Strategic figures from history

strat·e·gy
ˈstradəjē/
noun

• a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim."time to develop a coherent economic strategy"
• synonyms: master plan, grand design, game plan, plan (of action), action plan,policy, program; Morethe art of planning and directing overall military operations and movements in a war or battle.

Before we embark on a mission it is crucial to have a strategy. Weigh all the options before we make decisions that will have future implications.  For this blog post please research a strategic figure of your choice and describe one instance in which a decision they made changed the course of history. For better or worse.

Please reply with a paragraph or two briefly summarizing a historical strategic figure of your choice. Why did you choose that person? What was their contribution to history? What made their decision controversial and how did it change history.

Include a link to your source.

UnSocial Media

We watched a portion of Essena O'Neill's message in class to her 12 year old self. What is your reaction? Is she right? Why? Is it easy for her to say because she's had "fame"?  Why are so many people obsessed with being "famous"? Are famous people more happy than the rest of us? Do a little research and include in your response evidence of whether people with more money or fame are happier because of it or not. Excerpt from Essen's website: 

Let's bee Game Changers  "For me I just completely cut off social media and all use of youtube/tumblr/snapchat/facebook/instagram... and I found my whole life/self esteem just increased dramatically. I was using it anywhere from 4-8 hours a day! That's like over 4 months of my year! It was the centre of my career, but even then, I was just aimlessly stalking, scrolling, comparing, wishing, wanting.... I just had to cut it all off like 'nope I have a serious addiction, these perfect lives and pictures aren't doing all that much for me anymore'. I had soooo much more time after that, and I started doing things like writing, reading and drawing that I always thought I didn't have time for. I now can't wait for my lunch break or after work to go read a novel, or leisurely write, or go out into the forest for a run... There's something so mystical and beautiful in life out of screens. I'm serious! It was as if - when I completely quit - the spell of comparison, boredom, anxiety was lifted. I started seeing a lot of how I used social media as absurd - perfect edited highlights, not the raw, mystical, genuine, calm, educated substance of integrity. I now crave those things, things of substance. That now 'sucks' me in. And those things enrich my life. "NYTimes article:

Essen O'Neill causes a stir. 

What does your future hold?

Sir Ken Robinson challenged us to look at education differently in the future in the video we watched in class last week. If you missed it or wish to watch again here it is:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U

In the beginning of his talk he described how difficult it is to educate for the jobs of the future when it is difficult to even imagine what the future will looks like. Technology is transforming that landscape faster every day.

For our first blog post of Q2, talk about what field or subject you are interested in studying in college and why. Then search this website for your area of interest to see the likely hood that it will exist in the future and discuss your findings. 

http://www.npr.org/sections/money/2015/05/21/408234543/will-your-job-be-done-by-a-machine

How to be successful

https://www.ted.com/talks/richard_st_john_s_8_secrets_of_success#t-193591

For Blog post IV, I thought we would take a small detour. In our first class together I challenged each of you to make the most of your final year here at St. Saviour. We are a month and a half in and I thought this TED talk would help serve to help remind us of what it takes to be successful. You want to be successful right? The video we watched in class was provocative and informative. For this post do one of the following:

1. Pick one the eight qualities you believe you possess and discuss how it has helped you
2. Or consider one quality you lack and how you intend on improving it
3. Or describe someone who is inspiring to you and what about them are you drawn to

Stop Googling. Let's Talk continued...

Here are the results of the survey you took regarding cell phone use in public, etc.

https://docs.google.com/a/stsaviour.org/forms/d/1aGHlpC0uTIaWb8kdIIiq463KKWedquWIt2_0UKoD3g4/viewanalytics

Take a look at them and compare them to the Pew Research Center results. http://www.pewinternet.org/files/2015/08/2015-08-26_mobile-etiquette_FINAL.pdf Starts on page 3. What stands out to you about our class results? Compare and contrast one example from both surveys and give your opinion on what you think it means.

Stop Googling - Let's Talk

MIT professor Sherry Turkle penned an op-ed in the NY Times last weekend about a topic that affects each of us in many ways. You've taken the survey so you know what the participants were experiencing.

Please read and discuss your personal experiences on our blog.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/opinion/sunday/stop-googling-lets-talk.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss

What do you think about this issue. Is it overblown? Is Dr. Turkle onto something? What experiences in your own life connect with this article?

I will be accepting posts without support references but they must be substantive. Do not just tell me you hate when you see people texting at the dinner table. I'm looking for evidence that you read the article and are aware of the content and how it affects your life.

Where do we go from here?

When Steve Jobs passed away in October of 2011, many in the tech world worried and wondered what this would mean for the future of technology. As you know, while Mr. Jobs did not build or program any of the Apple products, he did have a knack for knowing what the consumer wanted and how to deliver it to them.

So where do we go from here? You are the future consumers and tech entrepreneurs. What do you envision the hot future device or technology will be? Or discuss why a current technology may or may not be as important as some say.

Before commenting please research your answer and include a link to support your theory.

Testing 123

Hello Class of 2016. Welcome to Senior year and your Tech class blog. A blog, for anyone who doesn't know, is a web page that is updated and typically contains information about a specific subject. Blogger is free with your Google account and you can create your own to share what you are passionate about with the world.

A blog is a powerful tool because of the contributions of its followers. Commenting on our class blog will be part of your grade throughout the year.

Please follow these Guidelines:

• Write your comment as you would a letter. Use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. No acronyms ie: LOL 
• Never reveal personal information about yourself. No last names, addresses, screen names, email names. This is a public space so anything you say can be seen by anyone in the world.
• Never disrespect someone. "Do unto others as they would do unto you."  No matter what someone writes, respect their opinion and do not offend. 
• Don't just write your opinion. Include facts, from sources you find. Link to the sources but do not include something you have not analyzed first. 
• Be aware of copyright. Make sure what you use is copyright free. (Just because you found it online does not mean it is free for you to use without permission). 
• Stay on topic and keep it about education.  

We will go over in class what I expect of the blog. Please respond to this post to test that you can comment and you setup your blogger account correctly.