PLN29

In the article "CU green dorm may get shower timers" by The Associated Press in The Denver Post, says that long showers for students at The University of Colorado may become a thing in the past. The University is considering using timers in one of the current dorms which is already being occupied by students who are studying environmental science. The students living Baker Hall are going to test timers and other devices which maybe installed later in the other dorms.

This matters to the world because we are trying to cut down on energy use and one of the ways is to cut down on water usage.This matters to education because the students that will be testing it out will be effected by it greatly and help them understand more about conservation and the environment. They will be experiencing it first hand. This matters to me because I love my showers, I like them long and hot! It's nothing that I don't already know but this article reminds me again how important it can be to conserve water.

PLN28

I just read the article, "Deep freeze continues in Denver and along the Front Range", by Kieran Nicholson of The Denver Post. In the article states that the freezing cold temperatures in the Denver area are going to continue throughout the day today and into tomorrow. Today will top out at 10*, but feel like -10*. We are also expecting more snow. It will measure anywhere from 3-8ish inches when all is said and done. Our overnight low will be around -2* and feel like -12*. Things should warm up into the 30's and 40's by the weekend.

This does not matter to the world, but it does matter to me and the entire nation. Before the storm hit us, it hit Southern California hard with rain and wind. I was in Phoenix over the weekend for a soccer tournament and it was windy and cold. Monday brought rain along with the wind and cold, and it made for a miserable day to play soccer. We left Phoenix Monday around 6:00pm; our plane ride was very rough until we got out of Arizona. After we left the winds picked up and took out power lines to several hospitals. I am glad we got out when we did. As this storm leaves us, it is heading into the Midwest. They are expecting a lot more snow than we will get and again terribly cold temperatures to go along with it. I can only imagine what this storm will look like when it hits the east coast!

This type of situation also matters to education. It reminds us that no matter where we live, we must be educated in what kind of weather is around us and how to best handle it. When the temperatures go as low as they are and have been, it is dangerous for everyone, including all animals and homeless people. I don't know how wild animals and homeless people survive in weather like this. Unfortunately, I am sure some of them will not make it through. Here is a link to a story on the Denver Channel about how dangerous it is to be out in the cold weather. Even 30* (and sunny) sounds warm right now!

PLN27

Today I read an article from the BBC entitled, "Google to limit free news access". This article states that the news sources that Google links to are going to make its readers pay if they try to access more than five pages of news each day. News groups are saying that Google is letting people have free access to all their news for free by linking to their websites and going around the subscription guidelines. If you try to get news from more than five pages of the same news source they are going to make you register, or subscribe to their service. There is an analysis from Tim Weber, the Business Editor of the BBC News website. He basically says, come on and be reasonable. If Google didn't have a link directly to your media, the people accessing it might never access it another way. Google is easy to use and unless you are a "premium" news source like the Wall Street Journal, get over yourself.

This is important to the world because it could drastically change how and where people choose to get their news. It is important to education because students constantly get their news, research etc. from Google, as I am right now on Google Reader. How will schools deal with this new era of pay as you go? Will schools be exempt? News sources could be giving up a great deal of money if they do, and if schools are free, then who else? I see this as being a big mess. This is important to me because when I do research, even look for an article for these PLN's, I can't tell you how many pages I go through to find something that I need or interests me. I know that the news people are hurting right now, but don't they already have people who subscribe to their websites. I can see this pushing people away from news in general and only going to where it is "free".

PLN26

Today I read, "Third Annual Christmas Party in Nata Village" on the natavillage blog. It is about how the children of the village got their own "Christmas party". Because of their school calendar it was held on November 21st instead of our traditional December 25th. The children had fun with some educational games and then got their special visit from Santa. Some kids had never seen Santa before and were afraid until they saw how older kids reacted to him. They all got gifts of clothing and some shoes before feasting on traditional food. This is a picture of Santa and his "sleigh".

This is important to the world because we need to see how others live and the customs that they have. Christmas is a world wide holiday and it is interesting to see how others celebrate. It is important to education because knowing how other people around the world live and the traditions they have make us better people. I think we need to do a better job of realizing how lucky we are in this country and educating ourselves about other cultures. This is important to me because I never would have thought that people in Africa celebrate Christmas like we do. I was totally shocked that their celebration is just like ours! Being from Colorado it is still a bit weird to see people having Christmas without the snow that we all assume comes with it. When I was 7 me and my family went to Phoenix for Christmas and it was very different (weather wise). I thought this was a cool blog post even though some of the kids looked afraid, I am sure they had a blast opening their presents, just like I do!!

PLN25

In the article "Larimer County experiences spike in suicides" by The Associated Press in the Denver Post says that Fort Collins has set a record for the most suicides in a year. As of last week, Larimer County has experienced 53 suicides which translate into 20.4 per 100,000 residents. The national average for 100,000 residents is 11. They believe this is because of the economy.

Larimer County is north between Denver and Wyoming. There is a lot of farms but there is also a lot of livestock operations in the county. This matters to the world because the economy seems to be bad everywhere. It's not the only reason people commit suicide but seems to be the main reason when the economy is down. It matters to education greatly because people need to learn how to deal with themselves and others when things aren't going well. This matters to me because it makes me realize that there are people out there who are less fortunate than I am.

This reminds me of a story I read last week about the German National goalkeeper, Robert Enke who also committed suicide. He committed suicide because his two year old daughter, Lara died of a rare heart condition and he couldn't handle the loss. Obviously the economy had nothing to do with this.

PLN24

In the article "Action needed' on Internet bullying" by Jim Reed in the BBC News, he states that teenagers need to be more responsible with the use of the Internet and companies need to act quicker when inappropriate material is posted. Young people need to understand that the consequences of bullying over the Internet are no different then doing it in person. Of the approximately 3,000 student that were surveyed nearly two thirds of them said they were bullied at some point in time over their cell phone or computer. Tim, a thirteen year old who was interviewed, says that it is easier for people to bully on-line because they are not looking at the person face to face. Bethan, a friend a Tim's, believes that some people when they get in front of a computer turn into a totally different person. They say whatever they want and don't have to feel guilty about it.

This matters to the world because as long as this kind of technology is available for anyone to use, it is going to be misused. It matters to education because people need to be taught on how to use a computer appropriately. I feel that because of Mrs. Smith's English class, I have become more aware of problems or issues surrounding computer usage. Companies need to be more on top of this problem and take action if they can before it becomes a bigger problem.

PLN23

In the article "Passengers on plane that hit birds expected in Denver Today" by The Denver Post, it explains that a Frontier plane that was taking off from Kansas City hit a flock of birds and damaged a engine which resulted in them immediately returning to the airport. There were 120 passengers on the plane and there were no injuries involved in this incident.

Obviously this doesn't matter to education in the least. However this matters to the world and to me. This matters to anywhere in the world where there is an airport. Birds represent a very serious problem when it comes to airplanes. They fly or get sucked into the jet engines and endanger everyone on board. Airports spend hundreds of thousands of dollars yearly to make sure this doesn't happen. They hire people who specifically take care of flocks of birds near airport land. This matters to me because I have been and will continue to fly with my soccer teams. There is enough to worry about when you fly without worrying about hitting the damn birds.