In the first scenario, we discussed whether the automated car should be programmed to hit a certain car when it has enough time to make a decision on which car to hit. In this scenario we are given two cars, an SUV or a Mini Cooper. Statistically, SUVs are safer... for the person driving the SUV, at least. James explained to us if a small car rear-ended the SUV at a good speed the car would suddenly stop. This will cause severe injury and possible fatality to the driver (and every one in the car). If you were to hit the Mini Cooper, the Mini could be completely destroyed because it is smaller. Your car would not stop so abruptly minimizing your own injury but putting the Mini Cooper driver in danger. In this situation I think hitting the Mini Cooper would be the best decision. This is because the cars are probably closer in size and you wouldn't be in as much danger hitting the Mini Cooper. With the second scenario we were given two motorcyclists, one was wearing a helmet and one was not. This is a difficult scenario. One person is wearing a helmet for extra safety but the other one isn't. Both motorcyclists, if hit, are most likely going to die. In this scenario, you're programming the car to kill where as with the car, it is more about damage and injury. The random number generator seems like the best idea to make a decision. This will be better for SUV owners and those who wear helmets on their motorcycles alike. Now those people won't be targeted and it will be completely random. I think the driver should be responsible for the outcome. This is because the person behind the wheel should be paying attention even though they're not technically driving. If you can't put the blame on anyone, this could cause difficulty with insurance purposes specifically. Also the "driver" of the car made the decision to use the feature presumably understanding that if the car is faced with this obstacle, it is going to make its own decision.

Passion Project #3

I haven't done a Passion Project update in about 5 weeks and in that time I have changed my focus to the evolution of humans rather than the beginning of the earth. However the information I was studying for the first few weeks is helpful to understand this topic. I realized how much work I have to do to put all of my information into a presentation. In the beginning I wanted to make something but I'm not sure I'll be able to do so due to time.

Passion Project Update 2

In the past two weeks, I haven't gotten as much work done as I thought I would. I was able to start the document that will begin to get me organized for my presentation. One problem I have noticed is getting lots of similar information from different sources. Also the sources I have been using aren't organized in the best fashion. Ms. Mystrena gave me a resource this weekend so I will be watching that video this coming Friday. My goal is to continue to gain knowledge about the subject and put that into a document and then a powerpoint. 

Passion Project Update 1

My first two Fridays have been pretty successful in my opinion. I didn't know much about my topic so I wanted to really look into the very beginning of the Earth. It is just the basics so far (how did the Earth form? Dust particles.) but it's a good start. I now have a foundation to my research and I'll be able to get a better understanding for the rest of my project. In the coming weeks I want to start putting a document together of important information that I gathered from the video.

Passion Project Update

I began researching paranormal activity but for the next two weeks I wasn't looking forward to working on my passion project so I decided to change my idea.... surprise, Ms. Mystrena! I've been working on a project on nerves for about 3 weeks. I chose this to continue my project because I want to be a doctor and this is part of the medical field that interests me. So I am sort of 2 weeks behind and that is one of my set backs. I have to work even harder to catch up but overall I think I will be fine because we have about 7 classes left. I took a different approach to my presentation this time which is helping me. Last time I set up a Google Doc and typed up all my information and then I categorized my information into my Prezi... that was not a good idea. I am now titling my slides first and then I am researching for the specific slide. It's working much better. One other thing is I need to practice so I know my information like the back of my hand. In my last presentation I wasn't confident that I knew my content well enough.

So with 7 classes left I think I will have more than enough time to get everything finished and polished!

20% Project Reflection

I am learning about lightning for my 20% project.  There is lots of information about lightning which is good for me so I have a lot to learn about my topic.  So far I have a lot of information, but it is kind of random and I need to put it into a presentation.  I think the information I have is interesting and people will enjoy learning about it because common, lightning is a pretty cool natural phenomenon.  The one problem I've been running into is a lot of the same information.  Also I have a Google Doc full of sooo much information but I only have about 2 Prezi slides done.  
I still have to see what information I want in my Prezi.  Then I have to organize it into categories that make sense and set a good order then my Prezi should be finished!  Once my Prezi is finished I have to figure out exactly what i want to say.   

Grades

     Grades.  For some, a sore subject.  For others, a proud topic to converse about.  But all in all, grades are merely numbers.  Grades are there to show how the student is doing in their classes but they grades we have now are also just a shortcut for teachers.  They can easily put in a number grade instead of having specific comments for different skills.  It is easier for teachers and parents to look at the grade quickly to determine how the student is doing.  So they think by seeing that ONE number it shows how the student is doing for every different element in the class?
     Overall, I don't like the current 100 point grading system.  However I think that it is easy to look at, It really isn't very accurate.  They can have much more specific categories for the grades.  With more specific grading specifications, students can most definitely do better in their classes.  
      I do not think the current system accurately represents my learning and knowledge.  This is because I know much more than some of my grades show. On many of my recent tests I haven't gotten my perfect 100% in a while and I think with the standards-based grading would more accurately represent how I am doing because I know the skills, I just normally make silly mistakes.  
     I think that schools could use a combination of the 100 point grading system and the standards-based grading.  You can see you number grade still just like we're used to but you can also see how you did on an assignment specifically all at the same time.