Ignition

Ignition is a program that talks about computers, websites, and more. It is in a game form which makes it interesting. The problems you face are real life problems. Before a module there is a pretest, and after the lesson there is a test about what we learned. In total there are seven modules.

This module was about how to choose a computer. Before choosing a computer we first learned about what we needed in the computer and what the different computers provided. Things you should consider before buying a computer: 1) What size do you want? Are you just going to leave your computer at home or are you going to bring it to school? The size matters depending on what you are going to do with it. 2) How much storage do you need? Are you using your computer for school work, or for gaming? 3) What about the RAM? RAM is temporary storage. An example is if you are writing an essay it will be saving in RAM until you save it into storage. 4) Another thing you should consider is the speed. Again what will you be doing with the computer? We also learned about cloud computing. Cloud computing is the process where files, documents, etc. are saved in a server. It is saved to a server that can be accessed from any device that can connect to the internet. This is not always automatic. It enable us to have our pictures, files, and media without having to bring a photo book and to see it from any device. It is just saved to your server or the server farm, and you can see it where ever you go. Cloud computing can evolve by being able to save more files, pictures, and media. I feel that it can also evolve more by the server farm being bigger and you being able to show your friends and family more photos of your pets. I think in twenty years computers will very big. I imagine that they will have more storage, and more options of media. Also I think that by then we will have figured out how to use speech and we won't have to use our hands. My assumptions are very small and many could happen in twenty years time. Even in two years half of this could happen.

This module was about the importance and responsibilities of having a phone. It started off with how to chose a data plan that works for you and your parents and that you are not paying extra for things you need. It continued with how not to text and drive. The objective of the "lesson" is how to handle people who text and drive and that in many states it's illegal to text and drive. They also covered that you shouldn't send inappropriate photos even to the closest of friends. Owning a cell phone is a big responsibility. Not just talking about your plan is important. Yes it is something you should consider when buying a phone, but also you need to be responsible about how you take care of it. Many parents have the rule where if you break the phone you don't get another one, until you can buy it yourself. You should also be careful about where you use your phone, because if aren't in your coverage area you will pay extra. The type of phone you get is also important, if you want to take photos, text and call you just need a basic phone but if you were to need a phone for business you would need something with more technology. Another thing to acknowledge when having a phone is not sharing photos that are inappropriate. If you have social media be careful with what you share and who you share it with. Even your close friends could send photos to someone else, not knowing that the photo was private. Be careful with how you use social media. Also the internet is not as safe a place as you think. Many accidents are caused from texting and driving. When you drive make sure that you put your phone somewhere it can not distract you. If you are in the car with someone who is texting and driving talk to them and tell them the dangers of texting and driving. Another thing to consider is that you can tell your family and friends that then you are driving that you need to concentrate and they will understand that you don't want to get into an accident. As I said before if you are the passenger or see someone texting and driving, talk to them and tell them what could happen if they text and drive.

This module was all about how technology can be dangerous. It teaches you about how to compare sites that are safe for you and sites that can wipe out your computer. Even though playing games, having social media, and being able to talk to your friends is very fun there are many risks. One out of the many is having your account hacked. Many people will share personal information about themselves on their account. Also some people share their password with their friends. Even though you and your friend have been friends since you were little and you can trust each other still don't give them your information. As I said before many people share information online and it helps hackers get into their account, so when making a social media account don't tell people your full name, your birthday, where you go to school, work, or where you have other activities. Though many people think that their account and information is safe, you can never be to careful with the internet and technology. Even though using your phone for games, social media, talking to family or friends seems fun, you should be careful with how much you use your phone. Many people use their devices for everyday use like homework or school work, there are many things you can do without your phone, computer, or tablet. After using your devices for school and work you can put it away and read a book, talk to a friend, go outside, or go hang out with a friend. To notice if someone uses their device too much you can ask them a simple question saying " do you think you use your phone a lot?" and they can respond in many ways. If you don't believe them then put it to the test. Tell them that they must only use their device for a certain time period and see how they do. You can also tell if they talk about their device a lot. You can also take their device away and see how they do without it. There are many ways to deal with people who use their phone, computer, or tablet too much.

This module was about learning about websites that are safe and reliable to use and which are not. It also taught about plagiarizing, citing sites, how to paraphrase, not cheating on a test, and when it is okay to use technology in class. Plagiarizing is when you are writing and essay or report and you research information and use the exact words as the website and don't credit the author. Many people don't care about plagiarizing and think that it is a joke. When writing an essay you should understand that plagiarizing comes with consequences. Some consequences are being kicked off of a team that you are part of, not getting accepted into another school, having a bad reputation, and getting a bad grade and maybe even failing the class. There are many ways that you can avoid plagiarizing, like paraphrasing which is using the same concept as the author but putting it into your own words and citing it. Technology is something everyone likes but the real question is when are you allowed to use it and not use it? Many teachers forbid it, but will let you use it for school purposes. Many teacher let you use your technology without any reason. Many teacher are strict about technology and let you only use school devices. For teachers that are fine for when you use technology, it can cause a problem. If you use your technology instead of doing an assignment it can lead to trouble. An example is when taking a test and you use your device it can cause a problem.

This module was about learning how to make a presentation interesting, copyright, piracy, and about what you can use when writing a blogs, like the theme the font and also how you just write it in general. When making a presentation ways to make it interesting are to use slideshows, make a poster board, and putting color into it. When using social media there are many ways to be creative. Like when writing a blog about a topic that you are interested in, you can make the page look decorative. Also by writing a post you can express how you feel about the subject by how you write it. Examples are when you are mad you can put many exclamation points after your statement, or if your confused about something you can put many question marks after. Also when writing a blog or post you can also chose a theme that goes with your mood or which one you prefer. When I am writing a post about something like this one right now, I express myself by how much information I put in the post. Even when I am doing a report on a poster board how I express my creativity is by making it colorful or how the writing looks. Also another way I be creative is editing photos that I took of my dog or of a flower. I also love making a edit of movie characters and adding color to it and interesting transition. When writing an essay or post you have to be careful, with how you word the sentences. If you looked up information for your report be careful not to copy the sentences. A danger about using information from the internet is that without knowing you are infringing on someones copyright. The purpose of copyrighting is to make your idea known to the world without other people taking credit of your own work. Copyright infringement is when someone takes your work( a picture) without your permission, makes it their own, and doesn't give you credit. The way not to do that is by asking the owner if you can use it. If they say yes then continue, but you have to credit the owner of work you are using. Remember to always credit people and to be creative.

This module is about cyberbullying and bullying and the difference. It teaches you about how to notice if someone if being cyberbullied, how to act/react when this happens to you, and how to help a friend. Cyberbullying is shaming, hating, or talking bad about someone or a group of people on the internet. Ways you can notice if someone is being cyberbullied or bullied are: quick temper, unenthusiastic, not very happy, not doing normal activities, and distant. You can realize if a certain activity is targeting a person or group only. If someone was just saying how they disliked a song that isn't counted as cyberbullying because it's not to the artist but the song. The difference between cyberbullying and bullying is cyberbullying is over the internet and bullying is in person using words or physical contact. If someone is being cyberbullied they should talk to an adult or talk to a friend. They should also save the email, text message, or post as proof to show the adult what has happened. If your friend is being cyberbullied then you can help them talk to an adult. If they just want to respond to the bully tell them that it isn't the best idea and that they should cool off before thinking about what to do. If they finally decide to talk to an adult then be a friend and help them talk to the adult for support and be there the whole time. As a teenager you hear your friends getting cyberbullied or bullied. As a friend you can help them talk to an adult and help them save evidence. As a teenager you can be respectful to your friends and tell people that if they think it's a good idea to send a photo of their "friend" doing something embarrassing you can remind them the consequences and that it's a bad idea. Just in general be a kind person and support your friends and tell others to be nice.

This module is about technology and the future it holds for us. We also learned about careers involving STEM. Every day technology is evolving and getting more advanced. Even though we don't know everything about technology, it changes careers. One way is that when doing graphic design you use technology to design. Before technology you had to do it all by hand. When you are a doctor technology is used to scan someone to see if there are any broken bones. Long time ago you couldn't do that. STEM stands for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics. Some careers that involve STEM are being a doctor or a paleontologist (working with fossils). Some others are computer programmers who program games or apps. Another one is being a mechanic or someone who works with machinery. Last one is a coder who uses math to think out algorithms and uses computers to solve a problem faster. Without doctors we wouldn't know if we were seriously sick or seriously hurt. That is one example but there are more. One of the jobs that has evolved with technology is being a secretary. Before they had to write everything down or use a typewriter but now they can use a computer that records information and we can not lose it easily. A career that was created because of internet was YouTube stars. They might have been an actor but now they get money from how many views their videos get. At my age technology plays a big role in my life. Technology keeps us in touch with friends who are far away or with family who you don't see very often. We can start looking for careers that include STEM. When in high school you can take a class on coding or take a class on graphic design. As you get older you will realize what you want to do and can get started as soon as possible on you choice of career.

In all of the modules I have done, it's hard to decide which one I enjoyed the most or the any I disliked greatly. The one I enjoyed the most was " Wireless Communication". I liked it because it taught you about how you should not text and drive and the dangers of it. I also enjoyed the module about cyberbullying. It taught me about how to sense if your friend is being bullied, or how to prevent bullying. The most valuable modules in my opinion wer the cyberbullying and "Viral World" which were about the dangers of technology and the internet (social media). Ignition taught me somethings that were new. I learned the difference between a safe site and a site that can hacked/get your information. It also taught me more about the dangers of social media and how to keep your account safe. I also learned about how to buy a computer, phone, etc. and what to consider. I was reminded about paraphrasing and plagiarism. There is so much Ignition taught me about technology that it's hard to say it all.