ICT 2008

Information Computer Technology 12's class of 2008 will officially end on May 29th. It has been wonderful experiencing, learning, and probing into the world of technology and media. It surrounds us despite where we are. The year was long, but constantly filled with the innovative ideas of both teacher and peers. Much has been shared and passed on between everyone and it will be hard to forget the lessons learnt everyday. I know the valuable skills I have developed from this class will aid me in every aspect of what I do.

OLPC of 2010

There are images of what new XO laptops are to look like around 2010.

Is that a touch screen I see?

OLPC and Microsoft

Attention on the XO computer has been far-reaching and growing.

Now, the OLPC Foundation has come to an agreement with Microsoft to include Windows XP in the XO laptop.

Bridge Building Contest

The bridge building contest is an annual event held at the school. Physics 11 and 12 students have the opportunity to construct their own bridges, with their own purchased materials, and enter it in the contest. There are terms and rules regarding the creation of the bridges that must be followed in order for the students to participate. In the process, students experience what bridge building truly entails. To make a sturdy and strong bridge, precision and good workmanship are needed. The objective of the contest is for the bridge to hold the heaviest weight while abiding by the terms. The current bridge record is 209.4 kg. There are multiple sponsors for this contest including the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of BC, Collings Johnston Inc., Buckland and Taylor Ltd., and many more. The upcoming contest is on Tuesday, May 6.

Vancouver is a city of many interesting bridges.

My favourite is the Burrard Street Bridge.

Picture taken by Mr. Vogel.

Here is an intersting site from the additional links.

Kiwanis Fraser Valley International Music Festival

Today, I had the honor of participating in the 9th annual KFV International Music Festival with the Westcoast Harp Ensemble located in Langley, BC, Canada. Despite the lengthy travel time, I was glad to be apart of the event. I performed Pachelbel's Canon in D Major in an ensemble of twelve harpists. After we played the piece, the awesome adjudicator, Don Hlus critiqued certain song measures, timing, and intepretation. Overall, this is certainly a valuable experience for me. His feedback and comments will definitely help me in any pieces that I perform in the future.

Numerous pictures were taken (with flash), so I will end this post now and let my eyes adjust to normal lighting.

Visual Basic Multiform Project & Easter Egg

For class, I had the opportunity to work more in depth with Visual Basic and programming. I made a project that had some specific criteria. They included a thorough and consistant theme (designs), timed splash screen, menu screen, at least 5 program forms, exit message box, closing screen, and a hidden Easter Egg. My program was based entirely on the Final Fantasy gaming story line. My splash screen was set to 10 seconds until the menu screen was automatically displayed. I had 6 forms in my multiform project such as buzz , calculator, digital clock, hidden egg game, racer game, and temperature converter. My closing screen was created from the same template as the splash screen and was set to 10 seconds before the program was exited. The multiform project also included an Easter Egg which is a hidden program until certain keys on the keyboard are clicked. Only then will the Easter Egg be activated. My Easter Egg command keys were ctrl + E.

Look familiar?

The OLPC Experience

During the weekend, I was able to borrow the XO laptop because I was a donor and contributed to this laptop program. My initial reaction upon receiving it on Friday was that it was cute, compact, and green! It would be perfect for the child, who would be getting one as well, because of the ICT 12 class' contribution. I charged the laptop and ran it. While using it, I discovered that there were numerous complex functionallities with the laptop. However, despite its complexity the laptop was easy to understand and utilize. Again, perfect for any child using it.

The time it took for the laptop to start up was not bad. Compared to my desktop computer, I have nothing to complain about. I then went through all of the programs and realized the intentions of the developers. The laptop was to be funtional as any other laptop in the West, but usable for a child. There were enough programs and tools to suit the needs of a child. The programs included Chat, Browse, Write, Record, Paint, TamTamJam, Etoys, TurtleArt, Pippy, Calculate, Measure, TamTamEdit, TamamSynthLab, Memorize, News Reader, TamTamMini, Terminal, Log Viewer, Analyze, and Acoustic Tape Measure.

So you see, the laptop contained programs that yours and mine do not even have. The ones that I liked, mainly because I do not have some of these features on my laptop, included Measure (measured sound waves), TamTamEdit, and Acoustic Tape Measure (measures distance between XO laptops). They were easy to use and I am confident that the children who receive these laptops because of our generous contributions would be ecstatic and thrilled to have them. The XO's would open so many doors for it's receivers because of it's design and features.

I liked everything about its applications. On the other hand, there are some inconveniences that come with the XO. The first thing I noticed was that the cord, which is used to charge the battery, was quite short. I had to move locations so that the cord would reach my home electrical plugs. It is quite short compared to the cord of an average laptop. As well, when I ran the laptop, it froze quite a number of times. I had to frequently restart it. Though, that did not bother me as much as the "keypad". My finger placements, on the little keyboard like piece of the laptop, felt odd. In the end, I resorted to typing solely with my left and right index fingers and thumb, occasionally.

Besides the few aspects of the laptop that I found to be disconcerting, I would still recommend everyone to take part in the OLPC program. We should keep in mind that the main purpose of these laptops is to give less fortunate children opportunities to probe into the world of technology.

For a few other OLPC Laptop reviews from my classmates please visit:

• http://ict12amandaalberti.blogspot.com/
• http://ict12elizalabrador.blogspot.com/

Java Program

Today, the ICT 12 class have commenced in learning more about the inner workings of the world of Java programming. We will be coding various programs as well as running them.

C++ Program

As a class, we have begun to probe into the world of C++ programming and will be doing multiple program codings and runs.

OLPC Response

This was the response from Nicholas Negroponte regarding my class' contribution the OLPC cause.

Dear Donor,

Thank you for participating in the One Laptop per Child "Give One Get One" program.

Your Order Reference Number is: ************

Your donation of $399.00 will bring education and enlightenment to children of the developing world. $200 of each $399 "Give One Get One" Donation is tax-deductible (your donation minus the fair market value of each laptop you receive). With Shipping and Handling, the total charge to your credit card is $433.95 .

As a "Give One Get One" donor, you will receive one of the first XO laptops to be distributed in North America. Laptops will be delivered on a first come, first served basis.

If you have any questions about your donation, please contact OLPC at service@laptopgiving.org or call 1-800-201-7144. Should your employer wish to match your donation, we are a 501(c)(3) organization and our EIN# is 20-5471780.

T-Mobile USA is proud to offer you one-year complimentary access to T-Mobile HotSpot in recognition of your support to the One Laptop per Child "Give One Get One" program. As you help children in developing countries stay connected, educated and enlightened, T-Mobile is supporting you! You will receive an email message close to the time that your laptop ships containing instructions on how to begin your complimentary year of T-Mobile HotSpot service. Please refer to http://hotspot.t-mobile.com/ for additional information on T-Mobile HotSpot Wireless broadband Internet service.

To find out more about the mission of One Laptop per Child, please visit http://www.laptopgiving.org/. To review "Give One Get One" terms and conditions, please click here.

Thanks again for your generous support, and welcome to the One Laptop per Child community!

Sincerely,


Nicholas Negroponte

Chairman

OLPC Foundation

One Laptop per Child Foundation is exempt from federal income tax under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Your donation is tax deductible to the extent provided by U.S. law. This receipt is not valid if your donation is refunded for any reason. Additional information about the foundation is available from http://www.laptop.org/ or the foundations registration office of your State.

One Laptop per Child P.O. Box 425087 Cambridge, MA 02142 U.S.A. This email was sent to pvogel@ndrs.org, by OLPC Foundation

P.O. Box 425087 Cambridge, MA 02142 United States

If you do not wish to receive future e-mail from OLPC Foundation, please use the link below.

Computer Disassembly Project

In class, we had to disassemble an old computer. The name of the computer I had to disassemble was called Compaq Deskpro – Intel Pentium II with serial no. 6923 CNS2 B959 which was apparent outside of the computer case. The computer had obvious components like a floppy drive, CD, and network port. First I had to disassemble the computer and the top lid had to be removed for the internal components to be seen. Then, after doing so, everything else could be removed. The CPU contained two RAM sticks. However, in order to remove the floppy drive and CD-ROM, the front panel had to be taken off first. The CPU had no sound card, speaker, and cooling fins. Overall, this was a good way to probe into the internal aspect of a CPU and a beneficial hands-on learning experience.

Microsoft OfficeLive

This is a new service by Microsoft recently released yesterday, December 12th. Sign up is free and a Microsoft-type login, Windows Live ID, or Microsoft PassPort account is required. It is an interesting service because it allows for 1000+ documents to be saved online. They can be accessed from anywhere by using a web browser and work can be shared with others hassle-free. Files can also be opened and saved directly from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Try it out!

Digital Cameras

Christmas is nearing! Considering a camera for a gift? Need a camera to freeze all the holiday memories in time? Find out more information on various digital camera models to suite you.

Concert in the snow

Avril Lavigne's concert was on Sunday, December 2nd at Swangard Stadium set to start at 1:00 pm. It was free for the first 350 people who lined up for tickets at Best Buy. It was an unpleasant experience for me because of the fact that it was snowing quite heavily with snowflakes the size of toonies and Lavigne's tardiness did not help the situation. Anyway, I decided to go only because my friend had 10 tickets and wanted me to... I do not really fancy the type of music she sings, nor her as an artist. It was not what I thought it would be. Avril was not really performing like 'usual'? The lady who appeared on stage to inform spectators of Mrs. Whibley's lateness told us that she was a very "good performer". I beg to differ! I thought the performer would have worn more exciting outfits, but there were only three "costume" changes. The concert commenced with her in a jacket and then she took it off. After a few songs, she left and put on some mittens. Exited the stage again, and came back out with a scarf. I did like the colours (pink & black) of her attire, but I just thought she could have done more for the little seven year old girls sitting behind us and for the shivering fans standing right infront of the stage out of shelter. Everyone was cold. As well, it would have been nice to have seen her do a little more than walking/skipping/jumping. All she did was move from stage left to stage right, then back to the centre of the stage again. Also considering that she left us in the cold for about 50 minutes, give or take. The only things that lived up to my thoughts of the concert were her four dancers, her pink electric guitar, and the bright pink microphones. It was not all that horrid, despite the weather. I must confess, I only went to hear her sing live. To my surprise, her singing is the same as how you hear it on the radio/CD's. So, this experience was not too bad =) Plus, I dragged Cecilia along xP

~Pictures courtesy of Cecilia (since I did not bring a camera)

Python

I am starting on a new section in ICT. I will be probing into the workings of Python and learning more about its uses and functions.

One Laptop Per Child

One Laptop Per Child is a project founded by Nicholas Negroponte. It is directed to aiding children in developing countries. It gives them the opportunity to use the technology as a "learning tool". The innovative creation of the designed laptop would prove to be greatly useful to these children. Not only is the laptop completely portable, but it is also capable of running in any location for extremely long hours. Interested in making this happen? You can help by donating to this "give one, get one" program. Receive a laptop while giving one to a child.

1. For more information, visit the OLPC official website.
2. There is also a newspaper column relating to this project.
3. The Wall Street Journal addresses its concerns relating to the OLPC.

Here is an article on the OLPC program in action, in a Peruvian village.

Google Analytics

I have signed up for Google Analytics and have been running it on this blog for two weeks now. here has been 40 visits and have had 24 absolute unique visitors, visiting my blog for the first time =D The visitors to my blog have mainly been from Canada, Spain, and the United States.

ICT 12 Bloggers

Visit my classmates' blogs =)

Adrianna Wong
Amanda Alberti

Cecilia Abreu
Eliza Labrador
Greg Ziarek
Jaime Dy Tioco
Jason Cadacio
Joey Ficetola

Jon Catapia
Julian Sales

Julienne Serrano

Kathrin Jarin
Laura Bordignon
Lester Aquilario

Maria Arcadi
Micaela Monk

Natalie Luongo

Precious Toca
Robert Straw

Ryan Parmiter
Sarah Navarro

Stephanie Tan
Tomasz Sowa
Ysabel Lago

ICT 12

In ICT 12 this year, I sit between the window and Cecilia! I will be working with multiple programming languages including Turbo Pascal, Visual Basic, Java, Jeroo, Python, Scratch, and C++.