The Rapid Decline of the Media Industry

• The physical news media industry is in decline.  More people are reading the news online or watching it on TV rather than reading a physical newspaper.  As a result, newspapers are losing revenue and journalists are getting laid off.
• Advantages:
• Online is cheaper
• Less paper used (better for environment)
• With online journalism, anyone can report on what they see
• Unedited content online, no one controls what you see
• Disadvantages:
• Job loss
• Anyone can post (just flat wrong but passes as fact b/c no fact checking)
• Discuss in a social context (S&E issues).
• As society gets more digital, online newspapers get more popular, as do Twitter and the like.  As a result, less people buy newspapers because they can get the same news on the internet.  This has its up and down sides.  On the one hand, online news posted by random citizens is unedited.  No one edits or controls what gets posted in blogs, or what people say on Twitter, so information is harder to suppress.  On the other, no one controls what is online, so there is no editing.  People can pass off their own opinions as fact and the only thing to prevent that is their word against the word of other people on line.
• Is there a solution, or a need for one?
• Not really.  It is to be expected that physical media will decline as online media gets more common and more prevalent.  The major news agencies would do well to adapt to the changing environment.  At its heart, the economic system of this country works in this way.  The world changes, and the first people to figure out how to take advantage of the new system get ahead.  While the decline in people reading or watching the news at all would be a tremendous problem, the change in the method by which they receive information is not.

White House outlines new policy standards

White House Outlines Privacy Guidelines

• Synopsis: The President has released  new privacy guidelines for companies that would let users have better control over their information on the internet.  While this does not give us total control over the data gathered, it is a step closer to letting users control what is and is not available about them on the web.  The problem faced is that the large corporations will inevitably try to block this from coming to pass, as a lot of their money comes from data mining.  However, the FTC already aggressively pursues companies that violate privacy terms.
• Pros and Cons:
• Pros: by collecting information about the user, companies can tailor online content to the needs and requests of the user, streamlining searches and reducing extraneous results while guiding the consumer to products they want.
• Cons: In order to do the above, corporations have to gather a lot of personal information that the user might not want widely known.  Some companies sell this data to others, resulting in Email spam, annoying targeted advertisements, and easy access to personal information by anyone anywhere.
• S&E:
• Privacy: control of personal information
• Security: setting what you want others to be able to access
• Control: controlling your online persona
• Policies and Standards: government setting privacy standards
• Is this necessary?
• Yes, extremely so.  Right now, companies can steal your private and personal information from anywhere on the Internet and sell it to other companies.  I personally have been spammed by drug companies in Canada because data from a search I did for school led them to believe I needed their products.  It isn't a matter of personal responsibility; you do not have to willingly or even accidentally give them access, they just have it by tracking everything you do at all times.  There is a point at which the government has to step in and tell them to stop, because it is getting worse and they won't on their own.
• Best solution for all involved:
• Honestly, I think data mining needs to stop.  At the very least, you should be able to say "I don't want what I do to be tracked" and have the companies honor that.  If you don't mind giving up your personal information in exchange for an admittedly more efficient and custom-designed online experience, that is your right, but those who do not should have that choice, and right now they do not.  Most people would probably accept that compromise anyway, so the corporations do not lose all that much.

Warmup 2/9/12 Education

• Video Conferencing
• A teacher can use video conferencing for distance learning.  In this system, the teacher can teach without actually being in the room.  Instead, they use a video conferencing system to talk through the screen or a projector, giving the same content from far away.  Taken to another level, the class can be taught entirely over this type of system, with the students at home using their computers and contributing to the discussion.  Examples of these systems are distance learning and online university courses.
• Advantages:
• Costs less b/c teacher does not actually have to be there
• Cheaper for teacher b/c they do not have to move to the location where they are teaching
• Access to specialists from other places around the globe
• Students do not have to be in central location to learn; can be at home or in other parts of country and still participate
• May be cheaper for students
• Students in regions with bad schools can still get a good education
• Disadvantages
• Boring for many
• Impersonal
• Teacher has no way to maintain order in classroom
• No ability for hands-on learning
• Social and Ethical Issues
• Privacy: Some people might not want to use a video camera in their home connected to people in other places
• People and Machines: Some people either would not understand the technology or have a dislike of the system for one reason or another
• Globalization: Lessons can be accessed by anyone, anywhere
• Equality of Access: Anyone with a computer and internet can use this, but that cuts both ways.  Some people do not have those resources.

Practice for IB exam question

Bank offering online services

1. Give examples
1. Online bill payment
2. Checking balance, credit card bill, mortgage bills
3. Cashing checks online
4. Wiring money
2. Evaluate the IT system
1. Costs
1. Possible security risks
2. Dependent on system being up at all times
2. Benefits
1. More convenient
2. Easy access to bills, money
3. Easier to pay bills on time b/c no chance of lost in mail
4. More secure than mailing checks
3. S+E issues

1. Reliability: has to be up all the time to work
2. Integrity: data loss that destroys a bank account would be catastrophic
3. Security: critical to ensure no-one steals users' account information and then their money
4. Authenticity: making sure everyone who logs into an account is actually the account holder
5. People and Machines: some people might not like being forced to use an online system
6. Privacy and Anonymity: protecting user information
7. Control: who can access, and when

Multimedia + Education

1. Define pixel
1. A point on the screen which varies in color to change the appearance of something.  More and smaller pixels equal higher resolution.
2. Define resolution
1. The number of pixels in an image.  Lower resolution means a blurry image, while high resolution results in a sharp, clear picture.
3. School often use images to present historical topics.  Many of these images are copyrighted works of famous artists.  A class of ITGS students is asked to manipulate these images to change how history is presented.  Consider the following:
1. Describe the process of editing an image.
1. First, take the image and import it into a photo editing system.  Then, use the program to move the pixels around and recolor them until the image looks like you want it to.
2. Does it fall under fair use?
1. As long as it is not resold, it is for educational purposes and therefore is fair use.
3. What social/ethical considerations should be made?
1. Do not resell the image, cite who made it in the first place, make it clear that this is not legal outside of an educational setting.
4. Bonus question: what does GIF stand for and what is it?
1. Graphical Interchange Format.  A file format of images, best resolution.

MITx

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2011/mitx-faq-1219.html

• MIT is creating an online version of their courses called MITx.  While it does not hold the same value as an actual degree from MIT, it is hoped that this program will improve education around the world and break down financial barriers to education by offering free high-level programs.
• Stakeholders:
• MIT
• Anyone hoping to get into MIT
• Prospective employers
• Students
• Social and Ethical Issues
• Globalization: this system will be available around the world
• Equality of Access: by making this open source, everyone will have equal opportunity to learn, regardless of financial standing
• People and Machines: this system will be part of a study to determine how students learn best
• Areas of Impact
• Science
• Education
• Business
• Advantages
• Equal access to education for all
• Hopefully raised global standards of education
• More information about how to teach / how people learn
• Disadvantages
• Possible misuse of information
• My opinion
• This is a great idea.  There is a problem in this country and others that the less money you have, the harder it is to get an education.  If you live in the country and do not have much money, you are unlikely to ever get a good education and be successful.  By creating a globalized, highly affordable way for people to learn, MITx should help with this problem.
• Will I use it and will others?
• I would like to take advantage of this, as it is a great opportunity.  Unfortunately, I think it will be underutilized.  A lot of people will never know it exists and many others will think it is too expensive or out of their reach.  I think that creating a whole series of this type of courses, from elementary school up, would be a great advancement and is necessary before a program like this will work all that well.  

Screencast

http://www.screencast.com/t/rJv8so4TksM
link to screen cast

Podcast

Link to the podcast:

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B_flMDhGNm86ZGI1NDQxYjgtMjJjMC00NWU5LWE5NTktZDgwZGY2YTFlYzgw