Latinos in Social Media

Raising the next Bill Gates

Mariela — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 15:19:58 +0000

Finally, parents and officials are seeing the importance of introducing technology to their children at a young age. Parents have worried about screen time for a long time, but when they see their children are involved in educational tech programs they can’t say no. Pixel Academy, an extracurricular tech wonderland for kids in Brooklyn, NY is a new place for children to create new websites,apps and video games.

“Parents read in the news that we’re falling behind in science in engineering careers. When their kids come here, they can stop worrying about schools keeping up to date with technology,” said Fischthal, 30, who sunk his life savings and retirement account into opening Pixel Academy.

It is absolutely phenomenal that children are developing these skills at a young age. These children have a shot at being tech’s new kid millionaire, by having them learn computer coding — the fundamentals of how to build websites, make apps and design video games. These are advanced skills that could land them great jobs in the future.

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In Defense Of The One-Percenters

Mariela — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 14:27:45 +0000

Some officials are blaming the rising economic inequalities www.archfoundation.org in the United States to “earnings gap between skilled and unskilled workers,” says Gregory Mankiw Harvard economist and former chief economic adviser to President George W. Bush. When education advancement slows down as seen in the 1970s, the increasing demand for skilled labor will naturally cause inequality to rise. Some people would consider these inequalities as the “race between education and technology.” There is a dire demand for STEM talent in the areas of in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, which we are all aware is very tight supply and dominated by foreign students.

Why are we behind when it comes to science, technology, engineering and mathematics, are we simply not up to speed like the rest of the world. Mankiw admitted that “We economists must recognize not only the limits of what we know about inequality’s causes, but also the limits on the ability of our discipline to prescribe policy responses.”

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Study: Allowing organ donation status on Facebook increased number of donors

Mariela — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:58:00 +0000

Organ donations are particularly difficult to obtain for many reasons and it is a huge process to find compatible donors. However, if there are no potential donors the task becomes even more stressful for people who need organs. Social media sites like Facebook have ads and that promote organ donations and this creates awareness for the folks who need donors.

A new study published in the American Journal of Transplantation on June 18 showed that the social network gave a 21-fold boost to the number of people who registered themselves as organ donors in a single day. There is a shortage of national organ donors, but this issue has recently been under the spotlight. The case of 11-year-old girl Sarah Murnaghan successfully sued to get added to an adult lung waiting list touched a lot of people. Facebook kicked off its organ donor status program last May and the organ donation featured has proven to work.

Researchers looked at data from online motor vehicle registration websites and Facebook on May 1, 2012, the day Facebook enabled the organ donation option. In total, 57,451 updated their profiles to include their organ donor status. There were 13,012 new online organ registrations across the U.S., meaning there was a 21.2 times increase from the average 616 daily registrations the first day of the program.

Other independent organizations like Donate Life California, a branch of Donate Life America which had partnered with Facebook for the organ donation feature, previously said that their donor signups increased by 1,400 percent within a day of Facebook’s organ donor status option going live. This humane action is what need to save lives and give people hope of living a healthier life.

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Google Testing Balloon Powered Internet

AnaRC - Latism Founder — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:52:32 +0000

It what could probably be called one of the coolest ideas yet, Google is now actively testing a system that would deliver Internet access to people living in isolated areas using high-tech solar powered balloons that float 20 kilometers up in the stratosphere.

The program is called Loon For All and will supply wireless Internet access using an amazing combination of old technology (helium filled balloons) and cutting edge developments that include solar power, 3G level access, and an ability to control the balloons to some degree. Google noted that some two-thirds of the world’s population does not have Internet access and this program, once brought into widespread use, will help solve that problem. It can also help people hit by disasters to get back online quickly.

To see the Loon website, click here.

Taxpayers pay millions for fed workers’ student loans

Mariela — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 13:00:34 +0000

Student loans interest rates are expected to increase this upcoming July and the impact of these rates are going to affect American households. Some federal workers and congressional staff likely are protected from the impact by a taxpayer-funded benefit that provided more than $20 million last year for them to pay down their college debts. Preferential treatment for Federal workers and congressional staff ins unjust.

Congress uses the business tactic to make government jobs more appealing to job candidates who could get higher-paying jobs in the private sector. Federal agencies spent about $72 million in 2011, the last year for which data are available, to pay down student loans for 10,134 federal workers. John Hart spokesman for of Sen. Tom Coburn says, ”Student loan assistance programs are a circular subsidy that offsets the costs of Congress’ expensive desire to make education affordable.

Two-thirds of 2011 college graduates have student loans, and overall “student debt has increased significantly in recent years, nearly doubling from $550 billion in the fourth quarter of 2007 to just under $1 trillion in the first quarter of 2013,” the report said. What is the government going to do to solve student debt? Is congress asking students to chose from their dream jobs or will they continue to bribe people to to take on government jobs.

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Arizona ACLU Releases Abuse Reporting Phone App

AnaRC - Latism Founder — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 12:32:30 +0000

The American Civil Liberties Union of Arizona has released a bilingual phone app that allows people to quickly and easily report racial profiling stemming from S.B. 1070, the state’s controversial immigration law. Despite the fact that the US Supreme Court struck down multiple provisions of the law back in 2012, Arizona police are still allowed to enforce the “show me your papers” provision. The app, “ACLU-AZ Stop SB1070,” helps users to report law enforcement abuse of the immigration law, including the name of the agency, the date, location and description of the incident. It also provides users with information about their legal rights.

The app is part of a campaign by the ACLU of Arizona to document the impact of the law. The campaign includes a hotline to report abuses, a YouTube channel with people testifying about their experiences under S.B. 1070, and an online map tracking the complaints, at www.acluazmap.org .

To read the complete story, click here.

New High School Computer Science Course Shows Promise

AnaRC - Latism Founder — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 15:58:19 +0000

Information technology drives our global economy, underlies recent advances in science and engineering, and promises innovative approaches to our world’s many challenges. Yet, collectively, a smaller percentage of American high school students take computer science courses today than they did 20 years ago. And the percentage of Latino students in these programs remains distressingly low.

To get more high school students interested in computer science, the National Science Foundation (NSF) is making a four-year, $5.2 million grant to the College Board’s Advanced Placement Program^® (AP^®) to fund the creation of AP Computer Science Principles (AP CSP).

Details of the new course and exam were recently announced at the third annual Clinton Global Initiative America (CGI America) meeting as a “Commitment to Action” — a new plan to give hundreds of thousands of students access to a computational education and to prepare them for careers in the STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) disciplines, particularly female and minority students who are traditionally underrepresented in college computing degrees and industries. The long-term goal is to promote business growth and innovation and improve our nation’s competiveness in today’s global economy.

We hope that Latino students will take full advantage of this program as it promises to help them prepare for STEM and CS courses in a way that has not be as readily available thus far. We also hope to see more such initiatives in the future.

Image courtesy of nbclatino.com

Wake-up call: Starbucks to post calorie counts

Mariela — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:37:25 +0000

Starbucks is now posting calorie counts on their drinks, but will this stop people from buying Starbucks coffee or will this simply be ignored.

Why is this chain company posting their calories on the menus?

The move by Starbucks comes as the Food and Drug Administration irons out the details of a regulation that would require companies with more than 20 locations to post calorie information on their menus. Other chains including McDonald’s Corp. have also moved ahead with posting the information, saying they’re providing it to be more transparent rather than because they’re being forced to.

Starbucks seems to be trying to cater to their customers by providing nutrition information on the website, through its iPhone app and with printed brochures in cafes. It also says there are numerous ways people can reduce the calories in their drinks, such as by asking for non-fat milk, sugar-free syrup or no whipped cream.

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Study Gauges Value of Technology in Schools

Mariela — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 14:00:22 +0000

The rapid use of Technology in schools seems to be attracting lots of attention and officials are wondering if this is a smart investment. The National Assessment of Educational Progress, found that middle school math students more commonly used computers for basic drills and practice than to develop sophisticated skills. If tax payers and school districts are rushing to buy computers, tablets,digital white boards and other technology, these devices should be put to good use.

The analysis of the N.A.E.P. data found that 34 percent of eighth graders who took the math exams in 2011 used computers to “drill on math facts” while less than a quarter worked with spreadsheets or geometric figures on the computer. According to the report, 73 percent of students who took the 12th-grade National Assessment science exam said they regularly watched a movie or video in class.

Experts who study the effectiveness of instructional technology say there is potential for some digital programs to improve teaching. Steve Ritter, chief scientist at Carnegie Learning, said one of the benefits of the technology was that it used the principles of cognitive science to help students gain a deeper understanding of concepts rather than simply drill math problems.

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AT&T to Introduce Solar-Powered Charging Stations

Mariela — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 13:33:33 +0000

AT&T is making efforts in using solar powered charging stations in the New York City area .

Starting Tuesday, 25 solar-powered charging stations will sprout in parks, beaches and other outdoor spaces in the five boroughs, part of a pilot project from the wireless provider in partnership with the city. The stations will have 12.5-foot steel poles with three petal-shaped solar panels fanning out on top . These stations can accommodate up to 6 devices at a time regardless of the wireless carrier.

Eddie Hold, vice president of the Connected Intelligence unit at NPD Group, says “To make money out of data services the telecom companies need to convince you to connect as many devices as possible. The more you connect, the more data you use, the more money they make.” People are able to use more and more data without any problems.

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