Modeling Empathy

em·pa·thy

ˈempəTHē/

noun

1. the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

According to some studies empathy is on the decline among young people. Recent "research, led by Sara H. Konrath of the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor and published online in August in Personality and Social Psychology Review, found that college students’ self-reported empathy has declined since 1980, with an especially steep drop in the past 10 years." 

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/what-me-care/ 

Here is the video we watched in class: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cDDWvj_q-o8

You have a three options for this post.

1. Research what is contributing to this phenomena. READ THE SOURCE and summarize it for us. You must also include a link. -5 without a source. Tell us why empathy is important. 
2. Look at the video one of the two examples listed below and tell us about it in your own words. Did the example move you? Why? Why is empathy important to you? 
3. Describe an example from your own life where you or someone you know displayed empathy in a way that moved you. Why is empathy important in your own words? 

Empathy examples:
Here is one way a student changed his entire school: https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=PIHtuKc3Gjg

FSU football player changes 11 year old autistic boy's life: http://time.com/4474258/florida-state-football-boy-lunch-autism/ Video is short please read article as well.

High School Life Hacks

life·hack

ˈlīfˌhak/

noun

informal

plural noun: life hacks

1. a strategy or technique adopted in order to manage one's time and daily activities in a more efficient way.

If your're familiar with the term "hack" or "hacker" you probably imagine some nerd somewhere breaking into a computer. The term hack or to hack something has taken on a new life in the tech age. In many cases though it is something very simple that can make an impact on your day to day. 

For your post

1. Pick one hack from the following links and describe why you picked it. 
2. Offer up one of your own if you have one
3. Or find one from another site that you like and want to share it. Please include the link.  

Links:
https://www.wattpad.com/68514045-tips-101-for-girls-in-middle-school-high-school

http://www.studenthut.com/articles/20-amazing-student-life-hacks More for college students

http://www.viralnova.com/school-hacks/

Smartphones and You

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2016/03/12/humans-have-shorter-attention-span-than-goldfish-thanks-to-smart/

1) Please read the article from the link above. At the end there is a quiz. Please take the quiz and share your results in your post.
2) Also, please write a small paragraph reflecting your opinion about the article.

Are you distracted?

Distraction: noun

1. 1.

   a thing that prevents someone from giving full attention to something else.

   "the company found passenger travel a distraction from the main business of moving freight"

Growing up in America today is to be a part of a society that is rapidly and constantly changing. The fact is you are surrounded by technology and information and spend a large portion of your time interacting with it. But what is it doing to your brain?

As we saw from the video in class, our brains are not wired for multi-tasking. Some tasks require more concentration than others and when we switch between many tasks we lose focus. 

Specific Instructions:  For this post think about something you do that requires your full attention. Then think about your habits with technology while trying to concentrate. Do you listen to music while doing homework? Is that bad? Do you respond to texts while doing homework? Then go online and find evidence to support  your response. Please include the link to the site you use in your response. -5 points if you respond with no link. Do not copy other people's posts, ideas or links. You will get a 0 for plagiarizing.

If you missed the video in class please watch the first 8:40 minutes of this documentary:

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/digitalnation/

Sample post: 

I like to listen to music while I do homework. It helps me to relax and focus. After reading this article (https://gradeslam.org/blog/does-listening-to-music-help-with-studying) I learned...

Your top 5

We talked in class about what your digital footprint is and how it can hurt us in ways we may not think of and we reflected on the positive and negative impact Digital Media has on our lives. Now I thought it would be good to share web resources that are helpful to you. What are your top five internet sites or apps and what do you use them for.

Here is a sample of what your post should look like:
NY Times.com - up to the minute news
Wikipedia - education
Facebook - social media
Google - search
Reddit - crowd sourced information

Remember -5 points if post is not completed by due date.

Welcome to our blog.

Hello Class of 2020. Welcome to St. Saviour and your Tech class blog. A blog, for anyone who doesn't know, is a web page that is updated and typically contains information about a specific subject. Blogger is free with your Google account and you can create your own to share what you are passionate about with the world.

A blog is a powerful tool because of the contributions of its followers. Commenting on our class blog will be part of your grade throughout the year.

Please follow these Guidelines:

• Write your comment as you would a letter. Use correct spelling, grammar and punctuation. No acronyms ie: LOL 
• Never reveal personal information about yourself. No last names, addresses, screen names, email names. This is a public space so anything you say can be seen by anyone in the world.
• Never disrespect someone. "Do unto others as they would do unto you."  No matter what someone writes, respect their opinion and do not offend. 
• Don't just write your opinion. Include facts, from sources you find. Link to the sources but do not include something you have not analyzed first. 
• Be aware of copyright. Make sure what you use is copyright free. (Just because you found it online does not mean it is free for you to use without permission). 
• Stay on topic and keep it about education.  

We will go over in class what I expect of the blog. Please respond to this post to test that you can comment and you setup your blogger account correctly.