Journal #7: Digital Access

One of the most surprising aspects of this unit for me, is the realization of how much we actually depend on technology. Today, if you live in an area with lack of, or slow, internet, odds are you will either complain until it gets fixed, or switch locations. It amazes me how much we use technology today, and how much even little towns are developing, just to keep from becoming a "ghost town". The thought of eventually becoming so dependent on technology in the future terrifies me. Some day, it is possible that this will occur, and there are so many benefits, but risks as well that this unit has shocked me with.

The most difficult part of this unit for me, was attempting to understand, and find, ways that technology could be harmful in the long run. I had to think about the chance of hacking, or the theft of personal information that could occur. Also, how these things could effect everyone was a big thought I had to consider. Eventually, I did decide on a few negative aspects, as well as positive, for the situations provided in assignment #2.


I do believe everyone should have reliable, fast access to the internet. It is helpful for many workers, as well as school goers, to complete their assignments, and other internet related work, at home. Also, it is a great method of communication for many families who are not always side by side. The internet is an amazing thing that connects a lot of people in many ways, to not have that connection would be difficult.


I believe everyone has a time when they become concerned about their privacy online, I am not exception. Especially over social media, with everyone being able to see everything, it is a scary situation. I am always considering ways to protect myself online, avoiding sharing too much is always a concern. You will never see me getting too personal or informative about myself online, I just do not seem to trust the internet that much. Constantly, I am protecting my accounts, like Instagram, my profile is private enough so that anyone who wishes to view my photos, or information, has to send a request by me first. I believe this is something all users should do.


Every time I post online today, I am always thinking about the future. It scares me that some of the ignorant, inconsiderate, posts I may have made in the past, when I was overly immature, could come back to haunt me in the future. So, today, I am constantly overlooking, and over thinking, each post I make so that I know it cannot harm me later in life. I hear stories all the time of employers, and post-secondary administrators examining their applicants social media to get an idea of what kind of person they are, and I do not wish for that to be me in a negative sense. Today, any controversial posts I may have are probably my opinions, or thoughts on subjects that I would be willing to stand by on 100%. If in the future, these posts do happen to affect me, odds are I will not be willing to comply with those of whom disagree to the extent of denying me a position of any sort.



I think the biggest issue with young people today, and digital access is the failure to think about the future. You see children, and teens of all ages, posting harmful media that some day will most likely harm them greatly. It is my opinion that everyone should carefully monitor what they post online now, because that stuff does not go away, and the internet is a huge place. In the future, you will regret your past decisions, if it affects you, and possibly your dream school, or even job. Everyone should think twice before hitting that post button.

Assignment #2: Privacy Please.

Situation #2- The benefits of an election done 100% online would be efficiency. The majority of residents would have the means to participate, and voting counts would increase, which is a huge improvement for the government. As well, the challenge of tallying up the votes would disappear, it could be done quickly and easily with the support of technology.

Some points against the matter though, are also issues that involve the efficiency of online. It would be easier for these votes, done "anonymously" to then become public knowledge. Also, the internet is not 100% secure. For some, it is as easy as 1-2-3 to hack into a computers data base and interfere with voting counts. This could result in some form of terrorist effort, or even just an election done against the majority's favour.



Situation #3- Again, the benefits of such a situation involve efficiency, but also prior knowledge for students. It would be much more convenient for parents to have the ability to connect to a website, to view their child's grades, and improve as necessary. Also, it would be helpful for the students to be aware of their possible declining grade, so they are able to adjust their habits to fit more suited grades.

But, this situation may be an issue as well. Having digitally connected records of student's marks could be dangerous for those who know enough to be able to hack into the computers, and edit the information. This could lead to inaccurate results on the behalf of a few, and leave the more achievable students without recognition. Although this could be an issue, it could also effect the aspect of the school's security. More people could find ways to access the network, and get out personal information of some, that should not be shared.



Situation #4- Many benefits could come from using computers as a new form of education systems in 2020. It would be better for students especially, to be able to do your work from the comfort of your home, without the distractions of other students. You will be able to work at your own pace, and avoid being held back by others in a classroom. As well, there would not be the worry of losing class time during storms, and becoming behind in your lessons.

Even though there could be major benefits of this situation, there are also many downfalls. There would be a loss of jobs for teachers, and administrators, grades could decline, and the worry of those who do not have the means to use a computer for such. Without the aid of staff, student's grades could fall due to the lack of understanding some may have, when not taught the lessons physically.  These could be issues far too great to take the risk.

Assignment #1: Fast Internet Speeds in Small Towns

1. Some of the internet connections in rural communities mentioned in the article are ten times quicker, like in Olds, Alta; the fastest internet in the country.

2. These communities are getting faster internet speeds than what is even being offered by many Canadian Telecom companies by putting high-throughput fibre-optic cables directly into homes and businesses. They are installing their own high-speed fibre-optic cables,

3. The community of Harriston is considered "fortunate" according to Hope Reidt because their owners are very forward-thinking. They're "way ahead of the curve in terms of wanting to provide the best technology available" as he states, because homes started getting fibre-optic cables installed in 2008.

4. Olds community decided to build their own fibre network because businesses were becoming frustrated with the "sluggish internet" and had threatened to leave town. They paid for this service by using government grants and loans connecting every home along the way.

5. Once the community of Stratford installed it's own fibre optic network, it attracted more attention from investors like The University of Waterloo and the Royal Bank opened up a $400-million data centre there.

6. Bell installed fibre optics in more than a million premises in Atlantic Canada, and also to Northern Ontario.

7. Small towns and communities need high speed internet more than ever now in order to keep employers and residents from leaving to move to better connected cities, abandoning them in the dust.

8. The Federal government supplied around $305-million to increase internet access in Canada.

Journal #6: Digital Business

I found most surprising in this unit that there are companies that people trust with their money, that are not the most secure choices. They are putting their money, and personal data, into hands that are not always safe, which can be a very poor choice on their behalf. It shocked me how common this actually is, but also that there are companies who take good care of you, and your money.


For me, it was most difficult to decide which method of shopping was more convenient for it's buyers. I had trouble deciding whether online shopping, with it's expanded options involving items and locations, had better opportunities than store shopping. In the end, although it was hard, I figured having a closer, more available option, with easier return policies, and urgency requirements, was the preference for many others who may not have access to online stores.
 

My mother use to be one of online's greatest shoppers. At first, she had a lot of luck with her items, they all fit the stated condition that the sites said, and she enjoyed them very much. But, after so long, she became careless with which stores she shopped from, abandoning the research she should have done on each company. At one point, she had purchased a pair of leggings with fur interior. She had selected a size medium, because she figured they would stretch if they did not actually fit exactly like they should. Once the purchase arrived in the mail, my mother realized her biggest mistake: she did not check to see which country she was shopping from. The leggings had come in a size medium, based off of a typical woman figure from China, the pants would not even fit me. We then realized that online shopping is a lot more difficult than expected.


I have never sold items online personally, but I do know others who have. Overall, I would say their experiences were quite positive, they did not encounter any theft, or scam buyers. In the end, they did sell all of their items they had wished to sell.


Two tips that I found particularly helpful or important are:

- "When buying using KIJIJI and other online service make sure buying is done in a PUBLIC PLACE and never send money via mail or other ways to the seller." This tip is important in my opinion because of the scam factor of online shopping. Sometimes, the "seller" may be lying about the item they possess, and steal your money once you send it to them. Also, it is important to remember to purchase these items in a public place, in case the seller is, in fact, a scammer or even just a bad person in general who may take advantage of the situation during privacy.

- "Whenever possible use the "TAP" services when paying with credit cards and debit cards to limit the amount of time your card is with others." The importance of this tip is clear: the less time others have with your debit or credit cards, the less likely they are to steal your information, money, and possibly your identity.


The biggest issue around online shopping for young people today may be the innocence they all possess. Most are unaware of the circumstances, and many online sellers could take advantage of this ignorance. They are more likely to be victims of scam, theft, and many other things because of this. We need to keep the young people of today knowledgable about the dangers and precautions we must take when online shopping.

Assignment #2: Paypal

1. Paypal is a safe, and secure way to transfer your money from the bank, and credit or debit cards, to online sellers that allows buyers to avoid giving up all the unnecessary information about their accounts.

2. Using their methods of security when locking away all of your given information is one way that Paypal keeps you, and your identity, safe from online stores. They do not give any access to your private files to the sellers, all they receive is the money that you owe, and that is all. This way, there is no risk of the companies or sellers, stealing your personal information, and possibly your identity.

3. The money that Paypal makes comes solely from the sellers themselves. They charge a small fee to the companies for using their resources.

4. Paypal protects you from theft by looking into the issue. If it is found that something has gone wrong, and you are eligible, they will use their Purchase Protection program. This program will then reimburse you for the full price of the item and the original shipping costs. (https://www.paypal.com/ca/webapps/mpp/paypal-safety-and-security)

5. If I started a business I would allow payment using Paypal. This process is quick, and efficient, and it would give my buyers a feeling of security. They would never question my business and it's integrity because they would always be a top priority with Paypal.

6. Personally, I prefer Paypal to Google Wallet. Both companies have the same idea, to allow their users to transfer money safely, but Paypal has more options. Unlike Google Wallet, Paypal can transfer your money to almost anywhere in the world, where Google Wallet only transfers to the US. As well, for me, Paypal seems like the safer choice. Google Wallet does not have a backup program for theft, that I've seen, Paypal does. In the end, it just comes down to the safer, more efficient company.

Assignment #1: Shopping Carts

1. One reason why people still shop in stores is because of urgency.  You do not have to wait however many business days to receive your purchase, you can quickly run out, and grab what you need.  They go to stores for the things needed now, not later.  Another reason people remain in malls and stores to shop is because of the "unknowing" factor of online shopping.  For example, in a store, you can try stuff out; such as clothes or perfume, but online you never know how the clothes will fit, or how the perfume will smell.

2. The two biggest reasons people shop online is because of the expanded merchandise, as well as the availability.  With online purchases, most stores will sell more items than they do in store, giving the buyers even more options to choose from.  Also, when you shop online, your purchases are either shipped to your nearest post office, or even your own home.  You no longer have to go out of your way to buy these things.

3. For me, the choice of which shopping I would prefer can vary, depending on my reasons for shopping.  Personally, I do not enjoy the hassle of shopping online, worrying about if it'll fit or not, but I also do prefer having more options.  If I had to choose though, I would have to say that shopping in stores is my preference.  I like to know where my money is going for sure, and that the items I am purchasing, are not going to disappoint me.

4. In 2050, I believe that people will still remain in stores, unless some brand new technological device is created that can bring you your needed purchases instantly.  For me, the thought of people avoiding stores is ridiculous, especially when you cannot buy fresh produce online that will not be rotten by the time it arrives.  So, I do think in 2050 stores will still be a common form of shopping, especially added the factor that with in store shopping, almost always, what you see, is what you get.

5. As any business owner would believe, the most important thing to consider when adapting your company, is how society is functioning today.  In my opinion, this was a smart business plan change on Canada Post's behalf.  They are adapting to the new lifestyles so many people are taking on, although it can be a downfall for those who are not quite ready to make that digital change.  For instance, my grandparents do not tend to use any form of technology, other than a telephone.  So, for them, it would be an issue when Canada Post switches their purpose.

6. One way that online stores could do to improve on their return processes and such, would be to allow a free exchange on the products, and to keep the shoppers informed on how long their product will take in postage.  This would allow us to get a better idea on how things are going to work, without the risk of losing money.

Journal #5: Digital Wellness

The thing I found most surprising with issues around Digital Wellness is that most people today, are putting their health at risk, just for technology.  Most are harming their mental well being by avoiding social interaction, and replacing it with digital communication.  As well, they are becoming harmed by the constant ignorance to their physical health.  They are not getting the kind of physical work out their bodies need to function, and instead, are spending all of their time online.

I found most difficult to understand in this unit the fact that so many people are oblivious to the issues technology is having on our well being.  Some are unaware of the distractions it causes and continue to use it during the places where focus is most crucial, such as driving.  Others do not realize that life extends from the internet.  They invest so much time online, that they forget that a large majority of your mental health, comes from communicating with others.  This is being neglected in an online community.  All of these things came as a shock to me.


The biggest issue when it comes to Digital Wellness for young people would be the social aspects.  Today especially, you hear more and more of teenagers who have social anxiety issues and other mental health problems.  I believe a lot of that stems from technology.  Believing that the internet is an efficient substitute to socializing is their greatest downfall.  The bullying that goes online is shocking also, and frankly harmful to their wellness.  Their mental health is put at stake for what?  Something that will most likely not be important in the future.

Assignment #2: The Pledge

I pledge to take at least 2 hours a day, to work on bettering myself, (exercise, healthy eating) rather than spend it on my computer.

I pledge to cut off my time on technology for another hour a day, so that I may spend time with my family to improve my mental health.

I pledge to log off of social media when I am completing homework assignments, that way I am not distracted.

I pledge to avoid using the internet, late into the night, so that I am able to get a good night's sleep.

I pledge to put my overall health, mental and physical, over technology.

Assignment #1: One Mississippi

1. Seeing these distances in meter sticks made me realize how big of an impact even a single second can have.  It made me understand the importance of keeping your eyes on the road at all times when operating a vehicle because so much can happen in a second.  When you take your time to do something else, like answer a text, or talk to your friend, you are taking a huge risk.  In a second, someone could walk into the street, a driver could lose control of their vehicle, and so much more.  We should not be taking these risks.

2. One reason this video is effective is because it gives it's viewers an idea of how quickly things could change.  By checking a text, you are not completely aware of what is going on around you, and how things could turn for the worse.  This commercial may also not change anything for some, because you will always have those viewers who believe they are better.  Some may think that they are a multi-tasking pro, and not take into account the real impact this commercial has.  They may see it as the driver not being as skilled as they are, leaving this commercial with zero impact on them.

3. An invention that could help drivers to avoid distraction would be a device that turns off all mobile devices when the car is in drive, cutting out their signal, or wifi.  It would keep the drivers from being distracted by their phones when they ring, as well as keep them, and their passengers, safe.

4. I do think I will speak up to the driver of a vehicle that is constantly distracted.  Not only are they putting their lives at risk, but the lives of many others on the roads as well.  In my opinion, I do believe I would tell them to stop, or correct their error.  If I am in the car with a distracted driver, I will take their phone if they get a message, and reply for them.  That way, their eyes remain on the task at hand, driving.

Journal #4: Netiquette

The thing I found most surprising when it comes to issues around Netiquette would be that there are so many details each online user is missing when we avoid reading the Terms and Conditions.  Right in the fine print of every terms of service, there can be conditions that we are agreeing to that are frankly terrifying and shocking.  It was most surprising to me that we agree to these things, without even reading what we are agreeing to.

I do not believe most online users take the time to read the terms of service.  Today, we use the internet more and more because it is efficient to avoiding wasting our time on the little things.  With the internet, we can sign and send documents with the click of a button.  So, when we take the time to join a network that requires an agreement to a Terms and Conditions document, we do not waste our time to read them.  The documents are far too long, and time consuming, that in our society, is just another obstacle to avoid.  People should always read the terms of service for whatever they are signing up for.  It can be dangerous if you are unaware of what information these companies are taking from you, and giving it out to the world wide web.

If I was to rate my online behaviour on a scale of 1-10, I would give myself an 8.  Although I, like many others, avoid reading the Terms and Conditions, I do use my experiences online appropriately, in my opinion.  Seldom do I use my time online for anything remotely malicious.  I do not hack, hate, or steal, anything online, I rarely even give my opinions on touchy subjects.  My only downfalls that I can see are my avoidance of the terms of service guides, and my lack of knowledge with most online topics.

One thing that I can take from this unit, and apply to my everyday life would be any self knowledge that I may have ignored before.  For instance, I will begin to read, even just scan through the terms of service, so I have even a remote idea of what I'm signing up for.  As well, I will be more cautious of how I act within any form of online discussion board.  I know now, that it is important to avoid ignorance online, and that you must consider many things when you participate in online discussion.

I believe the biggest issue with Netiquette for young people would be not knowing what is enough.  Most are unaware of how their over expressed opinions could harm others, and are delusional to the inappropriate ways they use the internet.  All of these issues are what connect us to even bigger problems, for example, cyberbullying.

Online Discussion Boards (Assignment #3)

Some of the guidelines that are similar to expectations in face to face interaction would be staying on the topic at hand rather than avoiding or changing the subject. Avoiding speaking too loud, (or in the case of a keyboard, caps lock) is considered inappropriate in a conversation also.  Remembering to say "Please" and "Thank you" after receiving help from others is a common expectation in face to face interaction as well.  Maintaining respectful, accurate, and forgiving of others, during conversation are all very important guidelines to follow.

When participating in online discussion four guidelines, taken from the list, that are extremely helpful and informative for using these boards would be:
1. Running a spelling and grammar check before posting on an online discussion boards.
2. Knowing to check the most recent comments before posting, as well, remembering to check the groups FAQ before asking to avoid inconvenience.
3. Remembering to be brief in your answers online is another helpful guideline.
4. Finally, knowing not to be angry, or sarcastic in your answers is an extremely helpful guideline, to make sure people do not misunderstand you.
All of these guidelines are extremely useful in order to keep online discussion running smoothly, and without error, or misinterpretation.

Personally, the only experience I have in any form of "Online Discussion Boards" is a Facebook group I made for my entire class.  We use this group chat to discuss upcoming events, or anything I, as a student council member, need to mention to my class.  It overall is a positive experience so far, although there are the select few who tend to wonder off topic.  The group is working quite efficiently for the ones who use it properly.

I do, in fact, believe I would enjoy a course where I could discuss issues online with other students.  It would be a helpful way to understand and communicate about projects or any other form of assignment.  As well, I would find it valuable when attempting to find ideas, or research, with the help of my fellow students.

Do As I Say (Assignment #2)

Five reasons I choose to do the right things in digital society are:
1.  For me, reputation is everything.  Being involved in many activities that involve maintaining a good position in the eyes of others, I cannot be putting things out there in the digital society that may put these things into question.  I must avoid posting rude or hateful comments, cursing, or any inappropriate online expression that could give me a different posture, (and not to mention, it's just plain rude and I prefer to be as kind as possible).
2.Jail is not somewhere I would like to be.  So, hacking into websites or accounts belonging to other people is something I will not participate in.
3.  I see what happens to people who are put into embarrassing, cruel, activities online.  Suicide is a huge issue, especially today, where we go to our screens for everything.  Frankly, I just do not wish to be the reason behind someone else's pain.  To push someone so far that they believe harming themselves is the only way out, is the sickest of actions anyone could make.
4.  I value my computer and digital communication more than a lot of things in my life.  In order to keep my accounts and data safe, and as private as possible, I avoid all websites that could contain viruses that may harm my computers or other forms of technology.
5.  Being someone who puts a lot of effort into everything I do, I understand greatly the issues behind stealing the work of other people.  Being lazy is a terrible excuse.  Someone spent a lot of time on these things, whether it be music, writing, paintings, etc. and to illegally import them for yourself, and not give the creator the proper acknowledgement (whether that be money, or even a simple source) is inappropriate in my opinion.

Online Standards of Service Use: (Assignment #1)

After researching terms and conditions of use, I found quite a few scary terms many websites have, and use regularly.

For instance, one commonly used condition is that the company owners are not responsible for anything you do, or that is done to you, while using their site.  To put into a scenario, if someone sent you a message, and said they know where you live, and that they're planning to kill you, there is nothing the service owners are going to do to help you.  

Another frightening policy that is used frequently is one that states, that once you accept the terms of service, any changes that are made to their polices will not be notified to you, you will not be aware of these changes, but you will have already agreed to them.  Say you accepted the terms, then a few months later, they changed their policy to say that the company can use your private information in anyway they please, you will not know that this has happened.  

The fact that most people are unaware of these terms when signing up, (because lets be honest, who has the time to read the terms and conditions?)  is terrifying! Especially in cases involving most young children online.  Although, some of these policies may make sense (like ones involving no credibility to what the users do) because you do not want to be responsible for what others do, it is still unsettling that we really have no idea what we sign up for.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/AskReddit/comments/27wtdm/what_are_some_scary_things_hidden_in_the_terms/

Journal Entry #3 (Digital Rights and Responsibilities)

 After completing the assignment on Digital Rights and Responsibilities, some of the things that I found surprising would include how often these ideas are ignored.  The fact that bullying online, using other people's work as your own, and hacking into other people's accounts, is such a huge issue right now is astonishing.  I did not expect most of these things to be so common, with all of the awareness around cyber bullying that there is today, you would think people would begin to think twice.

In my opinion I do not believe most people act responsibly when online.  I think that when most people use technology they are unaware of how much information they share, and often share too much.  People commonly use the internet in ways that can be, at times, malicious and cruel to others.  Gossip sites, and public media is only one example of irresponsible use of the internet.  Some can be quite responsible, when they are aware of the affects of their actions online, where others can be completely oblivious.

The one commandment I believe would be the most important is "Thou shall always give credit, where credit is due." To me, this is the most important of all because, not only is plagiarism illegal, but it is just plain rude as well.  For someone to spend all of that time on their work, only to have somebody copy it all, to pass it on as their own without giving the proper acknowledgements is probably one of the lowest things you could do.  There was valuable time spent on that write up, image, etc. and to just use their work for your own purpose without giving them credit is a terrible thing.

One of the biggest issues around digital rights and responsibilities with young people online, in my opinion, would be cyber bullying and neglecting their right to express their opinions.  Most of the time, this right is used in the wrong ways, in which others are harmed by their words.  It can, at times, be useful, but with the young people today, nobody really understands how much of their opinion is too much.

Assignment: Digital Rights and Responsibilities

Journal #2: Digital Communication

The most surprising thing I found about digital communication would be the ways that people use it, and how some believe it is an adequate substitute for social interaction. This surprised me because I always knew our generation, with our new found technology and such, were very disconnected, but I never could have imagined we were that much. We see digital communication as an accurate form of communication, when really, it lacks all the things that are necessary in conversation.




From the video I watched, I learned that it is actually considered rude to not reply to messages within 24 hours. As someone who has a lot of trouble replying to people, mainly just because I am terrible at realizing when a message is received, it gave me a new understanding of how people may view my responses. As well, I learned that when you send a document under say microsoft word 2007, the person you send it to may not be able to open it. I learned how to fix this problem by saving the document under a Rich Text Format.



BCC or Blind Carbon Copy is when an E-mail contains addresses of recipients of the message whose addresses are not to be revealed to other recipients of the message. It could be used when sending an important message to several people at the same time so that the other recipients of the message would not see the addresses of the other members. This would be important when the others may value their privacy and wish for the amount of people who know their address to be sparse.



I believe it should be considered by young people that your level of respect is greatly affected when using digital communication. When speaking to family or friends, or any level of authority, it could be considered rude to not give the respect of socializing. It is important to remain connected to people socially, so you do not lose that sense of "people skills" or else you will become someone who may even fear the pressure of social interaction. You must limit your usage of digital communication in order to obtain these results.

Acronyms Attack (Assignment Two)

Three more abbreviations that could be used to save time in digital communication could be, TFC (thanks for caring), OMW (on my way), and TBH (to be honest).

Four places you could NEVER use abbreviations when communicating digitally would be when creating formal writing such as a resume, documents to a workplace administration, book reports, or any form of school related homework, as well as when preforming tasks that require proper grammar and sentences.

Communication Compass (Assignment One)

Digital Communication is any electronic exchanging of information.


Four advantages of digital communication would include:

- If you have family/friends who do not live near you, you are able to connect with them in ways that don't involve travel.

- For people with employment that involves a lot of conference meetings, and things that involve expensive travelling, it is possible to use digital communication to avoid this.

- With digital communication it is possible to receive news from all over the world about important causes or events that have taken place.

- It is simpler to complete projects with your group members, with programs like Google Drive and even just Facebook messenger.


Four disadvantages of digital communication could be:

- The risk of releasing your personal information into the hands of a stranger

- Privacy becomes a huge issue when it is possible for anyone to view anything you do at any time. With the invention of camera phones, everyone has the ability to capture moments in an instant to share with anyone.

- Lack of emotion in conversation. You could mean one thing, but it could come across to the receiver in a completely different way.

- Distracts us from what is most important, like spending time with family and friends.


The three most popular forms of digital communication today are:
- Texting, or using cellular devices because it is convenient for everyone involved. You can talk anywhere, at anytime, all you have to do it click a few buttons.

- Social Media and other online connection sites are another very popular form of digital communication used today. People prefer internet related communication because you can share photos, videos, and ideas instantly through the web, without the stress of real social interaction.

- A third common form of digital communication that is used quite frequently would be online video calls such as FaceTime and Skype. This is most likely used more often by people who want to reach their family or friends quickly over long distances. As well, many people use these programs when preforming conference calls, etc.


There are many forms of digital communication that often remain popular for a while, but after enough time passes, become irrelevant due to new types of communication. Some forms I believe will become irrelevant over time, or less frequently used would include:
- For me, I believe Facebook will become a form of digital communication that will eventually die down. I know for a fact, the amount of people who have an account on Facebook today, and the amount of people who use it, are two completely different numbers. There is so many new ways to communicate being discovered that websites like Facebook are no longer as huge a deal as they use to be.

- Texting eventually, as more efficient ways of communication are developed will become a thing of the past in my opinion, because even today, texting is becoming less and less of a fad. Right now, even with things like iMessage, texting is being used sparsely, so in the future, when there is going to be even more technology created, texting will slowly disappear.

- Finally, E-mail is just one more thing that eventually will become irrelevant over time. It is rarely used today, so as time progresses, it will fade away just like many other things already have.


Five locations/scenarios I believe you should not communicate digitally would include:

- In a workplace that involves critical social interaction, such as a therapy office, teaching environment, etc. I believe these areas are especially important to avoid digital communication in because it is more convenient to learn or understand things when someone is physically there to speak/teach you. If you have any problems with understanding it is easier to explain yourself clearly in physical form than digital form.

- During a situation where someone's life is at risk, and help is needed, it is especially necessary for their to be physical attendance for the injured. It is almost impossible for someone to receive assistance over digital communication, for a fatal injury.

- At a funeral, it is completely disrespectful to use your technology during services like such, where you should be giving your full attention and respect to the people involved.

- While you are driving it is actually against the law to use digital communication. You will be distracted by your technology when you really should be focusing on the task at hand to avoid accidents.

- When spending time with family or friends. It would be inappropriate for you to pay all of your attention to digital communication rather than communicating socially.


In my opinion, two of the most dangerous forms of digital communication are:

- Online chat sites such as Omegle, etc, where you speak to strangers through video chat. Especially for younger people who don't really understand the dangers behind allowing a stranger to know personal information. It is possible to accidentally give out private details about yourself that could harm you in several ways.

- Most social networking sites can be quite harmful to a person's well-being. In situations that involve cyber bullying, and things like that, a person could be driven to the edge from constant interrogation, and embarrassment.


I think eventually the children of the future will discover their own healthy balances with digital communication. Even today, the severity of it all is clear to us, and I believe that over time as children will begin to learn more and more about technology, they will start balancing technology with work and necessity. They will find their own ways to handle technology and be taught not to depend completely on it.


If someone passes away or is too sick to use any digital communication I believe the accounts or pages should either be taken down, or given to a close family member to take care of, to save photos or memories for the family, and so on. It should be left to the family or closest thing to family that the person who passed has. I don't think it should just be taken down, but I do think if that happens, then all of their memories and such should be able to be saved or downloaded for the family to keep.

Journal #1: Digital Security

After completing assignment one in Digital Security, I was surprised to find that people still use number sequences as valid passwords.  I thought that many people knew that was far from a good idea, and to create more complex passwords.  Also, I noticed that it does take a lot to create an effective password, that is in fact seen as "strong".  You cannot just use one or two words/numbers/symbols, you should have a complete sentence of sorts before it is viewed as acceptable.

For me, it was slightly confusing to figure out how to create a safe password that computers can't find.  As well, I had difficulty deciding whether or not adults are more prone to using simple passwords.  This was difficult to me because I compared the selections to teenagers today, and I know for a fact that I am very likely to forget passwords.  Along with many other teens, I believe I forget these things because we are too preoccupied with our own lives and business that we tend to push things like that aside and lose them.

I believe my passwords are very secure based on the sections I reviewed.  They match up to the required criteria involving multiple words, symbols, and letters, and variations within those things.  Even so, I have tested out my passwords in the calculator provided which stated that I possessed strong passwords.

In my opinion it is important to consider all of your passwords carefully when choosing one because each and every website we use online holds at least small bits of personal information about us all.  If we do not take it into special account, we could be putting that data out into the wrong hands, without even knowing it.  When you think about Digital Security, it is important to remember what is too much information.  You wouldn't give out your address, phone number, or even your complete name/family's name, out to a complete stranger, so why do we do it online?  It is important to consider that when you give these details about yourself to websites and social media, you really don't know where that information is going for certain.

Digital Security (Assignment One)

In my opinion I would say that the passwords, 123456, password, and 12345678 are all very simple passwords to guess.  Mainly because I feel whenever someone has chosen a password for a site their first instinct is to put something they know they will remember, and since we've been taught numbers since pre-K, that is one thing you will undoubtedly remember.  As well, "password" as a password is extremely obvious, partially because it is written right beside the box where we enter our password, so it's almost impossible to forget it.

As someone who has been using passwords for as long as I can remember, I can't say I do remember ever using these passwords, maybe for a little thing like a locked diary or something of that sort, but never for any of my social media or games.  I haven't used any of these probably because I have absolutely no trust in easy passwords like these, even today, half of my passwords are sentences instead of a simple word or number, just to keep the difficulty level high.

I do believe seniors and adults may be more likely to use these passwords, because they are the main group of people who seem to forget things more frequently.  Since they have more trouble remembering, they likely go to using more simple methods for passwords, than difficult ones.  It's to my believe that we could prevent these disasters by causing better password protection, with backup technology such as using security questions, like many websites do, about things only you would know/remember.

Other terrible ideas for passwords that were not shown on this list would include using your own name, your favourite colour, pets names, etc.  Basically, anything that would be public knowledge, or easily accessible to anyone other than yourself.

I don't believe their should be a limit about the least amount of characters used, but I do think that a password containing only a few characters could be extremely simple to find out.  As long as your password is something you can remember and keep private, your characters used should not matter, in my opinion.  It is stated though, that sentence passwords are a lot more difficult to reveal using computers than one word passwords are, as well as passwords containing variety in symbols and numbers.

Apps on Google

Today in class I was given the task of testing out two of Google's apps.  The first app I tried out was called HelloSign which is used to sign online documents.  Where everything today is done online this app could be very useful.  This app would be especially useful for someone who is having a rushed day, and doesn't have the time to complete all of their usual tasks, this app is there for you to use as quickly as a few clicks.  All you need to do is write out your signature, save it, then you can use it anytime you need.

The next app I used was called PIXLR Editor.  It is an online photo editing app with a lot of interesting techniques and special features involved.  Anyone who is interested in editing photos, or creating them, will find this app extremely useful! There are many features that are difficult to find with other online editing apps, that are very simple to use with Google!

Overall, I would highly recommend these apps!  Although I had some difficulty getting started, they all came out in the end to give an amazing online experience!

Acceptable Use of School Computers