9/29/2017: Evernote Review

Evernote: 5/5

Evernote is an application where you can type your own notes. You can make multiple online textbooks and you can also search for notes you have typed when you need to study. I would personally rate Evernote 5/5 stars because it is one of the more useful apps. It doesn't have any superfluous features that get in the way of things. As for limitations, I believe that the only limitation would be that you don't have the opportunity to use online notes in class, so typing the notes up in Evernote might be time-costing. If I have the option to use Evernote to take notes during class I definitely will.

9/25/17: Highlight Reels

I personally agree with the statement that social media accounts are mostly just highlight reels for people. Think about it, what's the point of posting all of these events in our lives? Most people would give you the same answer: because we want to be liked and we want to seem better off than others. I think when people post pictures on Instagram or post on their story, they want to share something fun that happened but they also want everyone to like it so they can feel better about themselves. A good example of this would be if two people were to just break up. I mean obviously they wouldn't post about breaking up cause that's negative and we don't want anyone seeing that! Instead, they post things that show how great their life is without the person. Everyone is artificially positive over the internet when it comes to public accounts. Imagine what it would be like if everyone posted everything that was going on, good or bad.  I feel like everyone should post about the important things happening in their lives,  but it should be about sharing your happiness with others, not about showing off. If you just post just so you can  prove to people your lives interesting, you're doing it wrong. Sometimes when people post things it can leave negative effects on others, even when the post itself was positive. If everyone brags about how great their lives are, exaggerating all the details, some of the people reading posts might start to feel self conscious about their own lives. My biggest takeaway is that you should not focus on the lives of others and focus on making your as great possible. No one is perfect so you should just try your best to enjoy your life and to not compare yourself to others. This ties into our digital life because we constantly look at the lives of others on the internet.

Our Digital Life

1. Your digital footprint is basically an archive of anything and everything you have ever posted on the internet. Anything that has your name, any accounts that you have, anything you've ever posted on Instagram or posted on your story, that's in your footprint. When you apply for jobs, they look at your digital footprint. Don't think having a private account can stop them from finding anything either, some companies have access to all your social media accounts. You can still express yourself obviously, just don't post anything outrageously dumb.
2. Digital citizenship is when you use a device to do things related to anything social or political. If you regularly use the internet for things such as Instagram or Snapchat or even just looking at the news, you're a digital citizen. With this Citizenship there is also responsibility involved. Digital responsibility is basically just making sure you utilize technology in an appropriate manner. Examples of inappropriate behavior would be saying something that could be considered offensive, posting things containing illegal substances, or participating in anything that could be a crime.
3. Top 10 list of advice
    1. If it's something you don't want your parents to see, don't post it on a public account
    2. Be tolerant of others (You don't have to like everyone)
    3. It doesn't have to be illegal for it to harm your digital footprint
    4. Act as mature as possible when posting on public accounts
    5. Don't share your passwords to any accounts you have
    6. Make sure to have a different password for every account
    7. Try to avoid starting arguments on the internet
    8. Avoid posting anything that'd be considered illegal for your age
    9. If it's someone you don't know, you probably shouldn't trust them
    10. If you do comment on something, make sure it's appropriate

9/22/2017: Social Bookmarking Reflection

In my opinion, I believe bookmarks in general make things easier, but sometimes it's much less work to just type something into Google. I could see how people could see Symbaloo as useful because you to have a bunch of websites at your fingertips. However once you get a lot of sites on there, it becomes extraneous. Despite this it's a very useful application; if you have a lot of websites that you frequently visit then Symbaloo would be a good choice. If you're like me, you only visit around three websites when you get on a computer since I basically just utilize my phone for most other things. So my personal preference is just the regular Google Chrome bookmarks.

9/19/2017: Introduction to Social Bookmarking

1. Social bookmarking is basically tagging a web page with some sort of web-based tool in order to easily access it later
2. Social news and social bookmarking help you specifically find what you want to see instead of using a search engine
3. I occasionally use Pinterest to find pictures of cute dogs, food, and things related to that. I use Reddit sometimes too if I'm just curious about what's going on.
4. If Snapchat counts as a website which I think it does I definitely use that the most. Besides that I spend a lot of time on Instagram and YouTube.

9/18/2017: Connected, but Alone?

1.This Ted Talk was about how we spend so much time on our phones that we don't have many intimate relationships with people. It makes us value the time we have with each other less because we can focus our attention on anything we want anytime we want on our phones.
2.The Name of this Ted Talk was Connected, but Alone?
3.My biggest take away from watching it would be to not go on my phone as much as I usually do and actually enjoy sending times with people.
4.Honestly I think we are connected but alone cause I personally text a lot more than I have actual conversations and I notice a lot of other people doing that as well.
5. I honestly love living at the time I am now since phones are convenient and they make my life easier.
6. I probably spend three hours of my day awake not on my phone. In that time I eat, hang out with my hands, or play guitar.
7. I don't think I edit myself online. Theo nly difference would be I'm a bit more social. I don't have a different personality or anything
8. I'd rather have a conversation because you can get to know the person more and just talking to people is more enjoyable.
9. My favorite things to do are probably talk to my friends, eat food, and sing.

Dream Business

"Dream Business" project reflection
1, I used LucidPress because it gave me more freedom to be creative.
2. I choose a seafood restaurant because their aren't many of those in Kansas. I feel like if someone had enough money and put in enough effort they'd be able to handle it.
3. It would be located on 119th and Metcalf.
4. It's a restaurant so it would have plenty of food and some merchandise like shirts to support the business.

9/12/2017 Gratitude

Three things that I'm grateful for:

1. I'm thankful for all of my friends who are always there for me
2. I'm grateful for my entire family for pushing me to be my best
3. I'm thankful for my dogs cause they're adorable and dogs are great.

LucidPress Creations: Magazine Cover + Motivational/Sports Poster

Lucid Press Review (4/5): Lucid Press is very similar to Canva, an application with the same concept as this website. However it has some minor differences compared to Canva. It isn't as user friendly with a complicated design setup, but once you learn it, you can do a lot of things you can't do on canvas. There aren't as many templates however. Overall I enjoyed it slightly better than Canva. I'd definitely use it more if I could spend more time learning it. 

Canvas Designs: Magazine Cover + Motivational Sports Posters

Canva Review: Rating 3/5

Canva is an application similar to Photoshop but it's more aimed towards beginners. You can make posters, magazine covers, and you can edit pictures to an extent (cropping, overlapping).  While it is extremely easy to use, it has some frustrating bugs and some of the features do not work at times. I also appreciated the user friendly interface but the fact that you have to pay for images is just ridiculous. Overall I think it's an okay app but it could definitely use some work.

9/5/17 Alpha Advice

Appreciate others
Be tolerant
Create friendships
Don't procrastinate
Everyone's different
Feel good about yourself
Get some sleep
Help people in need
Impress yourself
Joke around
Kindness is important
Leave the past behind
Make positive memories
Never give up
Opportunities should be taken
Play some music if you're stressed
Quit any bad habits you may have
Reach for your goals
See if you can do better
Time management is key
Understand that you'll never be perfect
Very positive people lead positive lives
When you're feeling down remember that it gets better
Xylophones are instruments
You don't have to be liked by everyone
Zipper pockets on clothes aren't a good idea, they look awful

9/5/2017 My three day weekend

I feel like I really needed this long weekend because I'm taking two AP classes and I was just about done with it. Friday I went to the football game with some of my friends and then we got food afterwards. On Saturday I hung out with my friends some more, we went to Top Golf and the weather was beautiful. Sunday  just relaxed and I knocked out most of my homework, some of it I forgot to do over the weekend. On Monday my dad I grilled some steaks that I wanted to cook medium rare but they ended up medium well since we kind of forgot about them, they were still tasty but it would have been nice if I took them off the grill sooner.