When does the bullying start? The bullying had already been going on from the beginning from Lindsey and her followers, but it starts to spiral out of control when she joins " Clicksters " .

What is the result of cyberbullying that Taylor experiences? She starts to feel lonely and a little depressed and feels like something is wrong with her.
What type of cyberbullying does Taylor experience? Gossiping, Threats, and Impersonating
What would you do if you were in Taylor's shoes? I think that I might've tried to stop it a little more forcibly and been WAY more angrier.

How does Taylor react to the mean comments people keep posting about her? She feels alienated, alone, and worthless.
Does she ever try to stop people from posting insults? What could she have done differently? She doesn't necessarily try to stop it, but she tried to fight back. She could've brought more attention to the bully
How do you think Taylor felt about her friends betraying her?
She was confused and hurt, that one of her close friends did something like that to her.
What kind of changes do you see Taylor experience things from the film? Taylor's made constant changes from being depressed and alone to hopeless to okay to just different things.

Winding Down

What is your team name ? The Kidds
What is the name of your game ? The Waves of Change
What is it about ? The Waves of change is about how the oceans rising temperatures & pollution are affecting the marine life and eventually the human race. It also about how people can come up with ways on their own that can become great solutions in the end.
What scenes have you completed ? We have completed all scenes , although there are a few things that we could of gone in and edited to make the game look more professional and presentable.
What parts of your team page are completed ? We have Game Concept, Game Demo File & Pitch, Paper Prototype, Game Design Demo and the Final Playable Game File.
How much more work do you need to complete ? We have about 3/4 of everything completed. So I would say at least 1/4 of the team page and game completion.
What can you do from now until Friday to get everything completed and turned in ? Well if we work a bit more diligently and use our time wisely, I think we can have everything completed exactly the way we want it.
What grade would you give yourself overall in Globaloria ? Overall is Globaloria I say I deserve at least an 85. Maybe lower I suppose, since I think that I could have done better with the game.
What are all of the things you have learned this year ? This year I learned how to put in more elaborate and complex coding, I learned how to be a bit more patient and I learned how to cooperate & delegate instead of trying to be a control freak.
What are you proud of in Globaloria ? I would say that I am proud of our game completion mostly. I think we did well, considering we had to cram in most lessons, but I really understood things better this year.
How can you improve next year ? We definitely have room for improvement . I think that I can work on flash designing, using my time more wisely, flash coding, and working harder to try over achieve and not do the minimum amount of work.

Valerie F .: 12

iCivics.org

1. What does this site teach ?
This site teaches about Civics and how some things affect the community
2. How do it teach about civics ?
It teaches about Civics by showing the ways people can get involved in helping better issues and developing different plans.
I liked how the games required you to play active rules in the "community".

Valerie F. : 11 2011

     The Nintendo 3ds was recently released by Nintendo. With higher game quality, 3d features and double screens, Nintendo claims that " its truly a cutting-edge piece of hardware ".
    It now has a motion and gyro sensor which enhances the reaction to the motion and tilts of 3DS, 3D screens ( that do NOT require special glasses or anything ) , a 3D depth slider that adjusts the 3D effect and settings, two screens that allow double the play and graphics, analog control and an adjustable stylus that gives better control to the gamer, and lastly, but surely not least a 3d camera that allows 3D photos ( much like the 3D screen. These new features are believed to make a gaming expirence on the Nintendo 3ds, an incredible and advanced one.
   The price for one of these advanced console is about $250. These pieces of new technology obviosly do not come cheap !

( Images retrieved from  http://www.nintendo.com/3ds )  

Valerie F. : 10 2011

     Well, after we create our games I really don't know if I would try to sell it. I think it would depend on what the game was focused , how we wold present the video game , and if it was really good enough for the tough video game competition-world. However, if I did I choose to try and advertise our game, I think I would choose to have one well-known male athlete ( probably Michael Phelps or Crisitano Ronaldo ) , one widely-know female athlete (  probably Venus/Serena Williams ) , and one very knowledgeable scientist . I think that it would not only promote better health for the Earth and a cleaner environment, but it would also create a better reputation for the people.
     The advertstising part would be a bit difficult, but I think that we could maybe do great commercials and maybe some talk shows to better promote it.

Video Blog : Wave of Change

Wave of Change , Paper Prototype

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NoYcX4bbwo

Valerie F. : 9 2011

      It's really unfortunatre the this Tsuanmi in Japan happend so suddenly and so fast. It caused a lot of destruction throught Japan and evevtually it affected to whole world. I'm really amazed that kids from all over are interested in helping other people across the world. It's really good that youth can have the opprotunity to assist those in need and learn about caring for other people. I think that donating money, supplies, food, and manpower is a great way to try and find a temporary solution. Its going to take some time for us to find a permanet solution to this diaster,but we have the brain power and diligence to find more ways to help.



Image Retrieved from dailynewsbrief.net

 
 


Image Retrieved from photos.nj.com

 



Valerie F.: 8 2010

There are so many newer, advanced projects coming out, that every game company is in competition. The PSP npg is just one of the many portable consoles that is very advanced with newer features and quality. It's now a touch screen, it has censors to control things, its used as a phone, it has Internet, its has Skype. So basically its like a computer and a phone. I'm actually impressed, alittle. This just comes to show that with dillience and dedication, that better things come.

( Image Retrieved from http://game-insider.com/2011/01/27/sony-announces-new-psp-codenamed-ngp/ )

Valerie F. 7 2011

Mad Hot Ballroom



1. What does the word "teamwork" mean to you ?

                The word "teamwork" means people working together to complete or accomplish something.

2. How do you see these students trying to working together ?

                The children have to help each other and listen to each other in order to do the dance correctly.     Meaning, that they have to communicate and cooperate to accomplish something.

3. How important was teamwork for these students ?
Teamwork is important because the dances require both people to do well to win, so the have to help each other and dance well.

4. What do you think is the main message that these students should take away from this experience?

Not proving anything to anyone, but yourself that you can do it. That with only your determination and power can you do something, great.

5. How will you work together with your teammates in this class ?

              Well, in order finish a project we have to agree on a topic, problem, and solution. We have to work with other teams to fix small mistakes. And we will work together, as a class, to better understand technology that is in our generation.

• 1994 Ballroom dancing was introduced to 5th grade students in New York City
• Today 6,000 kids from over 60 schools are required to take thus 10-week course
• The Dancing program is free to the public
• Most of the students are from the Domican Republic
• Large Percentage of Single Parent Families
• The dancing provides the children opprotunities and new things to learn