Sunday, March 23, 2014

3/21/14 My Digital Life

Multimedia products are a terrific way to present information in a fun and informative format.  Use all of the various types of software.  Make the presentation visually interesting and fun for the audience.  This makes the presentation entertaining and informative for the viewers.  Cite  the sources you use.  You can tell if you are illegally stealing the information or if it is fair use because fair use information is commonly used in education. Photos and videos can be copyrighted making them off limits for the public for a certain number of years. There are numerous websites that legally provide photos and videos that are free.  It is important to give credit to the creators of art that you use in a presentation.  Many of them make a profit off of that art. He or she probably does not want you to steal their work and distribute it to others for free. They can put a copyright on it locking it for only their use for a number of years.  Multimedia products are a fantastic way to teach various topics.


This video, http://www.powtoon.com/p/bBDidn7vVsg/, is mine.

Thursday, March 13, 2014

3/12/14 My Digital Life

In a world of thieves, credible sites that do not try to scam you can be hard to find.  Especially in the digital world of today, using and citing credible sources is imperative.  It is very important to cite the source for the person that wrote the information you are using.  Not only does this give them credit for their work, but it shows where you got the information from and if it is credible.  There are many bogus sites out there today.  Wikipedia is a wonderful website, but anybody can edit the information.  This causes it to be risky to pull information from.  Websites that were created or updated recently by an expert are the most credible sources.  Decent websites have authors and/or sponsors.  It is a good sign if the editor has a description of who he or she is, what college degrees he or she has, if any, and whatever hobbies he or she has.  This helps to guarantee his or her authentification in the subject he or she is writing about.  Check the website ending.  The most credible sources have .gov and .edu at the end of their URLs.  Credible websites do not have any bias towards one side or opinion.  Read the entire article, and check other websites to make sure there is no prejudice or error.  The website should have a professional look to it.  There should not be any misspelled words, formatting or design issues, or broken links.  Compare the information on the website to another credible website in order to check the accuracy and facts.  This is a crucial step to finding a credible source, the most important in fact.  The video found at this URL, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtQXe1F8LWw, is extraordinary.  It tells how to evaluate online resources.  In fact, this is where I acquired my previous information.  I cited it as one of my sources at the end of this blog.  Another source is https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHrGsxSpM5E&feature=youtu.be&scrlybrkrx=c197937e&scrlybrkr=5ba99451 talking about whether or not Wikipedia is a credible source.  Wikipedia is a ¨ladder¨ to finding out other information.  It is great for finding other sites that are more reliable.  Each of their pages has a list of their sources at the bottom below the article.  As Mr. Pilola once told my English 9 class, he uses Wikipedia to look up various questions he has during the day or to learn about something new for fun.  I do the same occasionally.  When I have a random question or want to look up something, I usually use Wikipedia.  It is a terrific website, but it is only the start when writing a paper.  Finding credible sources can be difficult, but when it comes to acknowledging others' hard work, it is important.

I acquired much of my information from the websites https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtQXe1F8LWw, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHrGsxSpM5E&feature=youtu.be&scrlybrkrx=c197937e&scrlybrkr=5ba99451, and Mr. Pilola.

Thursday, March 6, 2014

3/6/14 My Digital Life

Viruses are pieces of code that are capable of copying themselves.  They usually have detrimental effects like corrupting the system or destroying data.  Viruses are nasty.  People should know how to protect themselves against them.  The best defense against viruses is by keeping your computer software up to date at work and as well as at home and getting anti-virus software.  This helps you recover and closes your computer's back doors preventing viruses from sneaking in.  Do not click on links, attachments, or downloadable files unless you know for certain that they are legitimate.  Another thing computer users should look out for is identity theft.  There are five simple steps to guarding yourself from identity thieves.  Keep your eyes peeled for skimmers.  Skimmers are nearly undetectable devices are commonly placed on credit card machines, ATMs, and gas pumps.  Pay in stores and recieve change at the register rather than at ATMs.  Change your usernames and passwords often.  Do not respond to phone calls, texts, or emails including personal information.  Check your online account balance and transactions frequently.  Finally the most crucial tip to protecting yourself from identity theft, obtain identity theft protection.  Recovery is a drawn out, nitpicky process without insurance coverage.  It can even take years to clear your name.  Security First identity companies identity theft coverage comes with protection for you family too.  Before jumping into a coverage company, review them all.  Different companies have various levels of coverage.  Security First Insurance Company Identity Theft Protection twenty-five dollars annually with monitoring services included.  They work all day every day to keep your identity secure.  That is a modest price for a service so valuable.  Think of what you already have standing between your private information and creepy criminals, your password.  Many of them are great at guessing passwords.  Others have computer programs that make millions of guesses until it is cracked.  It is even simpler if the criminal knows things about you.  It is not a good idea to use very simple around-the-house possessions or pets.  Your password should definitely not contain information about you.  The most effective and memorable way to make one is by coming up with an easy-to-remember phrase.  Take the first letter of each word in it.  Capitalize a few of them.  Then add some special characters of your choosing.  Be cautious if you write down the password.  Somebody could easily catch a glimpse or find it in the recycling.  Also remember to logout of sites you cruise through on foreign computers.  Random stranger passerbies could easily scroll through your personal messages.  There is an extremely educational video behind this mystical arrangement of letters and special characters.  It goes by the name of https://www.ted.com/talks/mikko_hypponen_fighting_viruses_defending_the_net.  It speaks of it being twenty-five years since the very first PC virus, known as Brain A.  Mikko Hyppönen, computer security expert, tells how to stop today's new viruses in their tracks before they attack our beloved internet.  Thank you oh so very much!  Good whatever it is for you!