PLN #5 Footprints in the Digital Age

In “Footprints in the Digital Age” by Will Richardson, I think all of the websites connecting people from around the world and the way students learn and look things up are not helping students today because it is making us not able to do things we should. Students are not learning to their best ability. They have the capability to do so much but they never use it. Why? Because we spend so much time doing things that don’t have anything to do with learning. We are always on the computer looking someone up and depending on the Internet. One day we will look someone or something up and not get any helpful results. We don’t know what to do after that because we don’t learn effectively. Today you can drive legally over the age of 18 without taking a drivers education class. Imagine the world in 10 years with a ton of inexperienced drivers. The likelihood of people getting in car accidents will start to get extremely high. No one cares about learning anymore and that is a problem. Like what Richardson said how when kids come to class they “turn the lights off” it is so true. Over half of the class doesn’t care and doesn’t want to be there. All students take school for granted. Just think of the olden days when barely anyone could go to school and you were very lucky to even go. It is so much different now. The things students do now is distracting us from things we need to do. Somehow we need to find a solution to this and get kids wanting to learn.

PLN #4 The Leaning Tower of Piza

The leaning tower of Piza was standing in its leaning position, its normal place, leaning at the same angle on a July sunny day. The town was going on with their regular daily lives and so was Amy. She was grocery shopping at the little local grocery shop, Billy’s Fresh Market, getting food for her husband and 7 kids. She lived in an apartment right next to the tower because her family couldn’t afford a regular house. Her apartment building was 10 stories and her room was on the 10th floor. Her family lived happily there with her children going to school each day, her husband going to work, and herself doing the household chores.


So on that day, while Amy was picking out her veggies and beans and rice, she felt something, some kind of bad feeling that something no good was about to happen. Now this day was a Sunday, her family was all up in their apartment room going on with their business. Amy quickly checked out and bagged her food. She drove home quickly to her home to see everything going smoothly with her family. Nothing was happening besides what was supposed to happening. Amy unpacked all of the food and put it in it's specific location. All of a sudden, she felt the same feeling something was wrong again. But this time, she was right.

She heard some cracking right above her. So she searched the house looking up at the ceiling. Nothing was there. Nothing she saw could have made that noise. So she looked out the window, and she saw something so unusual, so flabbergasting, she almost passed out. Amy yelled to anyone she could and yelled to her family, "Get out! Get out! The tower is falling! Run!"

Her husband, Jimmy, said, "No! We can't leave you. If we do, you will die."

She replied back, "No! Go! You must! I will die for you!"

So her family ran out the apartment down all the stairs and out of the house. Then the tower actually started falling. Amy was right under it. The only thing she could do was catch it. She stood in the middle of the room with her arms up ready to catch it squeezing her eyes closed. And then some kind of miracle happened. She didn't feel anything coming down. There was nothing to catch. She opened her eyes and saw Will Stronghold from Sky High standing right next to her holding the tower. He saved her life. She was going to die for her family so they could get out before it crushed them too. But now Will was saving her. Will pushed the tower up and flew it up to an upright position. Then he left. He was gone.


Amy and her family were all safe now. The tower was standing up, and they felt safe. The point is it's ok for one person to die to save a whole bunch of people. But having the person to die allow it to happen, is very important and is needed for them to die for everyone else.

PLN #3 Is Google Making Us Stupid?

Nicholas Carr's "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" matters to me because the Internet and web in general is completely breaking down our minds. It is making us less capable to do everything and lessening what our brains can do. Kids, especially teenagers spend almost 4 hours on the computer or watching TV. Have you ever heard anyone say, “Your brain will turn to mush if you watch too much TV”?. I definitely have. I have always ignored it and thought it was completely impossible. But it’s true, technology can truly make many things more efficient and easier, but can also get used in the wrong way most of the time. I think the whole reason why America is now something like the 24th smartest country is because of the Internet. What happened to America being on top in terms of smarts? How is it that Japan has as many honor students as we do kids? Google really is making us stupid and this is the effect. I find it very hard to get through a book, essay, short story, article. or anything requiring reading ever since about 4th grade when computer wasn’t in my vocabulary. Google and the Internet in general is making the human brain less capable to do all it can. We have brains so we can use them. They’re supposed to be smarter than computers, but with how much everyone uses the Internet, our brains aren’t accessing all it can and using all it can. I think Google is making us stupider and stupider by the minute as we are on it. We just need to figure out how to prevent  it.

PLN #2 What Matters to Me

Many things matter to me like surfing, soccer, and my family. I honestly don’t know how I would live without any of them. They are close to my heart and keep me going in life.

Surfing matters to me. When I think of a happy place, I think of the ocean and me surfing in it. I love to surf. It gives me a sense of pleasure and freedom whenever I start paddling out. I would say surfing is my life, but that would be a lie since there is no ocean near Colorado. My dad grew up in Hawaii so whenever we visit the family, he takes us out surfing and shows us what his life was like when he was our age, hitchhiking to the ocean everyday and surfing for hours. He teaches us then techniques and how to know when to catch a wave and how to just simply keep your balance. People learn from mistakes, if it’s not turning in homework, or falling off the board onto a coral head because your stance is off. But you get better. You practice and practice and finally master it. I learn so much about him and myself while riding waves. It is a great time for just thinking without anybody there. After all, surfing isn’t a team sport. You do it alone and teach yourself. The ocean connects with me and I lose myself in a carefree life.

Soccer matters to me. Ever since I was a little 5 year old on a team with my best friends, just running randomly just because it made us happy was all that mattered. Having my dad be the coach along with two other dads seemed like a fantasy at the time. As the years progressed, our team consisted of the same people every season. We grew up together and bonded even if we lost a game and left the field crying, we loved each other. As we got into about 3rd grade, we actually started trying to play soccer. We started winning every game and even got a mascot; a 4 foot tall stuffed husky. My soccer team became my other family. We stuck together for 7 years and every player still has a part in my life showing how I got to where I am at in soccer today.

My family matters to me. After all, they kind of have to love me through everything. But they don’t make it feel like it. They are the most important thing in my life and I love them to death. They also support me in anything I do, whether it is being my number one fan at a soccer game or pushing me to get good grades at school. They care for me and I care for them back. I am so close with them, sometimes I would rather be with them than any friends at all. Surprising, right? They believe in me, love me, and would do anything for me as I would for them. They teach me too. They teach me to be independent and other life lessons. I will carry these on for the rest of my life. My family is amazing. They mean the world to me and are one of the most important things in my life.