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Tuesday 5/29 Assignment

Blabberize is an effective and interesting Web 2.0 tool that can help teachers and students in the classroom. Blabberize is a website that allows students and teachers to make an avatar, add a mouth, and record. Blabberize can be used effectively in any class, but especially History.
For example, in AP History, my class must create a presentation about a topic in History for Mr. Minnocci, such as Prohibition, a President, or a decade. Instead of a typical powerpoint or poster, it would be much more engaging to create a blabberize. The blabberize would effectively communicate the information without boring he students. With the blabberize, I would create a project on Women's Rights, instead of creating a powerpoint that may bore the class. With the blabberize, I would highlight major dates and names, instead of simply writing it on a slideshow.
Blabberize is a great way to make those not comfortable with presenting in front of people gain a bit of confidence. It may be easier for students to create the blabberize in own privacy, and simply press a button in class to present it. Blabberize is rarely used in class, so it will be interesting and intriguing for students,and also can add a little fun to the classroom with the avatars.

Tech Article 5/24

gTar usses an iPhone to teach you the guitar

Incident, a company based in Santa Clara, California has designed a new digital guitar in hopes of aiding guitarists of all skill levels. The guitar utilizes the iPhone in order to help learning how to play the guitar much easier. The iPhone has an app for the guitar that uses software comparable to Rockband and Guitar Hero. The gTar has frets and strings, much like a regular guitar, but the fretboard lights up,making it easier for beginners to get used to finger placement and proper strumming and plucking. The gTar has three levels; easy, medium, and hard in order to challenge both beginners and experts. The gTar itself does not make noise, rather the sensors on the neck of the guitar sends sends a signal to the iPhone. The iPhone then produces the sound. The gTar has a retail price of about $400.

Tech Article 5/4

Blackberry 10 Prototype is Given to Developers
full article here

BlackBerry has recently announced their newest smartphone, the BlackBerry 10. The new BlackBerry aims to revive interest in the BlackBerry market and challenge the iPhone. There is no longer the signature physical keyboard, or a single button on the front of their phone. Executives also demonstrated how users will be able to swiftly change between several apps on the final version of the BlackBerry 10.The prototype phones’ 4.2-inch, high-resolution display is much larger than the 3.5-inch display of the current iPhone 4S but smaller than the one on the largest Android phone, the Samsung Galaxy Note, which offers 5.3 inches. The phone also has two microphones which will enable better sound quality during calls.

Summer Plans

Over my summer break I plan to get a job either at the Rutherford Library or life guarding. I also plan to join a swim team and swim competitively. Furthermore, I plan to spend time with my friends as well as vacation with my family in Wildwood. I will also go to the beach frequently with my friends. Most of all, I will relax with my friends and have fun.

Tech Article 4/21

Orfield anechoic chamber - the quietest place on Earth
full article here
In Minneapolis, Minnesota, Orfield Laboratories created a room that is 99.9% sound absorbent. The chamber is so quiet it can be compared to an outer space simulation. The room is made up of thick 3.3 foot fiber glass wedges, double walls of insulated steel, and a solid foot on concrete. Steven Orfield often challenges people to remain in the room in complete darkness. The longest anyone has lasted is 45 minutes. After 45 minutes, the human mind becomes concious of hearing the body's heart beat and breathing as well as the stomach gurgling. This sends the brain into a frenzy. People began to hallucinate sounds that weren't there, a way for the brain to compensate for the silence. The complete and utter silence confuses the brain, since it is used to background noise constantly. This room can also be used as test chambers for companies as well as labs to figure out how loud a product really is.

Tech Article 4/12

full article here.
Recently, there have been many rumors of Iran blocking the Internet, and instead creating an "Intranet" for the entire country. These accusations have been denied by the Iranian government, who claims that the "propaganda wing of the west" had created such rumors. The rumors included plans to block websites such as Google, Hotmail, and many other sites. The Ministry, however, denies these plans. Although the Internet will not be banned, there are many filters on the Iranian government that ban websites from the Iranian people. These filters, however, can easily be maneuvered, allowing Iranians complete access to the Internet

Spring Break

Over my Spring Break I participated in a lot of activities. I hung out with my friends and went to the movies to see The Hunger Games. Below is the trailer for the movie. I enjoyed the movie and have read all the books in the series. I also participated in Habitat For Humanity for National Honor Society. We went to Paterson in the first ward and participated in building a house for those in need. We helped move and clean up the building site and also helped to put up two walls of the house and secure the floor with nails. We also learned a lot about the organization and how they started. The website for Habitat for Humanity also has a lot of information on the organization. I also participated in the Junior Class Car Wash which was a big success.The car wash made over 400 dollars for the junior class. I also, unfortunately, wrote my research paper. In all, it was pretty good Spring Break.

Google's New 'Account Activity' is a scam

Recently,Google has proposed its Account Activity feature, still in its beta mode. Unfortunately, the new feature does not tell its users what they truly want to know. Many Google users want to know how much Google truly knows about them by the topics they search, websites they favorite, and the emails they send. Instead, Google Account Activity is a basic overview of what browsers or platforms you use, alternate emails and the applications you use, as well as your location and most used contacts. This useless information does not state what Google truly knows about its users. Although still in beta mode, there is not much hope for Account Activity by its users. Google users want to know what Google really knows, and have the right to have it deleted.

My Voki

Tech Article 3/16

Encyclopedia Britannica to stop printing books
After 244 years, Encyclopedia Britannica will stop the production of its iconic multi-volume book sets. Normally, Britannica publishes a new set of tomes every two years but instead will only be focused on digital encyclopedias and educational tools. President Jorge Cauz said the move is part of the company's evolution. In reality, the printed encyclopedias only count for one percent of the company's total sales. The move to digital will appeal to the younger generation and will allow Britannica to compete with websites like Google and Wikipedia.

A Review of the Lytro Camera

What if you could refocus pictures after the camera has taken them?

With the new Lytro camera, you can. With the Lytro, pictures are taken just like any other camera, but the digital files are much larger and can be refocused later. This is possible through the new technology introduced through the camera. Not only does the Lytro take into account the brightness of incoming light, but the direction the light is coming from and the colors it contains. Scientists call this information light-field data. With this technology, the camera can focus and refocus over again just by tapping the touch screen.

The camera is about the size of a stick of butter. The lens is on one side, and the small touch screen on the other. Unfortunately, the touch screen is too small and the quality is a little grainy. However, this technology is a big step away from traditional focusing implemented in modern cameras.

A social networking site of your own!

Tech Article 2/17

Cancer Breath Test Enters Clinical Trial
Full Article here.

In Mountain View, California, a breath test called Metabolomx completed a clinical trial that shows its breath test can find lung cancer with an 83 percent accuracy rate. The test can also differentiate between types of cancer. Normally, this would require a biopsy. There are many cases of false positives for lung cancer, and this new device will effectively determine if a patient has cancer without exposing them to harsh radiation, none of which are approved by Medicare. Chemical results of a tumor’s metabolism are dissolved in the blood, and can end up in the breath. This is why trained dogs can identify breath samples from patients with lung cancer with a 98 percent accuracy rate. Paul Rhodes, the founder ans the CEO of Metabolomx will continue test trials to make the test more sensitive to biomarkers and get the accuracy rate up to 90 percent. This rise in accuracy will hopefully make the test available in the markets.

Winter

Truthfully, I don't really like anything about Winter. It's too cold and school is especially boring . Plus, I am usually pummeled with school work and club activities. I like the Spring much more, when it is warmer and you are able to go outside and hang out with your friends. Its hard to make plans in the winter or do fun things because you are forced to stay indoors due to the cold weather. This website has a lot of good ideas for winter activities. The only thing I enjoy about Winter is that it is the holiday season. I also don't mind it when we have snow days or delayed openings, even though I end up having to shovel my driveway and sidewalk. We haven't had any significant snow storm though, so we haven't had snow days at all this year. I attached a pretty good video of a time lapse of a 30 hour snow storm in Washington D.C. in three minutes.

Welcome to my Blog

Hi, my name is Victoria and I'm a junior. I like swimming, reading, hanging out with my friends, and painting. My dislikes are winter, waking up early and math. My classes are :

• Web 2.0 
• AP History
• Culinary Arts I
• Gym
• Pre-Calculus Honors
• Lunch
• English III Honors
• Chemistry Honors

In the future, I am hoping to attend either The College of New Jersey or The Rhode Island School of Design for art as well as pursue a career in art.