An Undeniable Connection.

View the videos, listen to the podcasts, read the articles and write an entry considering the following:
· consider the scientific and technological advancements that make the project possible;
· consider the impact of our highly mobile, global society on migration;
· describe the importance of the Genographic Project;
· project future migration patterns

"Where do I come from?"
Let's admit it. Every person, at some point in their life, has asked that eternal question. Being humans, it is our nature to question everything around us and this is certainly no different. The spoken tales of our ancestors can only go so far, often becoming too blurred and distorted to be seriously taken into account considering the source from which it is usually coming from. Most people are not even that lucky, for the memories of our ancestors become lost with the passage of time. However, the break-through Genographic Project that is being started by The National Geographic and IBM gives hope to a seemingly hopeless situation.
In order to accomplish such a gargantuan task, one can only imagine how advanced the technology must be. Trying to link your family tree all the way back to the first human can be considered the equivalent to mapping the evolution of the descendants of the dinosaurs. Many DNA-assessing advancements must have been made in order to access the long-lost DNA of ancestors that have gone before us, taking all evidence of their existence with them. However, all these break-through advancements can only be imagined by the general public because the participation kits hold nothing of said advancements. For $99.95, one can buy a participation kit which contains the following:

• cheek scraper
• multimedia DVD
• National Geographic Genographic Map
• Brochure
• Confidential Genographic Project ID #

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I have yet to see one break-through technology that has been said to be used in this project. The contents of the participation kit is hardly worth $99.95 and I would have to go as far as to wonder if it is even worth $15 - it truly is disappointing. Whatever scientific and technological advancements (or lack thereof) that were made to make this project possible can only be left to the imagination if the participation kit is any indication.
Throughout history, man has been known as normads simply for the fact that he has always been migrating depending upon the environmental conditions. We haven't change much since then; our society continues to migrate, maybe more than ever now. However, the difference is that it isn't so much because of environmental condition anymore. Our impact on migration has become much more complex than simply the physical environment in which we live. Now, we migrate for our own future goals, ambitions, opportunities, and dreams. Our society has completely rewritten the reason for the migration that was started 60,000 years ago.
The importance of the Genographic Project ties in with our highly mobile society. Our inclination to travel and migrate has left many wondering exactly who they are and why they are where they are. Although diversity is an amazing thing, it can also consume someone so much, that they are lost to who they are as individuals, especially in the cultural aspect. The Genographic Project attempts to give people the chance to rediscover their heritage and thus gives them a much more profound respect for the great diversity of our society. I believe that one cannot truly grasp this wonderful concept unless one first has an understanding of their own unique heritage. The Genographic Porject allows us to acknowledge that we have all evolved so differently, yet are able to reconnect as one despite our cultural differences.
I feel that migration will only increase in the future, given how things are appearing in the present. Humans in general are curious creatures and can never ignore the chance of discovering something new. We are continuously being introduced to new aspects in the world around us. Curiousity and human nature demand that we follow to discover everything we possibly can. The tendency to migrate was an essential part of the first human beings and continues in all humanbeings throughout history - it has continued this far and has no reason to stop.

o5. "Fair Use" for Who?

Google Book Search is a tool from Google that searches the full text of books that Google scans and stores in its digital database. The service formerly known as Google Print has caused some contraversy.
View the following video on YouTube(the newest addition to google), read about it and try it out for yourself at http://books.google.com/
View the video: Is Google Book Search "fair use"?
Read about it: http://books.google.com/googleprint/library.html
In your journal answer the following questions:
1. What effect will this library-based digitization have on Google’s relationships with publishers?
2. How have Google’s competitors, such as Yahoo! or Microsoft, respond to this challenge?
3. What impact could this project have on the access to information?
4.Will librarians be threatened by the new development?
5. What do you think?

1. Google's foray into a digital library database will undoubtedly affect its relationships with publishers for the worse. Publishers may feel that their jobs will be put in jeopardy because of the digital library. With access to books available online, it will take away from the need to view these books in person, thus resulting in a decrease in publishing and, ultimately, revenue. The amount of people visiting libraries and bookstores will decrease because the books can be found at home on the Internet via Google Book Search. Who would choose to make a trip to the library or bookstore when the book needed can be found at home without even having to rise from your favourite chair? Google Book Search would cause its relationships with publishers to become severely damaged and nearly irreparable.
2. In response to this challenge, Yahoo! has come up with Yahoo! Print and, similarly, Microsoft has started Microsoft Book Search. As assumed, all three parties have the same goal in mind: provide a digital library database for the human population. The way each party goes about achieving this, however, is entirely different. Microsoft only scans material that is non-copyright and only from the collection of the British Library, The University of California, and The University of Toronto. In doing this, Microsoft minimizes the chance of public criticism, controversy, and - most importantly - law suits. Any copyright material that Microsoft adds to its database shall only be added with the explicit permission of the publisher to avoid any arguments. Yahoo! also takes another approach. Yahoo! scans the whole text, but has a much more limited database as compared to the other two competitors.
3. The impact of the access to information that these digital-based libraries offer will certainly have a large impact on everyone. It not only becomes easier to access books, but it also becomes easier to plagiarize that work as well. The fact that students would have to manually write down every letter of what they want to plagiarize when using books usually discourages them from doing so. People are naturally lazy (the fact that plagiarizing exists is a testimony to that) and usually try to find the easiest and quickest way to do things. Making books accessible on the Internet is practically equivalent to shoving plagiarism into a person's (especially students) face! No hand cramps that result from manually writing for too long, no ink stains, no travelling... the project eliminates every factor that discourages people from plagiarizing. One must remember that while Google Book Search does not give the full text of most books, students do not need the whole book to gather their information. Taking snippets from the book manually is essentially the same thing as reading the snippets off Google Book Search. Sure, it offers people access to a larger access of information to develop a more in-depth knowledge of their topic, but when have we ever not abused the access to information that the Internet offers?
4. When considering that libraries will be affected, one must also consider the effect it has on those associated with the libraries: librarians. It's no secret that libraries aren't exactly the most popular places these days, so any decrease in visitors could spell doomsday for some libraries. If they were to close down, that would put the librarians working at that library out of a job; no cause is good enough to justify job-loss. It is already a hard enough job for librarians to try to entice the majority of the youth back to the library without the added obstacle that Google Book Search presents. At least the youth will come in to check out the occasional book for research in school projects, but Google takes away even that with its Book Search Engine. With all the obstacles facing librarians, their task seems to look more and more like trying to moving mountains.
5. I personally feel that Google Book Search will not aid the cause which librarians have taken up. In fact, I feel that Google Book Search will slowly replace libraries for most of the population. Most people only visit the library in order to search for books for research for their projects. That fact alone eliminates most adults, leaving the youth and the elderly as the main visitors to libraries. Like I said before, it's no big secret that libraries aren't exactly the most popular places for the youth. However, with Google Book Search, those ocassional visits will disappear completely because students don't need a whole book for their research - only snippets. I personally love reading and the library, so I dibn't quite like Google Book Search for taking away the modest business that a library gets. It's such a great place, with so much to offer in terms of information and leisure yet not many people even remember that they have a library in their community. It is indeed a sad state in which we find ourselves now a days.

Wii Why?

There has been quite a bit of hype surrounding the new Nintendo Wii gaming system. Some say that the Wii's ability to "democratize" gaming for people of all ages and abilities is revolutionary. Do you think this is a true technological revolution or just hype? Please defend your opinion.

The Nintendo Wii certainly has ventured off the beaten path of most gaming systems, choosing to take the yellow brick road in an attempt to separate itself from the rest of the competition. Whether that separation was for better or worse is the question being asked about the Wii.
Creatively, the Wii has certainly beat all other gaming systems, hands down. However, that's all I can really say that impresses me about the Wii. The graphical capabilities of this gaming console are, indisputably, not up to par with its competitors like the PS3 and Xbox 360. In the world of gamers, graphics count as one of the most important aspects to a great game and a great console; it is what keeps players glued to their television screens for days on end. Let's face it, for each genre, the essential plot will always be the same - there's no variety there. For example, all action games have the same plot; something happens to the main character, he seeks revenge, kills everyone in his path on his quest for revenge, and then finally gets his revenge. Sure, a console that looks attractive and sleek will capture attention, but won't do much else if it doesn't have the graphical capabilities to back up that pretty-looking facade. After all, who buys a console simply to look at it?
Furthermore, I can't say that the pioneer gamepad, that Nintendo invented, makes up for its graphical failures. I'll admit that the new and creative gamepad intrigued me and even impressed me in the creativity of it. However, after listening to the complaints of this ingenious device being riddled with defects, I tried it for myself and have to concur. As it was advertised in commercials, the Wiigamepad can be made into nunchucks so your arms are free to move around and imitate the actions needed for the game. There's just this tiny problem: the cord connecting the two halves is probably just about the length of our body width-wise. A good game means that the player becomes wholly involved in the game, paying attention to nothing else. Players shouldn't have to keep a part of their attention on the gamepad to make sure they don't break it. It becomes impractical and annoying. With such restrictions on movements, it becomes extremely easy for players to snap the cord if they get too absorbed into the game. If one wants to encourage motion-sensing technology in their gamepads, then make sure that the gamepad is suitably designed for such play.
All in all, I can't say that the Nintendo Wii really is anything more than just hype. A technological revolution would mean that it would have to have broken the bar of all aspects of the existing technology. The Wii certainly hasn't done so in the graphics category, and still has too many bugs to fix with its gamepad to be considered a technological revolution. While it certainly does look revolutionary, its performance proves it to be just another regular - albeit strange - gaming console.

o1. Communication Technology meet Yin and Yang

In seminar one, we looked at advancements in communication technology and the benefits and shortcomings that come along with them. For this first journal entry, think and write about how an example of modern-day communication technology has a good side and a bad side.

The advent of communication technology has certainly made our modern world much more accessible. With continually advancing communication technology, the world seems to be getting smaller and smaller as it becomes easier for people to reach even the furthest corners of the world. However, as with everything in the world, there is a thin - that isn't always so clear - line between good and bad. Two of the most controversial pieces of communication technology - blurring this line quite effectively - could probably be the cellphone and laptop.

The cellphone is probably the fastest growing commodity. In only a few decades, it has evolved from walkie-talkie look-alike to a fits-in-your-palm, no-hands-needed piece of technology. Not only does it look great, but it does more than simply making calls as well. Now people don't have to leave a voice mail or continuously call someone who's not available; cellphones can reach people using text messages and picture messages. The network has also expanded, allowing people to make calls around the city and even make long distance calls on their cells if they want to. Cellphones are portable (unlike home phones) and make it possible to call family or friends while on the go. It's also become a sort of safety measure for many people (especially females), making it possible to call for help on the spot instead of running around, searching for a telephone booth.
Nonetheless, the cellphone - like all pieces of technology - also has it's drawbacks. The main problem that our generation seems to have with the cellphone is moderation. Even though we would all like to deny it, most of us often chat on our cellphones all day long until our jaws feel like they'll fall off. Everyday, there is always someone calling and someone to call to talk about the latest gossip or cute crush. Not only do we feel the need to talk all day long, we also need to text message our friends. The moment we become slightly bored, our cellphones are whipped out and we're dialing on the pad like crazy to type out a message to a friend. The problem with all of this? Most teenagers probably don't pay the cellphone bill. As a result of our excessive over-use, our parent(s) must dig even deeper from their quickly emptying pockets; it just doesn't seem fair.

The same could be said for laptops; they've progressed at a tremendous rate in such a short period of time. They've become the latest accessories for students because they're both useful and quite stylish now. Progress has developed these sleek, fit-in-your-backpack notebooks that the world can't seem to get enough of. For students, especially in Mary Ward, these pieces of technology seem like a godsend with their portability and capacity to hold great amounts of information. The laptop allows its users access to their own files and programs and the ever-important, life-sustaining Internet. For Mary Ward students, the greatest advantage to having a laptop is the fact that we don't need to wage an all-out war with the rest of the student body to simply get a computer.
However, once again, there are also the ever-increasing drawbacks that the laptop possesses - particularily for the youth. Since the laptop is becoming increasingly appealing physically, it becomes like another pretty toy that people must have to show off to the world. This problem is especially true for the youth who wish to be seen with the latest piece of technology, not because they need it, but simply because it looks "cool". Having Internet access on laptops can be helpful, but most of the time not in the educational sense. Many people abuse their laptops by using the wireless Internet to chat on MSN, play online games, visit their blogs/websites (think Facebook and Myspace)... just to name a few. Laptops aren't exactly the cheapest pieces of technology available and can be one of the worst ways to invest one's money if for selfish, petty reasons.

Once again, I must emphasize the point that the line between good and bad is often thin and blurred - extremely difficult to distinguish yet all too easy to cross in terms of technology. One must always remember that with the good, always comes the bad.

o3. Society's ever-growing dilemma

Read this article from Wired News War Games Come Marching in and answer the following questions:
1. Why are war video games so popular now?
2. "If it's not realistic, it's not worth playing," is a quote in the article. Do you think realistic war games desensitizing people to the horror of war or is it just fun?
3. What do you personally think of war video games?

1. A part of the reason as to why war video games are so popular now lies within human nature. Since the beginning of time, humans have always had a need for aggression, destruction, and conquering. It is in our nature to be destructive, to win at the expense of others' suffering - a "survival of the fittest" attitude. While the reason doesn't lay solely on human nature, our weakness towards those destructive urges makes us so much more suspectible to the "glorious aspects" of war that are highlighted by the media. Yes, another reason would be the oh-so influential media. It is society's acceptance - and even encouragement - of participating in violence that encourages our destructive human nature to indulge. With war games, the media and the advertisements highlight the "glorious" aspect of war. They challenge the male human, stating that war is only for men and highlight only the glory that will come from participating in war. Humans of course, will jump at any chance that encourages them to indulge in that destructive nature we were all born with.

2. I do believe that realistic war games desensitize people to the horrors of war mainly because people believe that they've seen it all in their games, so it's no big deal when it happens in real life. Realistic war game players assume that real life war is more or less like what occurs in the game. It is most definitely not. The games do not tell of the deaths the soldiers have to cope with after skirmishs. They don't tell of the constant ache the soldiers feel from being thousands of miles away from their families. They don't tell of the struggles of the generals when being forced to make a move that will result in the deaths of their soldiers. War games are neat and clean, providing the realistic entertainment that the people demand. Yet people will mix up the realistic appearance of the games with reality. People believe that what they play is what happens in reality because it looks real. They believe that if they can survive the sights and actions in their games, the soldiers will undoubtedly have no problem in real life.

3. Personally, I don't approve of war games. They instil a "violence-is-cool" attitude among the players. This is extremely wrong because nothing is ever solved with violence or revenge; it only serves to fuel the burning hatred. What kind of values are those to teach to the younger generation? They will in turn carry on the values they were taught in to the future, affecting all the generations to come as well. No matter what anyone says, we are influenced by everything around us. The types of friends we hang around, the environment we live in, the messages of the media... they all have an affect on our values and how we live. You don't have to believe that the game is reality (example: people who believe they are actually characters from their games) in order to be influenced by the game.

o2. Another Modification for What's Already Overrated.

o2. The article suggests that iPod video lectures are effective for '"kinesthetic learners",” who tend to be hands-on, active, and require frequent breaks." Do you think that you would learn well using an iPod? Why or why not?

It seems as if there are a never-ending number of possibilities of advancement for the iPod. First, iPods were mp3 players that then became mp4 players, and then proceeded to become radio stations. Now, we have another modification, video lectures on the iPod! While I can’t say I’m too surprised or pleased with the modification of what I feel is an already overrated piece of technology, I can definitely see some advantages to what is being proposed and tested here.

The iPod video lectures are certainly hands-on and interactive as compared to listening to a teacher while sitting in a classroom. I feel that I would be able to learn extremely well using the iPod video lectures. As a student of Mary Ward, I prefer to learn at my own pace and make up my own schedule, deciding everything for myself. The iPod video lectures would help me further that self-directed learning even more. With this type of video lecture, I can decide when I want to listen to the lecture and let’s me take a break or stop it if I need to. It also enables me to repeat the lecture if needed or even a specific part of the lecture if I don’t understand it the first time. An iPod is also compact and portable, allowing me to take it everywhere I go. Therefore, that would also enable me to listen to my lecture wherever I am. If I have an extremely busy schedule, I could listen to the lecture “on the go” so I can save time in order to fit in everything else that I have scheduled for the day. It would allow for more free time instead of sitting in a classroom for hours listening to a teacher give a lecture that we probably won’t even remember.

However, at the same time, the iPod video lecutres would prove a disadvantage to the students of Mary Ward. While it's okay for older university students to use this type of technology effectively, it wouldn't be okay for the younger students (Grade Nine and possiblly Grade Ten} to use such a device. This type of learning would only work well for the people who are independent and require the freedom of learning. Students in the younger grades (especially Grade Nine) have just come out of elementary school and are not yet used to the measure of independence given to us at Mary Ward let alone have all their lectures on an iPod. It would leave them feeling totally lost and stranded because they aren't used to any sort of independence just yet. I feel that the iPod video lecutres do take away a lot of the interaction between students and teachers as well. Especially in Mary Ward, seminars are ways for the teachers to figure out where their students are in the course and who's who. Put in the iPod video lectures, and the students will feel absolutely no need to physically see their teachers, both students and teachers will become strangers to each other. This is one of the most important problems that Mary Ward teachers have been trying to solve and the iPod video lectures won't help in solving that problem.

After weighing the pros and cons, I would have to (grudgingly) say that the iPod video lectures would indeed be a great learning tool for university students and also Mary Ward students because of the freedom and independence that the students receive. However, there are always limits to which technology can be used, and they should be well noticed and acknowledged, especially when it is involved with some part of our educational learning.

I'm just getting started...

Yes, i know that there's not much of a difference in my "tweaking", but i'm just starting to get the hang of it. Right now, I'm just working on figuring out the blogger.com HTML and changing a couple of the settings to my own preference. HOWEVER! Look out for more major changes along the line because they'll for sure be coming up sooner or later (hopefully sooner than later!). Alas, this is all I'm able to do for now because I don't have the time in order to work on really understanding Blogger.com HTML. I'm also a more than a little rusty at HTML codes and photoshop, so this'll be a chance for me to brush up on my skills!

Stay posted, kids!

Inspiration has horrible timing.

This little bit of inspiration hit me at 11:37PM last night, and I couldn't seem to push it to the side in order to concentrate on my science unit. So, here it is, my 5 minute banner that I think is quite appropriate for this blogsite.