Image by livability.com By Eli Counce
Staff Writer Computers, tablets, phones; every day we interact with technology. Not only is this used in the workplace, and in people’s personal lives, but also in schools. Mostly this advancement has affected staff, and how staff operate. By 2009, “nces.ed.gov” reports that over 96 percent of teachers reported having one or more computers located inside of the classroom. 93 percent of teachers had internet access to those computers, meaning file sharing, emails, and all other sources of teacher info could be sent throughout the entire school staff. “Technology is a blessing and a curse,” reports Shane Kelly, a teacher at LJHS. Although technology is a source of massive information, and exponential instant sharing, it’s still a source of distraction for kids. Schools everywhere use this technology to enhance learning, but also have to control it. Finding the balance between education and interference with learning is difficult, especially when kids have their own devices that can’t be controlled by the school or teacher. Statistics released by “BBC.com” say that schools with higher ratings are using technology in moderation. Australia, the country who allows the most computer use in the classroom, still limits it to under only one hour per day. “While technology allows more people to access relevant information, compatibility and literacy issues still pose a problem”, says Kelly, a teacher at LJHS. While the internet has many reliable sources, it’s also filled with untrustable content. Trustable sources usually include .edu’s or .gov’s. Any other domains (.com, .org, .net) can be purchased using domain web stores such as namecheap or godaddy. With the advancement in technology, thousands of jobs are created, as more and more tech support personnels are required in schools, to keep things running smoothly. “nces.ed.gov” informs that 65 percent of jobs that todays children will have, haven’t even been invented yet. Educational technology sets a learning point for just how vast these careers are, and how integrated you have to be to work in these types of fields. While there are all of these helpful devices, there are still many “old school” traditions running in a classroom. When students walk into a classroom, there are still going to be papers, paper assignments, and paper tests. Almost everyone in a normal school is going to carry around at least one device, but this doesn’t mean it will always be in use. Statistics given by “daveweebs.com” report that 120,000 papers are still used in American classrooms per year. In short, technology doesn’t rule school systems, and probably won’t. Paper is still used, and computer use time is limited to students, although technology has left a sizeable footprint in the future of schools across the globe. Image by technabob.com By Aidan Strealy
Staff Writer NTT Docomo, a mobile phone operator company located in Japan, has recently been working on a seemingly futuristic piece of technology: glasses that can translate foreign text. Docomo is planning to release these new glasses sometime in 2020, which are going to be used at the Olympics, taking place in Tokyo. Docomo is designing these glasses to help people around when they visit Japan, and so far the glasses can translate all Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and English languages in under five seconds. That’s a lot faster than what it takes to learn a language, by a long shot. The release date is of course, meant to be at the same time as the 2020 Olympics, since there will be a lot of eager customers dreading having to translate Japanese. This is how it works, according to Docomo’s official website: “First, Docomo’s translation app sends visual information recorded by the glasses’ camera to a server in the cloud. Then, it’s character recognition software reads the text, translates it, and then sends the translation back to the glasses viewfinder, which is then positioned right above the line of text being translated.” An additional feature that Docomo has installed in the program is a facial recognition system. “It works much like the translation system,” says Discovery news. “The camera first captures a picture of the person’s face you’re looking at. After the system recognizes the face, that person’s cloud-registered information will be displayed on the surface’s inner screen. After a period of time, the display on the inner screen will change to show a list of people viewed. An additional search option is to have the camera search for only English-speaking people.” However, the person’s information will only appear then if it matches the search criteria. As well as these features, Docomo is planning on installing new software that turns every flat surface into a virtual touchpad. A small ring will come with the product, and sends out a signal to the camera, which then displays the digital screen on the lens. This advanced piece of technology is eagerly awaited by many people, even if they don’t plan on going anywhere with them. These glasses may be one of the many reasons people flock to the Olympics this 2020; they won’t have to worry about hiring translators, they just will have to buy a pair of glasses! Image by 123rf.com By Dante Sterling
Staff Writer Numerous studies have been done on wi-fi recently to see if the radio waves transmitted by the wi-fi box can affect people's brains negatively from its frequency. Wi-fi uses radio frequency technology that is created from the antenna, generating an electromagnetic spectrum. It also uses radio waves to provide wireless-high speed internet and network connections. Wi-fi has improved in its technology and speed since it was discovered. In 1985, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) opened several bands of wireless spectrums without needing the government's licence. Without this action taken by the FCC, wi-fi would not exist, or would have been discovered later on. “I am not really worried about Wi-fi affecting my health because there isn’t enough evidence in my life that proves that it’s unhealthy,” Aidan Strealy explains. According to the World Health Organization, located in the United Nations, wireless technology, like wi-fi, is positively way below international standards of safety. The only recorded case about radio frequency exposure was a slight temperature rise when a person was exposed to very high intensity radio frequency. The intensity or frequency of a wi-fi signal is 100,000 times less than a microwave oven signal. When a phone is held up to a person’s head, they get a bigger dose of microwaves, while a wi-fi router will probably never be held anywhere close to their brain. “It has been estimated that you get a bigger dose of microwaves from one 20-minute phone call than from a year's wi-fi” (The Guardian). Wi-fi has a non-ionizing wavelength of 2.45 GHz to operate, while a phone operates on 800-2,400 MHz. There is nothing that people should be worried about since wi-fi has been proven to not actually negatively affect the brain. A phone call is something users should be more worried about, not a low frequency signal transmitted by wi-fi. Image by pastemagazine.com By Annie Potter
Staff Writer Recently, Lakeridge Jr. High was given an amazing opportunity by being allowed to use one of Apple's most popular electronic devices, the iPad. Using iPads all around Lakeridge Jr. High has allowed students to expand their learning electronically. It makes learning easier and faster in the classroom. “It wasn't until the last few years that we were allowed to use the laptop and iPad carts,” states Mr. Kelly, a Publications, L.A. and Communications teacher at Lakeridge Jr. High. Using iPads and Chromebooks has gotten countless of assignments finished without the hassle of getting out textbooks. The Chromebooks and iPads are shared with every teacher and staff member that requests to use them. Lakeridge Jr. High got the funding for these innovative electronic devices though the school's incredible Parent Club and fundraisers such as Oktoberfest. “The use of iPads and Chromebooks in classrooms and at school is very important in the learning process for students,” claims Jamison Ryals, a student at Lakeridge Jr. High. Hopefully, schools will be given the opportunity to use more technology throughout the Lake Oswego School District. Technology helps expand the thinking and learning of an increasing number of students. By Megan McCormack
Staff Writer Everyone around the world has been buzzing about the new iPhone 6s and 6s Plus that came out on September 25, 2015 released by Apple. Many people throughout the world have been wanting the new phones as soon as they came out. There was a pre-order for the iPhones on September 9, 2015 and the phones officially were released on the 25th of September. These new phones have new features that many people are very excited about. The main aspect that people strongly like is the new color “rose gold.” Apple added this new color to attract more people to these new phones because they’ve had the same colors for a while. Another feature that customers like is the new live photo addition. Now, users can click a button on their camera before they take a picture. Later, when users go into their camera roll to look at the photo, they can hold down the picture and the image will move. Another feature that has to do with the camera is involved with the quality of a photo. These new phones have a 12-megapixel camera on the back and can shoot a 4k video. “I give the iPhone 6s, 7 out of 5 stars because it’s new and advanced. Also I really like the rose gold color and the quality of pictures I take,” said Orion Crofut. “I think it’s really great because it’s way faster than my old phone which was an iPhone 5c. Also, I really like using the live picture feature,” said Mason Nelson Overall, these new phones are a big hit all over the world and people are really enjoying them. The iPhone 6s and 6s plus have new and improved features that have boosted up the business for Apple. Photo by theguardian.com By Audrey Eucker
Staff Writer Motorola believes that they have made a solution for the world-wide problem of having a cracked phone screen. “We’ve spent three years to do research and development on this,” said Rick Osterloh, CEO of Motorola. The technology put into this phone is incredible. It can withstand being placed under a horse drawn carriage, and being troted over twice. The Droid Turbo 2 is extremely reliable. Motorola says that “37% of smartphone owners have cracked their screens, with one display shattering every 2 seconds.” The new line of Droid smartphones include innovative features like turbo charging, long lasting battery life, and super sharp screen revolution. On November 5th, The Droid Turbo 2 will go on sale for $624, exclusively on Verizon's network. It is expected to change the way phones work and allow phones to last longer. |
LJHSLakeridge Junior High School is an award- winning academic institution located in Lake Oswego, Oregon. Archives
October 2018
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