:TECHBRARIAN

In Haiti only about half of the children receive an education and only two percent finish high school.  Without a proper education, the poor stay poor in Haiti (and many countries like this.)  While education is the key to rising out of poverty, many parents are not able to send their kids to school.  Why not?  Play the game below to find out:

Play the game Ayiti  about life in Haiti by clicking HERE.  In your blog answer the following questions:

1)  How is Ayiti different from 3rd World Farmer?  How is it the same?

2) What strategies did you use? For example, did you combine work and school, or did you send everyone to work? Which worked? Which did  not?

3)  Why would parents choose to devote so much effort to sending their children to school?  What obstacles did you face in trying to keep them in school?

** BONUS **

4. Explore a Google map of Haiti by clicking HERE.  What are some things you observe about the country?  For example, which city in Haiti has the most houses?  What part of Haiti seems the emptiest?   What countries are near Haiti?

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Watch the first part of episode 2 by clicking HERE

Watch the second part of episode 2 by clicking HERE

Watch the third part of episode 2 by clicking HERE

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Now answer these questions in your blog:

1. What does it mean to be “vulnerable” when writing and reading poetry?

2. Why is being “vulnerable” when writing and reading poetry important?

3. Which poet did you relate most to?  Why?

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Hello 188 Middle Schoolers…would you like to earn 30 minutes of free time?  Take a 20 minute Island School survey by clicking HERE. Once you’re finished, show Mr. Lahana the “you have completed your survey” screen and you will have the remainder of classtime free.

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Virsona is a website that lets you create your own chatbot like Suzette and Spotchy (but more polite).  The chatbot can be based on a historical figure like Harriett Tubman, a fictional character like Harry Potter, or even yourself!  For this assignment you will be helping to teach an Island School chatbot to act like a real middle school student.  I already created a boy middle schooler named Kevin and a girl middle schooler named Janine .  Choose one and help teach it to pass the Turing Test (to sound real).

–> Click HERE for directions

–> Click HERE to login.

username:  techbrarian password: student1

** Reminder: when teaching your chatbot, use appropriate language.

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Watch the first part of episode 2 by clicking HERE

Watch the second part of episode 2 by clicking HERE

Watch the third part of episode 2 by clicking HERE

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Now answer these questions in your blog:

1. What does it mean to be “vulnerable” when writing and reading poetry?

2. Why is being “vulnerable” when writing and reading poetry important?

3. Which poet did you relate most to?  Why?

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Imagine this:  you are instant messaging with two “people”.  One of the people is human and the other is really a computer.  Can you tell the difference?

This is the question that a man named Alan Turing had in 1950.  He called this test– to see if humans could tell the difference between Man and Machine– The Turing Test.  So far, no machine has passed.  That said, ever year computers come closer and closer to passing the Turing Test.

Now it’s your turn to test some of the machines.  This is not exactly a Turing Test because there are no humans on the other end, but your job is to talk with two machines and figure out why you know they’re not human.

1. Click on each of these machines and have a conversation with them:

Splotchy

Suzette

2.  In your blog answer the following questions:

a) Did either of the machines come close to passing the Turing Test (did they seem human?)

b) What were some of the questions you asked them?  Why?

c) Why do you think it’s so hard to design a machine that passes the Turing Test?

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So the new Terminator movie came out last week and it got me thinking about robots.  What  is the state of Robot technology in 2009?  How close are we to creating machines that can sense, think, and act as well (or better) than humans?

Watch a part of The Works: Robots by clicking HERE.

Now, answer the following questions in your blog:

1. What’s the difference between a humanoid and an android?

2.What’s the uncanny valley?

3. Is there something about humans that robots will never possess?  If so, what is it?

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1. Watch part of Russell Simmon’s Brave New Voices by clicking HERE.

2. Click HERE to read some spoken word poetry.

3. Pick one that you find powerful.  Practice reading the poem in a way that brings out its power. Now, record yourself in IMovie reading it.  Put the video on your blog (make sure to give credit to the author).

** BONUS **

4. Inspired?  Write your own poem and record yourself saying it in IMovie.  Publish the video on your blog.

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1.  Click HERE for a quick tutorial on how to play 3rd World Farmer

2.  Play 3rd World Farmer by clicking HERE

3.  Answer the following questions in your blog:

a) What was life like as a 3rd World farmer?

b) Explain your strategy to do well in this game.

** Extra Credit **

c)  3rd World Farmer captured the experience of a family struggling to survive on a farm in a poor country. Describe a game that captures your experience living in New York.

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1. Click HERE to watch Sneakers, Part 5.

2. Continue filling out your Bubbl.us

3.  Next, click HERE to see my Flickr page full of print advertisements for sneakers.

4.  Next, create an advertisement to sell one of the shoes you made in the last assignment.  You will be using Photoshop to create the ad.

–> Click HERE for a tutorial.

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