RSS Feed Qustions

Why did you select the feeds you subscribed to?
     For my news and government feeds, I selected feeds that would be informative about not only
     what is happening here in the United States, but also on an international level.  It is important to
     understand where the rest of the world stands so that you can formulate a more valid opinion on
     the actions of your own government.

Was it easy for you to find feeds and subscribe to them?
     The format of Digg Reader made it very easy to find exactly what I was looking for by narrowing
     down all of the possible options into more specific categories.  I was then able to click on feeds
     that interested me, see if I wanted to subscribe to them and then just click "Add" if I decided I
     wanted to.

Which sites were your favorites?
     My three favorite sites that I subscribed to were "The World Geography",  "Funny or Die" and
     "Foreign Affairs".  "The World Geography" is all about different locations that are unknown by
     most people, such as hidden lookout points and unique beaches.  "Funny or Die" is just funny
     posts and videos.  "Foreign Affairs" is a feed about current events around the world.

What else can you use RSS feeds for?
     RSS feeds can be used for anything from being a foundation for a research paper, to looking at
     photos by professional photographers, to giving you new stories to read.

How likely are you to use RSS feeds in the future?
     I may use RSS feeds in college for research and just to stay up to date on what is going on in the
     world at an international level.

Weekly Tech Article (13 May 2016)

Eyesight Technologies, an Israeli company, is in the process of producing gesture based technology that does not require wearable accessories.  The company realized that many wearable sensors are easily lost and are unsanitary if multiple people want to use the same thing.  The solution is gesture based technology that does not involve gloves, headbands, etc.  The product can be used for smartphones, TVs, tablets and computers.  The company hopes to eventually build robot assistants that are able to respond to human facial expressions, gestures and vocal tones.

Weekly Teh Article (6 May 2016)

Dag Kittlaus, a former worker for Apple, is unveiling Viv next week.  While working for Apple, Kittlaus was a member of the team who built Siri, and now he is taking his experience to the next level.  Viv is a new artificial intelligence software, but is much more advanced than any other system out there right now: including Siri.  Viv is able to process simple questions as well as multi-layered questions.   For example, Kittlaus was able to ask Viv "Find me a flight to Dallas with a seat that Shaq could fit in," and the system was able to provide an answer.

My Goals

After graduating from good ol' Wood-Ridge Junior Senior High School, I am going to attend New Jersey City University as a Music Education major.  Throughout my time from elementary to high school, I have seen a decline in the music programs of many schools, and my goal is to change that.  As a music educator, I hope to ignite  love and respect for the arts in any student I cross paths with.  I don't expect all students to love to play music, but I at least want to change their views of it so that they will respect the programs and not allow them to decline any further.

Weekly Tech Article: 4/22

The grand prize at this year's Geneva Inventions Show was Cheah Kok-wai, a professor from Hong Kong Baptist University, who came up with a way to make phone screens more durable.  His solution: a thin layer of sapphire over the screen.  The sapphire is applied with extremely high heat and, because of sapphire's properties, transparency is not affected.  Also, the layer is thin enough that touch screens are not affected.  Because sapphires are so rare, Kok-wai is in the process of accomplishing the same goal, but with quartz instead of sapphires.  To read more, click here.

Tech Article 4/15

Researchers at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona have created a wormhole-like object to teleport objects.  A wormhole, in theory, can get an object from one end to the other in literally no time.  The sphere that the team created accomplished a similar feat.  The sphere has three layers: an outer shell that is capable of being magnetized, an inner shell that is a superconductor, and a coil inside the inner shell that is, like the outermost layer, capable of being magnetized.  The result was that when the sphere was submerged in liquid nitrogen and magnetic charges were shot at the opening on one side of the sphere, the charge was released from the opening on the other side of the sphere.  On the inside, however, there were no traces of any charges going through the sphere.  

Wki Dissection HR

1. What is the purpose of this Wiki?

          To explain inventions that replaced old tools in order to make students' lives easier.  These                     inventions were considered disruptive because students had to get used to using these new

          technologies.

2. When was the last post?

          The most recent post was on 31 October 2006.

3. How was the Wiki created/designed?

          The Wiki was designed as a table with the basic information, and then further elaboration

          underneath. 

4. What would you add to this particular Wiki?

          We would update the Wiki so that more modern inventions are included, such as laptops and 3D 

          printers.

5. What did you learn after reading this Wiki?

          We learned that technology has replaced many things that used to be used in the classroom in

          order to make learning more convenient and interactive.

6. If you had to create a Wiki with a team, what would be the specific topic(s)?

          Current events and politics.

7. How can Wikis be used in a classroom or in education?

          Wikis can be used to access information quickly and can also function as a starting point for

          research in the classroom.

W-R Wikipedia Page Findings

Inaccurate Information on the Wood-Ridge High School Wikipedia Page

1.) Principal
          Says Dr. DeNobile
          Should be Mr. Petrocelli
2.) No more tennis teams
3.) Technically the school is called Wood-Ridge Junior/Senior High School
4.) Grades 7 through 12
5.) Student to Teacher Ratio
          Says 9.5:1
          Should be 23:1
6.) Enrollment
          Says 358 in grades 9 through 12
          Should be 391 in grades 9 through 12 (578 in grades 7 through 12)
7.) The Devil's Advocate is not the school paper anymore
8.) Outdated Picture

Tech Article 24 March 2016

Google has started to mix machine learning with its cloud platform.  Jeff Dean, a researcher at Google, says that the software will analyze how you type and what apps you use, and using this information, analyze your data usage in a way that you would better understand.  This will give you the ability to use information that usual only bigger companies would know how to access and use.

To view the full article, click here

Tech Article: 18 March 2016

The future is now for the world of travelling.  A new form of transportation called the Vactrain is in the process of being developed.  The idea behind it is that the train is in a magnetic tube rather than on a track.  Because the train is levitating, there is no friction and allows the cart to move at extremely high speeds: 2,500 mph to be precise.  To put this into perspective, you could board a Vactrain in New York City and take it to Los Angeles in just under an hour.  This would make it the fasted form of modern transportation.

Do Now 14 March 2016

          It was a pretty normal morning on that fateful day.  I woke up, got ready for work, walked outside, got in my car. I got to work, but when I walked inside and went to check in, I wasn't acknowledged.  So I stood there waiting for a while, but no one said anything or even looked at me.  I did one of those coughs, you know, the ones where you're trying to get someone's attention because they didn't notice you or are ignoring you.  One of the receptionists looked straight in my direction, made eye contact with me, and then looked away.  I looked into a mirror hanging on the wall and was perplexed when I didn't see myself.  It was that moment when I realized that I was invisible.
          I walked outside to the streets of the city.  I knew that with my new ability, I needed to fight for the forces of good, except, rather than fighting, I figured I could just scare and confuse criminals without actually using violence.  Across the street, I saw an elderly woman getting her purse stolen.  I walked up behind the man and grabbed the purse.  Never seeing a floating purse before, the man had no idea what to do and ran away screaming.  I handed the purse to the woman, who also ran away screaming.  I guess I really didn't think my plan through very well since she was also freaked out by her floating purse, but you can't win them all.   All day I helped people by scaring off criminals.  I went to sleep that night. When I woke up the next morning, I was ready to go help more people, but I was no longer invisible.

Tech Article 3/4: DNA App Store

A man named Justin Kao was driving in his car one day and on the radio, someone said that people are born with "sweet tooth" genes that make them crave sweets.  Kao was then inspired to make the Gene App Store. Users will pay $100 to look at their genes and see what diseases they are prone to and what traits they possess.  Right now, the company is waiting for FDA and Doctor approval.

Educational Technology and Copyright Law

From the article Educational Technology and Copyright Law, I learned that almost everything is copyrighted from the moment it is made.  Anyone can choose to use whatever was made as long as it is for nonprofit educational use.  The only time you need to get rights to something is if said something is licensed, in which case the maker has certain specifications that must be met in order for their product to be used.  So basically, anything that is your original idea is copyrighted, but not everything is licensed.

The Science Museum of London now has an exhibit devoted to real life models of Da Vinci's inventions.  The exhibit features 39 models that were built in Milan within the past 3 decades.  These models include the first diving suit and the first parachute, which actually worked when tested in 2000.  The parachute was tested from 7000 feet and worked better than some modern day parachutes.  The exhibit will be open from 10 February to 4 September 2016 with admission being $14.50.

Do Now 2/22/2016

I'm sure that by this point, all of us have read, or at least heard about, Apple's customer letter in regards to the FBI's request for a "backdoor" into their products.  The FBI's reasoning is that it would only be used to gather information on the recent San Bernardino attack.  The issue that Apple has with this request, which, in my opinion, is completely understandable, is that once the government has a way into the iPhones involved, there is no doubt that they will use that same method to get into others, even if they say they will only use it once.  The other problem with this request is that it increases hackers' chances of being able to get into Apple products.  Currently, according to Apple, this "backdoor" does not exist and they are not going to create it.  If they were to do as the FBI has asked, nothing would stop hackers from getting the information needed to hack into millions of Apple products worldwide.  Personally, I agree with Apple's actions.  Giving the FBI access to people's iPhones would not be a wise decision because it undoubtedly would lead to bigger problems down the road.

The Hoverboard is Finally Here!

          Now I'm sure all of you have seen hoverboards at this point. You know, the ones with two wheels that kids ride around in packs on? Well now there's a Canadian company that is developing a hoverboard. Now I know what you're probably all thinking. "Hoverboards have been out for a few months. Why is this  big deal?" It's a big deal because Omni Hoverboards has developed one that actually hovers.
          That's right! Philippe Maalouf, CEO of Omni Hoverboards, was not impressed by the hoverboards that have been being sold. When asked about his invention, Maalouf replied saying, "I'm watching all these news reports saying 'hoverboard' with a straight face- and it's not. I was like, are people aware that this board is not even hovering? It's on wheels!" Maalouf's vision was not to build a new toy, but rather to help the world of transportation evolve.
           The way the board functions is pretty simple.
The board has tiny helicopter-like blades underneath it. The blades spin and, ta-da! you're up in the air flying around. An early version of the board broke the Guinness flight distance of a hoverboard record. The board flew 905' 2" and went over water in the process.
           Having flown on an early prototype, Maalouf says that while most vehicles of flight feel like you're "riding  on the back of a dragon," he feels that his hoverboard makes the rider feel like he or she is the one who is actually flying. He is hoping that one day, people will use hoverboards in the same way we use cars today. Unfortunately, that day will probably not be soon since the estimated retail price is between $25,000 and $50,000.

Web 2.0: Multimedia Blog Pre-Posting

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          I was going to a family reunion for my dad's side a while back.  I was so excited to see relatives I hadn't seen in years.  When I got there, however, once I got there, I couldn't understand half of what anyone was saying.  The problem: they all spoke fluent Italian, but I never learned how.  Fast forward a few years and I'm a senior in high school taking AP Italian and getting ready to go to Italy.

          Since the beginning of the class, I expected to learn how to read, write in and speak the Italian language.  While I have learned those three skills, the class mainly revolves around Italian culture and current events.  Everyday, the class starts with each student looking up and writing about a current event that they read about on 4minuti.it or repubblica.it.  We also go on various trips to learn about the culture of Italy, such as the opera, artisan shoppes and Italy itself. Ultimately, the goal of the class is too learn about the culture of Italy so that students can better understand lifestyles different from how they grew up.

          The class is graded the same way as most other classes are graded at our high school.  The total grade for each marking period is divided into sections: 25% tests, 15% quizzes, 25% projects, 15% informal assessments, 10% homework and 10% classwork and participation.  The teacher helps us along the way so that we can do all the work to the best of our abilities.  She tells us about her own experiences growing up in Italy, which helps us better understand Italian life and culture.  She does her best to make sure that her classes are well-educated and understand all of the required materials and more.

Welcome!

Hi!  My name is Leo Leuci and welcome to my blog!  I'm going to college as a Music Education Major on Piano.  I'm a church pianist and occasionally accompany our high school choir.  I enjoy music (obviously), playing games with my family and baking.  I don't really like watching sports because I find them very tedious.

I hope you enjoy my blog :D

5 February 2016 Tech Article

Cardboard Box Opens Door to Alternate Reality

• In 2014, Google announced the creation of Google Cardboard.

• Google Cardboard is a virtual reality headset.
• As the name implies, it is made out of cardboard.
• Google Cardboard has 3D visual capabilities.
• On January 13th, 2016, Google announced its partnership with ThriveAudio to give the headset spatial audio capabilities.
• Spatial audio capabilities allow the device to project sound from all directions, making the experience more realistic.
• Sound will be diminished and heightened as it travels across the headset to give the effect that the sounds are coming from different directions.