How has the internet changed the way we communicate with others

I think the internet has given us more chances to communicate with people that we may not see on a regular basis. It has helped to keep me close with family that I see infrequently. I have one Aunt that I see at weddings or funerals, but we were always close when I was young. The internet has allowed us to communicate via emails as well as share photos of special things going on in our lives. In this circumstance it has helped bring me closer to family that is far away. I still believe it is impersonal, but it allows us to keep in touch. I honestly feel that if this technology wasn’t out there we wouldn’t communicate at all (which is unfortunate).
The internet has also helped me to become closer with my cousins. Now that we are all adults we are all over the country. We used to live far apart as children and only saw each other for a week out of the summer and at thanksgiving. Now that we have Facebook I feel like we are closer than we were as kids. We are able to “chat” and share pictures of milestones in our lives. In just the last 2 years 8 of us have had children and Facebook has allowed us to watch each others children grow up. They may never have the closeness that we had as kids because we are all so far apart, but I hope the internet will allow them to get to know one another.
Personally I make a point to talk to my siblings and my parents once a week, whether it’s in person or on the phone. I like to keep in touch with them that way. Something about hearing their voice even when we are hundreds of miles apart feels like home. If I ever get to the point that I don’t visit my family or pick up the phone to call my brother because I would rather just send him an email, I have a problem. They are the closest people to me and I wouldn’t let anything get between us. Not even something as big as the world wide web.
I do however find myself not keeping in touch with friends as much because I read about what they are doing on Facebook. This is something I am not proud of admitting, but it’s true. Sometimes I feel like I have talked to them and know what’s going on in their lives because of this only to realize the only reason I know this is because I read it on Facebook. Other times I am having a conversation with someone and I will mention something just to realize they probably also know this because it has been posted on Facebook. Sometimes I wonder if friendships would be different if it weren’t for Facebook. I do find it a little crazy looking at how many friends I have on Facebook. I sometimes wonder who actually knows me for me and who just knows me from what I post. If I were to just stop using Facebook would anyone realize I wasn’t around anymore? Makes you think.
As for sending emails I regret or viewing an email that was meant to be private; I have never come across this situation. I feel that if I were to come across it though, I would respectfully let that person know that I received it and maybe shouldn’t have.
People in politics know they are in the limelight. If they are dumb enough to send an email or post something on the internet that could cause a problem that’s their own fault! These people are educated and are the leaders of our country, state, etc. they should know what they are doing. You send a personal email that is discriminating then you should be caught. The internet is not to blame!

How to knit an easy dishcloth

Arts and crafts is something that has always come easy to me and I really enjoy doing something creative and fun. When I was young my grandmother taught me to knit, we started simple just knitting every row until I had a long row of nothing. Over time she taught me how to do different stitches and eventually I learned what I was doing. One of the most simple patterns she ever taught me was how to make a 30 minute dishcloth.


You start out with a ball of yarn (I typically use some left over from another project)
Cast on 15 Stitches
       This means to create 15 stitches on the knitting needle.
Row 1- Knit (K) across (15 stitches)
Row 2- K3, Yarn Over (YO), K11, 1 stitch left
Row 3- K across
Row 4- K3, YO, K11, 2 stitches left
Row 5- K
Row 6- K3, YO, K11, 3 stitches left
Row 7- K
Row 8- Bind off 3 stitches, K2, YO, K8, 4 stitches left
Row 9- K
Row 10- K3, YO, K8, 5 stitches left
Row 11- K
Row 12- K3, YO, K8, 6 stitches left
Row 13- K
Row 14- Bind off 3 stitches, K2, YO, K5, 7 stitches left
Row 15- K
Row 16- K3, YO, K5, 8 stitches left
Row 17- K
Row 18- K3, YO, K5, 9 stitches left
Row 19- K
Row 20- Bind off 3 K to end
Repeat 7 times

What's my focus?

I have been trying to think about what exactly I want this blog to focus on. So far I have yet to come up with any new original ideas. What exactly makes a blog interesting is what I keep asking myself and quite honestly I have no idea. I have never really followed any blogs or even considered creating one myself.
After looking into popular blogs I know what I don't want to focus on. Pretty much all the "popular" topics. I have never been much into sports, I could care less about politics and the most I really know about technology is how to use an IPhone. So what's really left?
I know that I am creative and I like to do fun arts and craft type projects so maybe something like that. I guess for now that is what I will focus on, how to create different types of fun/easy art projects.

Who would have thought?

Sometimes I strongly believe that technology is a huge disadvantage to kids. Maybe that's just because I grew up in a generation where you could play in your yard until late at night. We didn't have a computer at home until I was a senior in high school and when we did we had to wait for dial up. Today, kids who aren't even 10 have cell phones. They have Facebook accounts and many of them text faster than I can talk. Other times though I see how technology can really motivate a child to learn.

I recently downloaded a bunch of math applications on my IPad and have been using them with a student who has been struggling in math. I have found a motivation for this child. They want to play the games, come up with the CORRECT answers. Challenge themselves. Something I haven't seen yet. Who would have thought that something as simple as bringing technology into this one on one situation would cause this child to want to challenge themselves more!
Not only that, even my 19 month old son knows how to turn the IPad on, open up the folder with his games and choose a game to play all by himself.
Wow how things can change so rapidly from generation to generation

Internet a hindrance or wonder?

I think internet is a wonder and hindrance on society.
The internet has provided so many opportunities for people that they may not have had before. Companies can save money by skyping clients. Teachers can enhance a lesson at the touch of a mouse. Politicians can reach out virtually to a vast number of people. Heck, people even meet the person they are going to spend the rest of their lives with on the internet. Everything anyone could ever need is located at the touch of your fingertips.
But is this really good for people? People working from home, communicating via emails or chats? Where is the real face to face interaction that once occurred in daily life. Are we just setting the next generation up for failure socially?
Just today a friend posted a status on Facebook challenging people to take 3 hours away from Facebook. I found this interesting so I looked at the comments; only to find that she herself couldn't last 3 hours without posting on Facebook. I never was too into twitter or other social networks facebook was about it for me. I myself am guilty of over checking my Facebook to see what people are up to. Or as many refer to as Facebook stalking.

On another rant:
What is it about the internet that makes people want to share everything? I was watching something on TV the other day about a woman hiding her pregnancy because none of her friends supported her when her previous pregnancy ended in a still birth. She also shared with the show that she felt the best way to tell everyone about her still birth was to not CALL THEM, but to post it on Facebook. She was shocked by the lack of response. This is one of those circumstances that the internet has really caused a problem so much so that a person feels its ok to share the demise of their pregnancy via Facebook instead of contacting close family and friends.

My name is Meaghan Sisson and I am returning to UMass Lowell after taking some time off from school. During that time off I got married and had a son. He is now 19 months old and school has become a priority again. He has made me realize that school is important and when he grows up I want him to know that school is important. A big part of that is finishing myself.

I am hoping to learn a bit more about the internet in this class and what it has to offer me more than email and Facebook.

I am majoring in criminal justice, but my heart is in education. I began my college career very certain that I wanted to work in the CJ field, but through time and experience I have realized that I want to be a teacher. Now with only a few courses left until I finish my CJ degree I have decided to finish.

Right now I work in a kindergarten classroom as a paraprofessional. Every day going into work is an adventure and a lot of fun.