Tuesday, 28 May 2013

Swiss School


Notes on the 5 videos
  • SUMAS is the only university in Europe which offers both management and sustainability.
  • They aim to have a brighter future.
  • Companies are destroying the environment.
  • Many people are trying to be sustainable but it is becoming harder because of increasing consumption.
  • Solar aviation is possible.
  • We can reduce by as much as half our energy consumption.
  • The oceans can rise 20 ft worldwide if the ice melts.
  • We have to change our forms of energy.
  • By 2050 the polar ice will melt if we continue like this.
  • The solar plane has an average speed of 70 miles per hour.
  • We can change transportation.
  • We can change how things are made.
  • We can use sustainable forms of energy for everything.
  • People are becoming more and more aware about this problem.
  • Some companies are becoming more sustainable.
  • You could help the earth by choosing carefully the products you use.
  • Today it is cheaper to keep contaminating than changing to sustainable but on the long run it is worth it.

How Starbucks helps with sustainability:
  • They recycle their paper cups
  • They are building greener stors to help reduce water and energy consumption
  • Separate waste into 3 to help reduce their footprint
  • Have front store trash cans to reduce their footprints
  • They use renewable energy
  • Pushing to reduce energy use by 25% by 2015
  • Pushing to reduce by 25% water use by 2015
  • Their stores are LEED Certified stores
  • They are introducing reusable cup
  • They are trying to use a Design-Collection-Infrastructure plan to recycle more
  • They are reducing greenhouse gas emissions to not contribute to global warming



Wednesday, 22 May 2013

Growing up Online

Things that did not surprise me:
1. Kids hide their identities.
2. People are becoming more and more addicted to the internet.
3. People can get suicidal tendencies because of online bullying.
4. Cyber-bullying is increasing and is really serious.
5. Many parents don't know what their kids do online.
6. Many people have online and offline identities that are totally different.
7. Kids usually don't know the dangers of the internet.
8. Social networks can be very dangerous.
9. Many teens send pictures of themselves doing stupid things like wearing no clothes or being drunk.
10. Teens do stupid things online because they are insecure.
11. People feel more confident online than offline.
12. Teens may fall into a deep depression because they are not popular online.
13. Having many friends online meant being popular.
14. Adults try to educate teens about the internet and its dangers but are mostly ignored.
15. Children start being online since being very young.

Things that did surprise me:
1. Myspace was more popular than Facebook because it is now disappearing.
2. The number of suicides due to the internet because it is very high.
3. How cyber-bullying is affecting people more than normal bullying because of how this changed so fast.
4. How much the internet has changed in just 4-5 years because of the number of people online.
5. The drastic change in number of online users because at first it was normal but then it was more than 400% the original number in half the time.
6. The many ways of cyber-bullying because it can affect a person psychologically but in different aspects.
7. How some people whole world is being shaped since they are young because before kids liked to go outside and play now it is all computer games.
8. How much the internet promotes child pornography because it is one of the main reasons of why people can see it.
9. How kids can deviate their parents knowledge on what they do because they are using ways that require having a lot of knowledge of it.
10. How teens don't care what they post online because it can harm them and they don't know.
11. How internet sites promote being anorexic because that is not a good thing.
12. The number of online dates that turn out in rape because it is amazing the number of sexual molesters online.
13. The amount of predators that exist online because it increases their chances of getting a prey.
14. Girls who are nobody and become really famous because it is amazing how through the web people become famous.
15. How websites promote unhealthy behaviors because the internet was supposed to help people.

Things that have changed:
1. Myspace became obsolete.
2. Facebook increased its users by more than 400%.
3. Kids are taught to use technology since they are little.
4. The increased number of sexual predators online.
5. Kids now worry more about what people think about them.
6. The new number of programs that exist to monitor someones activity online.
7. How now businesses and companies become more technology guided.
8. Children now learn alone how to be online.
9. The increased number of suicide cause because of being online.
10. The number of fake profiles online.
11. The decreased parent support to stop unhealthy actions online.
12. Increased number of sites that promote unhealthy behaviors.
13. Increased number of help sites to promote good internet usage.
14. Increased ways to deviate parents from knowing what children do online.
15. Increased number of depression because of the internet.

Thursday, 9 May 2013

GAFE


  • Like many widely popular web 2.0 apps, google calendar is of course developed with google. 
  • Google Calendar, or how it is known by some Gcal, is an online calendar in which google is required for it to function. 
  • It went out on April 13, 2006 and went out of Beta in July 2009.
  • The interface was designed by the guy who designed gmail, Kevin Fox.
  • You can share and publish your calendars.
  • Like it is an online calendar, you can access your data from anywhere that has internet and it also means that if you have a hard drive failure or something similar, you won't lose your data because it is online.
  • It is an easy app to use because you can configure it on settings and you can use it with hotkeys also.
  • You can change dates easily with the drag and drop.
  • You can change text color, snooze alarms, connect it to your phone via ICal, change notifications, change things from calendar to calendar.
  • You can edit and change events, details, attachments and more.
  • You can make other people be able to edit them.
  • You can import stuff from other sites like yahoo and outlook.
  • Like it is an online application it can virtually work on any operating system and browser.
  • Because of all of this, it can be used to help teachers and students remind any tasks, projects, home works and tests there may be. This is because it is an online calendar that may be published inline in the sites of the teachers to tell what assignments we have and which we are going to do. It can also be used to fix dates for reading or doing stuff and like it can be seen by everyone, people will be able to access it very easily.

Friday, 12 April 2013

Google Day 2

3 goals for the day:
Find 3 topics to study
Choose 1 career for each topic
Research in which career there are better opportunities

Websites:
http://unipodadvice.com/choosingcourse/
https://connection.naviance.com/family-connection/colleges/supermatch
http://www.careers-in-finance.com/
http://www.bls.gov/home.htm

Finance, Business Administration, Architecture and Construction

Career for Finance: Investment Banking

Career for Business Administration: Accounting and Business managing.

Career for Architecture and Construction: Architectural Engineering.

In investment banking you can make a lot of money but first you have to start at the bottom and keep advancing because to be on the top you need a lot of experience and contacts. Business administrators also have good opportunities but they usually start managing small businesses that make little profit. Later you would have to contact bigger companies and get in touch with them to get the job you want. In Architectural Engineering you have to be more creative and start in a architectural company to later separate and create your own to maximize profits.

Learn more about each career for next class.

Monday, 8 April 2013

Google Day 1

3 goals:
1. Find 3 universities that interest me to start researching on them.
2. Find the number of careers each college gives.
3. Find the location of the colleges.
4. Find the annual tuition fee.
5. View the acceptance percentage.

https://connection.naviance.com/family-connection/colleges/
http://www.happyschoolsblog.com/top-100-universities-in-usa/
http://www.forbes.com/top-colleges/list/
http://www.businessweek.com/bschools/rankings#0

3 universities: U. Penn, NYU and Vanderbilt

Number of careers in each: 123, 183, 96 mayors

Location:



1 College Hall 34th and Spruce Sts
Philadelphia, PA 19104


70 Washington Sq South

New York, NY 10012


2101 West End Avenue
Nashville, TN 37240

Annual Tuition Fees: 

42,098 $
41,606 $
41,332 $

Acceptance Percentage:

14%
32%
14%

Now I know which Universities have more choices, are in a good area and how hard it is to get into it.

Next Goal:
How do universities accept students.


Tuesday, 2 April 2013

The Wallets of the Future

What I know:

E-banking and electronic wallets are something that haven't been around for a very long time. I know that since they started, it has been increasing a great deal because it is much more simpler than the traditional way and banks are promoting them so that they stay on the lead and not fall back. I also know that it has greatly increased because of online shopping and because it is easier to make transfers in a way that is not physical but instead digitally.

 Questions:
When did electronic wallets start?
Who or what created it?
What are some advantages this gives?
What are some ways you can use it?

Information links:

http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/digital-wallet
http://www.proximitysky.com.au/electronic-wallet.html

Information:

    1. It is universally used so there is no need to change cards.
    2.You don't need many cards and adresses and papers because all the information is there in an organized and secure way.
     3.It is relatively new so it is not perfect yet.
     4.Most of the information is built in so you don't have to make a big effort to make them run.
     5.They are harder to steal and duplicate than traditional cards because of the encrypting it has.
     6.You can use it in almost anything like a smartphone or computer.
     7.Sometimes they are incompatible with the technology needed for some transactions because like it is relatively new, it is not adaptable to all forms of technology so it still needs further development.

This relates to my live because I was born in the time where technological stuff where just beginning to develop in a more advance way. It also relates to my life because technology is now a part of my everyday life and when I am older, I will possibly use electronic wallets to make my transactions more than normal cards. This is because when it is more advanced it will become very popular just like it did with reading newspapers online and not in the old and traditional way.

Questions I still have:

How much time will it take for it to be fully developed?
How many people will switch from traditional credit cards to electronic wallets?

Wednesday, 20 March 2013

1. The biggest problem we encountered was building the final model because we saw it had lots of flaws. At first we tried to make it stable but we couldn't. Then, we tried to make it pretty but is was hard so we stayed with practical and fun to play.

2. We got our biggest AH-AH ideas when we were talking about our prototype because it was when I came up with the idea of building the slingshot and its target because it was the funnest and simplest to use and it ended up affecting how the final phase would be. It was like the base of everything.

3. Nicolas Cruz resisted it the ideas the most because he thought that he idea was better and he did not like the one that ended up being the final one. He thought it would be hard to build and that it was going to be boring but it ended up being the best choice.

4. I had doubts about how the slingshot was going to be because at first we took a lot of time and effort and it did not work very well so I thought this would be our biggest issue. It ended up being it. I also asked myself if kids were going to like it and they did because let's face it, who doesn't like shooting.

5. Cruz played the devil's advocate because he questioned everything and did not like the ideas. It became frustrating but at the end he helped by finding a way in how to make the base stable. Also he helped in the design of the prototype of the slingshot.

6. I learned to work better in groups and to plan things. I also learned that always something can be made better or fixed in a way that is sometimes really hard but it can be done.

Wednesday, 20 February 2013

Design project-day 3

CHOOSE PHASE:

Everything we did matches perfectly the description of the prototype because it was innovative, addictive, competitive, challenging and elementary kids would enjoy it because of this, but the only part where we have to improve is the attention calling part because it is not very pretty.

The most powerful ideas in our model that we would like to keep are: the difficulty, design and the ide of the slingshot.

Things we could leave off to simplify the game could include: Slingshot design, and the small, unstable base.

IMPLEMENT PHASE:

Build plan:
1. Create the target with cardboard and markers
2. Create a stable and high base to attach the target with cardboard
3. Create the slingshot with rubber, pencils and tape.
4. Join the base with the taget with tape
5. Make small paper balls for the slingshot
6. Enjoy!

 Step 1 and 5: Lorenzo
Step 3: Camila
Step 2 and 4: Nicolas

Who will bring what:
Cardboard: Class
Paper: Lorenzo
Pencils: Nicolas
Markers: Class
Masking Tape: Class
Rubber bands: Camila

Thursday, 14 February 2013

Design project-day 2

Prototypes:

Camila's: simplest, easiest and fastest,
 but it has to be hanged to the wall

Lorenzo's: Many options to shoot and many targets for more challenging game play, mutliple players at the same time so many people can enjoy it,
 it is very complex and hard to make it stable and strong.

Nicolas'es: It has a base so it can stand better ad stand by itself,
Very hard to make only in one class

Camila's is the best model because it is the easiest.
Details we will add to camila's model are a base like nicolas model but more solid and take away the need to be hanged to a wall.

Feedback: good design, easy to use, fun it works, the base should be taller and fix the slingshot so that the rubber stays and not flies away and make it more attractive.

Wednesday, 6 February 2013

Design project day-1


Lorenzo Castellanos, Nicolas Cruz, Camila Toro


DEFINE PHASE:

1. The game will be for elementary school boys
2. The game will be medium
3. A game is fun and successful when: It is challenging, competitive, innovated, attention calling and its addictive.

RESEARCH PHASE:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cEWELoxEsY

This was a labyrinth arcade and it was good because it is really creative and addictive because it makes you need to win.

For this one, a way to improve would be to gain an amount of tickets depending on the difficulty of the game.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sd7x-F5irBY

This was a ticket grab game that was creative and good because it is fun to get tickets and you want to get prizes.

Also an improvement could be to not leave the tickets on the floor because it looks very easy to cheat on it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5n-TvzLUCTo

This is a homemade pinball machine which is fun because it is a game that you are familiarized with and you like.

A way to improve it would be to make it a challenge and not just to arms hitting a ball

IDEATION PHASE:

1. Our ideas for an arcade:
-Mini Bowling Game
-Mini Moving Labyrinth
-Safe Slingshot Game

2. Our final idea is a slingshot game in which you hit a target. This game will be fun because the elementary school boys like shooting and action games were you compete against your friends and enemies. The targets are decorated and have colorful designs.

3. Some things that could go wrong could be the inappropriate behavior that can be taken by the things and the destruction of the machine and we would avoid this by securing the arcade better and leaving the slingshots to the kids only when it is time to play