Thursday August 29

Journal - What have you learned about making a website so far? What has been easy about it and what has been frustrating? Explain.

I have learned that making a website is a lot more complicated than I thought. I thought I could just go in, add text where in a million cute fonts, put pictures up all over and scattered around, and make it really cute and how I want it. But you can't. You can still make it cute and your own, it is just so much harder than I thought it would be. I almost thought it would be exactly like word or power point, and I wish so bad that it was, but it's not. Also, I did not know to add a page or link that it was that complex and tedious of task. What is easy about making a website it that after a while, all the steps become natural and you remember what step comes first and how to do each one. It's just getting there and learning that is the hard part. Also, making a hyper link now is super easy and I feel like the hyper link queen. The most frustrating part of a website is not being able to put your text and pictures in the places you want all pretty, curved, tilted and more. I do not get why I can't do it but I can't and it is so annoying. Also, choosing a color pallet is frustrating. I know what colors I like and what colors look good but it makes me nervous that it looks bad or the colors look bad paired together. 

Monday August 26

 Journal - Tell me if you agree with this statement and then explain why or why not. "Images on the internet are 'free game' - if someone posted I should be able to use it."

I agree to this statement to an extent. If you find the picture on Google, such as you find a picture of an ocean when you type in ocean on Google, then you should be able to use it. Why not? I however do not agree with different types of pictures like peoples personal photos. You should not be able to steal and use a picture of a random girl you found on Twitter as your picture in a presentation. But the problem with that is, you don't have choice if someone wants to use your picture and in the end, it's your own fault. It is your fault because you're the one who put your personal pictures online and even if you don't want your picture used, it's no longer your choice. If you don't want your picture that you put up online to be used, then do not put it online. Whatever you put online is no open to the public and is open for others uses. Now if you put a photo up on your private Facebook account that only your friends can see and you see your picture on a friend's power point, I think it is wrong of your friend to do but once again, it's your fault for putting it up online and allowing people to see. You have to be okay with your photos being used by others if you put them up online. After they're up, it's anyone's game. Though I don't feel like your photos should be "free game" for anyone to use, but they are. That person should give the photo credit for where they find it, but hardly any one does, which is illegal by the way; all you can be is careful of what you put on. 

Thursday, August 22

Journal - What do you know about plagiarism? What do you know about plagiarism on the internet? How do web design, the internet and plagiarism all effect each other? Explain.

Plagiarism is taking someone else's work, copying it, and using it as if it was your own words. You could say there is different forms of plagiarism. One would be copying and pasting it exactly as another person writing it and only changing the name to your own. Another would be taking most of it, changing a few words, and saying it is original when clearly it's not; changing the word talked to discussed does not count as making it your own work. You stole some else's idea and attempted to make it your own without any thought into it. Plagiarism is not looking at your friends idea and writing something completely different but about the same idea. That is just called helping out a friend. Just because they thought of the idea does not make it copying if you just use the idea, not the words. That just means it's a great idea.
Plagiarism on the internet is a lot more common and easier than other types of plagiarism. Copying someone else's paper on the internet requires you to copy and paste. That's it. Really simple. A person can copy anything on the internet with a few clicks of the mouse and that's why it is a lot more common and why it's the most known form of plagiarism. Though it is done quit frequently, there have been ways made to tell if your work is plagiarized or not. Teachers use Turnitin.com to see if their students copied and pasted there essays.
Web design., the internet, and plagiarism have a lot in common. We get on the internet everyday and write essays, journals, etc so plagiarism might me more common in a class that we use the computer everyday in rather than in a government or art class. Plagiarism is the easy way out for most students but that does not mean they should do it. If you plagiarize, you have a big chance of being caught with the technology we have today. Don't cheat. Do it yourself. If you're stuck, as a friend or parent, don't steal someone else's hard work that they put a lot of effort into and call it your own.

Tuesday, August 20

Journal - After watching the short clip of Ashton Kutcher's acceptance speech what did you take away from his advice? What does this quote mean to you -"Everything around you that you call life was made up by people that were no smarter than you, and you can change it, you can influence it, you can build your own things that other people can use."

                What I took away from Ashton’s speech was that you would never think someone like Ashton would say the things that he did. What he said was very inspiring and compelling but who knew a great looking, multimillion dollar actor would be saying that being smart is the sexiest thing out there; but he is true. Everyone can be smart; some people are naturally, some must work very hard to be smart, and others see themselves as not smart even though they can be. Smartness comes from the work you put in and what you’re willing to do to obtain that knowledge. Everyone and I mean everyone has to work to be smart, even the naturally smart kids have to work.

To me, Ashton’s quote means that being smart and learning is what can change the world and make it better. Those people who choose to use their brains for a good use are the people that keep this world running. Everyone can be one of those people if they set their minds to it and work at it. It might be hard but you can do it; even if you think you can’t, trust me, you can. We all come from different places, some may have it easier than others and some have to work extremely hard each day to get by but that doesn't matter in the sense of becoming smart. We all are different. We come from different places. We all have are struggles. But we all have a common denominator. We all have an innate sense of smartness in each of us; it just depends on how we want to use that smartness whether for ourselves or for others and how far we are willing to go to become smarter each and every day.