PLN 16

In the article from the Denver Post, "Lakewood Rescuers Pull Boy Out of Hole" what matters is being aware of your surroundings. A ten year old boy was pulled out of a water main hole after he fell in it while playing with his friend. This happened at 8753 West Cornell Avenue in Lakewood, Colorado. It is said that he fell from a height of about nine feet into the water hole. This connects to me because I think it is very important to be aware of your surroundings to stay safe and keep out of trouble. This connects to the world because everyone should be aware of their surroundings and should watch out for each other. What matters in the Denver Post article, "Lakewood Rescuers Pull Boy Out of Hole" is being aware of your surroundings.

PLN 15

In the Denver Post article, "Train Victim ID'd in Mesa County" what matters is not letting people who are intoxicated go off alone. A man was crushed by a freight train in Mesa County on Tuesday this week. They said that they could only identify him by his dental records. Before he was hit by the train, he was seen earlier at DJ's Roadhouse in Grand Junction and was believed as being intoxicated. This connects to me because I don't think anyone should be alone while intoxicated, they should have someone a little more responsible with them so they don't do anything that could get them in trouble or anything. This connects to the world because I think everyone should realize that sometimes alcohol can be a very dangerous thing and since it impairs the mind to make good decisions, you shouldn't let someone go off alone while under the influence. What matters in the Denver Post article "Train Victim ID'd in Mesa County" is not letting anyone go off alone while intoxicated.

PLN 14

In the article "Charges Weighed in Bicyclist's Death in Fort Collins", what matters is trying to figure out whether or not the driver of the car should be charged. A nine year old girl was hit by a sports utility vehicle when she was riding her bike on her way home from school. The girl, Erica Forney, died on Thanksgiving Day after she was in the hospital for two days. They say the driver could have been talking on her cell phone when she drifted into the bike lane. Prosecutors aren't sure whether to charge the driver or not because witnesses say the bicyclist wasn't wearing a helmet and going the wrong way in the bike lane. This connects to me because I don't think people should be allowed to be so distracted on their cell phones while driving. This connects to the world because everyone needs to be focused on their driving when they are behind the wheel. What matters in the article "Charges Weighed in Bicyclist's in Death in Fort Collins" is figuring out if the driver should be charged with the bicyclist's death.

PLN 13

In the Nata Village blog "Family Planning Support Group" what matters is educating the people of the village about staying protected against STD's and Malaria. They need to stay protected by learning more about how to prevent these types of things. The people of the village collected mosquito nets from the village clinic. They are also thinking about having condom demonstrations to help keep everyone protected from sexually transmitted diseases like HIV. This connects to me because I think everyone should be safe in what they do, and know how to prevent such things like STD's and Malaria. This connects to the world because there should be more things like this so everyone is more educated. What matters in the Nata Village blog "Family Planning Support Group" is educating the village people about STD's and Malaria.

PLN 12

In the Nata Village blog "Support Groups in The Community" what matters is teaching people new things that can be put to good use. There is a work shop that shows the people of the village how to make wallets, sandals, and shoes out of tire rubber and leather. This work shop was put together by the Social and Community Development Department. This connects to me because I think that is good to spread your knowledge to other people so they can put it to some good use. This connects to the world because we can all learn new things from one another and we should learn how to use it like the people of Nata Village. What matters in the Nata Village blog, "Support Groups in the Community" is teaching people new things that they put to good use.

PLN 11

In the article from the Denver Post, "Gay Marriage backers rally in Denver" what matters is the legalization of gay marriage. There was a peaceful rally in Denver, in front of the Denver City and County building. This happened at about 11:30 a.m. on Saturday, November 15th. This connects to me because I don't think it is right to ban same-sex marriage, the Constitution says that we are all "created equal" so we all deserve the same rights, and that includes gays. The article says that Massachusetts and Connecticut are the only states that allow gay marriage and I think all the states should allow it. I believe that we should all be treated like we are equal, because we are. Certain rights shouldn't be taken away from certain people just because they are different, and because some people don't believe that a girl should be with a girl or a guy should be with a guy. This connects to the world because the world needs to except people for who they are, and not just judge them upon their sexual preference. What matters in the article "Gay Marriage backers rally in Denver" is legalizing gay marriage.

PLN 10

In the Nata Village blog, "Senior Citizen Appreciation Day" what matters is respecting the senior citizens of the village. Their first Senior Citizen Appreciation Day was on November 7th, of this year. They celebrated by dancing with the other members of the community and just having a good time. After there were speeches made the Kgosi, and other members, the seniors had a big lunch provided by the Post Office Staff. Nata Village hopes that the respect will remain for the senior citizens of the village. This connects to me because I always try to remember that if it weren't for the senior citizens of this country, and of this world I wouldn't even be here. It connects to the world because everyone should appreciate their mothers, fathers, grandmothers, grandfathers, and everyone who lived before them. I believe we all owe a lot to the senior citizens of the world, especially the ones that are close to us. What matters in the Nata Village blog, "Senior Citizen Appreciation Day" is respecting all senior citizens of the village.

PLN 9

In the Nata Village blog, "Kitchen Hand" what matters is eating breakfast before you start your day and helping the ones that can't eat breakfast everyday. There are six older women and two cooks that help make sorghum every morning Monday through Saturday, for the students at the Nata Primary School. It is said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day, and I believe it is. Breakfast helps you focus and learn better in school. This connects to me because personally, I can't go through the day without having breakfast, I will end up feeling very sick and I don't like it. This connects to the world because everyone should eat breakfast in the morning to help them get through the day, and we should all help the people, especially children who can't eat breakfast every morning. What matters in the blog "Kitchen Hand" by Nata Village is helping anyone who can't eat breakfast every morning and eating breakfast every morning.

PLN 8

What matters in the article titled “6 treated for carbon monoxide in Centennial” is keeping safe being aware of your surroundings. An adult left a car running in the garage that was attached to a house and the residents of the house inhaled the carbon monoxide. There was a neighbor that called the house and thought the person who answered the phone sounded disoriented and decided to go over to the house. It is said that the neighbor brought everyone out of the house and called 911. The officer thinks that this occurred because of “absentmindedness”. This connects to me because sometimes things like this occur because of my absentmindedness and makes me realize I need to be more aware my surroundings to make sure myself and other people are safe. This connects to the world because everyone needs to be aware of their surroundings and look out for each other so everyone can keep safe. In the article "6 treated for carbon monoxide in Centennial" what matters is keeping safe and being aware of your surroundings.

PLN 7

In the Nata Village blog "Hard at Work", what matters is teaching kids how to be hard workers at an early age. The children in Botswana do house chores along with cattle post chores before and after school which teaches them how they can become productive citizens. This connects to me because my parents have taught me since I was very young, to work hard at everything I do and do my chores. They've wanted me to do something great with my life and they taught me that I have to work for it to earn, it isn't just going to be handed to me. This connects to the world because most children are raised the same way and have to help their parents like the children in Botswana do, just not by doing the same things. What matters in the Nata Village blog "Hard at Work" is raising their children to be hard working and productive citizens.

PLN 6

In the Nata Village blog “No Child Left Behind” what matters is giving every child an education, and of course not leaving any child behind because that is the whole purpose of the organization. Everyone in Nata is grateful to have an education because it’s not quite as easy for them to get an education as it is here for us. This connects to me because it makes me realize that I should learn to be more grateful to have an education, even though I don’t particularly like getting up so early in the morning. This can connect to the world because we all need to see that we should be grateful for all that we have because some things don’t come as easily to people in other countries. In the blog “No Child Left Behind” by Nata Village, what matters is giving every child an education.

PLN 5

In the article “Crime spree sparks Littleton police search” by Joey Bunch from the Denver Post, what matters is keeping your eye out for anything suspicious and staying safe. There was a man who stole a Escalade from a couple, at gunpoint. The man also went to another neighborhood and asked the owners of a Jaguar for the keys at gunpoint. It is good to look out for anything that seems to be a little suspicious. The right thing to do is contact the local law. This connects to me because I usually try to do the right thing and make sure things are going the way they are supposed to. This connects to the world because everyone in the world should be paying attention to their surroundings and looking out for anything that might be going wrong. It is always good to be aware of your surroundings. What matters in the article “Crime spree sparks Littleton police search” by Joey Bunch is keeping your eye out for anything suspicious and staying safe.

PLN 4

In the article titled "Dog tied up, burned Lakewood recovering" by Kieran Nicholson and Monte Whaley what matters is animal safety. A dog was found hog-tied on top of a burning phone book on top of a stove. Animal cruelty is one thing that I am 100% against. There is no reason that an animal should be abused in any way whatsoever. I think someone would have to be completely insane to harm such a sweet and innocent little animal. The woman who did this is still in jail with a $10,000 bail and I don’t even think that is enough because she tortured an animal and in no way is that ever right to do. Animals are basically just people that can’t talk, don’t have thumbs, and stand upright, so they should be treated humanely. I think most people would agree with this statement, but there are those few people who are cruel to animals and don’t care if they get hurt. There is no reason for animal cruelty and that is what matters in Kieran Nicholson’s and Monte Whaley’s article “Dog Tied Up, burned in Lakewood Recovering”.

PLN 3
In Nata village’s “Contribution at Work”, what matters is helping people. There is a woman that has Solar Kearatosis, which is a skin disease that attacks light skinned people and makes it very dangerous for them to be out in the sun. It is very hard for people with little to no money and no transportation to seek medical help and that is why people need to help the less fortunate. It is always good to donate money to legitimate charities. It is clear that what matters in Nata village's "Contribution at Work" is helping people.

PLN 2

http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2008/10/did-you-know-rise-of-rest-and-arabic.html
Olivia B.
Smith
Did You Know
In Karl Fisch’s “Did You Know” what matters is that “shift happens”. There are many things that happen in this world and shift is definitely one of them. Nothing will ever stay the same because there are always improvements to be made. It is predicted that the number one English speaking country will be China. This clearly shows that shift happens. It would probably be thought that the America would because that is the native language, but everything can change from one day to the next. These changes in the world effect everybody. There is always something new going on in everyone’s worlds, like how more and more people are becoming more consumed with new technology. There are people trying to help people in developing countries get connected with the rest of the world. It is said that one in three children in the developing countries will never finish the fifth grade and these technologies will help those children. In Karl Fisch’s “Did You Know” the shift going on in the world is what matters.

Machines are Using Us

Olivia B.
Smith
Machines are using us
After watching Michael Wesch’s “Machines are Using Us”, what matters is the way you can look at a computer. You can say that they help change the world, and make things more efficient, but you could also say that they are taking over the world and people are becoming too consumed with new technology. When you write something by hand, it takes longer and it makes harder to insert things into your writing without making your it look sloppy, but with a computer, you can just click where you want to insert something and you can fix it in no time. This makes writing things easier because you won’t have to do multiple drafts of the same thing. While I am writing this, I am actually thinking, ‘is the computer using me or am I using it?’ When you think about it, people make computers, so that must mean that we are using the computers, but then again the computer seems way smarter than any human being; then again how is that possible? If a human made it, then that human must be smarter than this machine to have made it otherwise, how is that possible to make something smarter than yourself? This machine is changing the way we think about things. We all wish we could use a computer for everything because it just makes everything so much easier. These machines make simple tasks even simpler, for instance, looking up the meaning of a word. You could take the time to look through all the letters in a dictionary, but you could also just type that word into a website and it will just pop right up for you. This makes things way faster. Since watching “Machines are Using Us” by Michael Wesch, I have noticed that there are many ways to think of a computer.