Tag Archives: Do Now

DO NOW WEEKLY ROUND UP: #33 Do You Feel Safe From Cyberbullying?

June 1, 2012, 7:06 pm • Posted by Matthew Williams
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photo by Todd Barnard/Flickr

KQED Do Now this week looked at the issue of cyberbullying, sparked from the Dharun Ravi conviction. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail for "bias intimidation and invasion of privacy" for spying on his gay roommate using a webcam to record him kissing another man, and then urging fellow students to view the images. Clementi committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge.

Students responded to the question of whether they feel safe online from bullies.

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Do Now #33: Cyberbullying

May 26, 2012, 9:02 am • Posted by Maxine Einhorn
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Do Now

We have all met bullies face to face – but what about online? Do you feel safe online? And how can you protect yourself from online bullies?

Introduction

More than half of American teens are concerned about online safety and know someone their age who has been by cyberbullied. Nearly a third have been targets themselves.
The issue is in the national spotlight as Rutgers University student, Dharun Ravi, is convicted of a "bias crime" for spying on his gay roommate Tyler Clementi (18), using a webcam to record him kissing another man, and then urging fellow students to view the images. Clementi committed suicide by jumping off the George Washington Bridge. Ravi, convicted of "bias intimidation and invasion of privacy," has now been sentenced to 30 days in jail, far less than the maximum of 10 years.
There are a number of issues here. It has been argued that technology and social networks have increased the incidence of cyberbullying and the exposure of children and teens to harassment, sexual predators and bullies. This concern had led to initiatives such as legislation proposed in California (SB242) to enact privacy policies and practices for social networking sites.

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DO NOW WEEKLY ROUND-UP: #31 Are LOL Cats and Internet Memes Art?

May 18, 2012, 8:49 am • Posted by Matthew Williams
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meme by @OhHahItsMel

KQED Do Now this week looked at the popularity of memes and LOL Cats and asked whether they are art or not. It was an excellent conversation thanks to the great members of the KQED Do Now advisory board and all of their students. People also shared their favorites and even created new ones, some that have a historical message based on what they are learning in their social studies courses. Look at some the great comments below.

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Do Now #31: Are LOL Cats and Internet Memes Art?

May 13, 2012, 5:27 pm • Posted by Kristin Farr
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icanhascheezburger.com

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Do Now

Do you think creative, funny internet memes could be considered artwork? If not, how you would categorize them? Describe one of your favorites and/or send us a link to it.

Introduction

All over the internet, "People are creating images and sharing them with strangers for the purpose of communicating their personal experiences." Art takes many forms, and PBS's new web video series, Idea Channel, poses an intriguing question in this recent episode about memes and art. The internet offers an opportunity to share individually-crafted punch lines and images on a global scale, but what do we call this act of creation? Art? Jokes? Procrastination fodder? Or all of the above? In contemporary art, successful works are not necessarily made by hand or even tangible—making a visual representation of an idea, whether it goes viral or not, is a creative act.

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Do Now #28: Art and Ecology

April 13, 2012, 5:14 pm • Posted by Kristin Farr
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Image is courtesy of Josh Keyes/www.joshkeyes.net

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Do Now

The painting above seems to comment about ecological systems and the environment, but what do you think it is saying? Look at it closely and make connections between what you see, how it makes you feel, and what it makes you think about. There is no right or wrong answer.

Intro

Reading a piece of contemporary art is simple and fun, like solving a puzzle. All it takes is a bit of observation, attention to detail, and sensitivity to your own gut feelings and reactions. The best part about art is that it asks questions, but there is never one right answer. Art speaks to us as individuals, and our own personal histories inform our interpretations just as much as the artists’ intentions for the work.

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Do Now #22: Wolves in our Midst

March 5, 2012, 8:51 am • Posted by Andrea Swensrud
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Photo courtesy of ODFW

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Do Now

California had its first wolf since 1924 venture into the state for two months. Should the state work to provide special legal protection for the wolf?

Introduction

OR-7 is a male wolf from a pack in Oregon. About two months ago, he wandered into California. This made him the first gray wolf in the state in almost 90 years. Gray wolves were at one time widespread in North America and native to California. Based on historical records, they were present in the 1700s, 1800s and early 1900s. However, settlement by Europeans changed the landscape of the state through development of towns, ranches and agricultural land and also impacted prey populations. Wolf populations also declined throughout North America due to predator control programs. The last confirmed wolf in California was collected in Lassen County in 1924.

Since OR-7 appeared in California, the state has been thrown into a national debate about how to manage wolves. Environmentalists want to see a wolf population restored. For others, OR-7 is not a welcome visitor. In Lassen County, where OR-7 has spent the bulk of his time, wolf opposition is heating up, due to fears that cattle and other livestock will be killed.

Resource

KQED’s QUEST Lone Wolf’s Historic Trek Provokes Questions and Concerns - March 2, 2012

OR-7, the lone gray wolf from a pack in Oregon, crossed back into his home state yesterday after two months of wandering in Northern California. With OR7’s arrival, California has been thrown into a national debate about how to manage wolves.

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Do Now #18: Turning Resolutions into Habits

February 3, 2012, 5:11 pm • Posted by Andrea Swensrud
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Do Now

Did you make any New Year’s resolutions? Have you stuck with them? Why or why not?

Intro

The tradition of New Year’s resolutions dates back to Roman times. To this day, each January 1, people around the world make commitments to reach a goal, create a new habit or complete a project. But how many people actually stick with these resolutions? Studies have shown that success rates are low…and a quick informal survey of friends and family usually gives the same result. Changing behavior is difficult to do. However, a researcher at Stanford University is working on a technique to help people do just that—one tiny habit at a time. BJ Fogg runs Stanford’s Persuasive Technology Lab. He suggests not to tackle big, lofty goals all at once, but to focus on a part of your goal, a tiny habit. By taking baby steps and declaring success every time you accomplish one of those small steps—essentially rewarding yourself for good behavior—you provide positive reinforcement which helps create new habits.

Resource

KQED QUEST's segment Think Tiny: The Science of New Year's Resolutions
It’s been a little more than a week since the New Year began – which means while some of us are sticking to our resolutions, others may have already given up.

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Do Now #14: Earth-Like Planet

January 6, 2012, 5:20 pm • Posted by Andrea Swensrud
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Do Now

Do you think it is important for scientists to be searching for signs of extraterrestrial life?  Why or why not?

Intro

On December 5, 2011, NASA announced the discovery of a planet in a “habitable zone”—a region around a star that is the right temperature (not too hot and not too cold) for liquid water to exist.  This planet, called Kepler-22b, is the first to be found that approximates Earth in its size and distance from its sun.

The purpose of NASA’s Kepler Mission is to survey part of the Milky Way galaxy to find Earth-size planets in the habitable zone and figure out how many of the stars in our galaxy have planets like this.  This is done using a specially-designed spacecraft telescope (called “Kepler”). The Kepler mission will last a minimum of 3 ½ years and costs about $600 million.

The SETI Institute is a non-profit organization with the mission of searching for signs of extra terrestrial life.  It has been in existence since 1985 and manages the Allen Telescope Array, This grouping of telescopes, located in Shasta County, California, searches our galaxy and other galaxies for radio signals that would suggest that life exists elsewhere in the Universe.

Resource

NPR segment Found: Earth-Like Planet That Might Be Right For Life.
Scientists have discovered a planet not too much bigger than Earth that's circling a distant star that's much like our own sun. What's more, this planet is in the "Goldilocks zone" around that star — a region that's not too hot and not too cold. That's the kind of place that could be home to liquid water and maybe even life.

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More Resources for Follow-up Lessons

QUEST's Planet Hunters on PBS LearningMedia The Inhabitable Zone:
The search for life on distant planets in the universe has spurred scientists to more carefully explore the conditions of our own planet Earth and what characteristics and conditions allow us to live in relative balance within the structure of the solar system.

QUEST segment SETI: The New Search for ET
Is anyone out there? For over 40 years scientists have been searching for extraterrestrial intelligence, but they've found nothing. Now the new Allen Telescope Array, a string of 350 radio telescopes, is being built 300 miles north of San Francisco and is breathing new life into the search. Find out why SETI scientists now say we might be hearing from ET sooner than you think.

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Do Now #13: Is Affordable Housing a Right?

January 2, 2012, 5:29 pm • Posted by Matthew Green
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Do Now

Should local governments create laws guaranteeing that there is enough affordable housing available for low-income residents? Or should the government not be so involved in the local housing market? How has the cost of housing affected you and your family?

Intro

Economically speaking, the Golden State has seen sunnier days. California is in the middle of an epic budget crisis. We've got one of the highest unemployment rates in the country (almost 12 percent) and the second highest number of home foreclosures (about 1 in every 240 homes). But, even with all these difficulties, it's still really, really expensive to live here - pretty much more than any other state in the U.S. (except Hawaii and Washington D.C.). Even though home prices dropped sharply since their housing bubble peak in 2007, the median price tag for a home here still dwarfs the national rate, and the median monthly rental rate for a two-bedroom apartment hovers above $1,300 (compared to less than $1,000 nationally). Of the ten most expensive rental markets in the country, five are in California. In the Bay Area, the availability of affordable housing has sunk to a record low. Only about 15 percent of all are households able to afford a median-priced home here. This disproportionately affects lower-income families, many of whom work in the central Bay Area but have been forced to move as far away as the Central Valley to find housing they can afford.

Resource

KQED News segment Group Seeks to Diversify Area's Whitest County.
The federal government is pressuring Marin county officials to make Marin -- one of the whitest counties in the Bay Area -- more welcoming to minorities. It's part of a nationwide effort by The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to enforce the country's Fair Housing Act.

Where is the Affordable Housing?
See how much affordable housing there is in your county with our interactive map:

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More Resources for Follow-up Lessons

Learn more about affordable housing and see how you do on our interactive quiz:

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Do Now #11: Student Debt -- Graduating from the School of Hard Knocks

November 18, 2011, 12:02 pm • Posted by Maxine Einhorn
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Do Now

In this economy is it wise to choose a college course that you are excited about or should you be hard-headed and choose a program that offers a more secure future? How will you choose?

Intro

Brandon Smith, 24, is a journalism student who started school at a community college in Ohio, transferred to a four-year state university, and then moved to Columbia College in Chicago. He attended school for a total of six years and now owes around $98,000 in debt on his student loan. He is now working all hours to pay it off.

Is it smart or unavoidable to borrow a lot of money to go to college? According to student financial aid expert, Mark Kantrowitz, “It's smart if it's enabling you to invest in your future,"….. "But if you borrow more than your expected starting salary after you graduate, you're going to struggle to pay your loans."

Does that mean it makes sense to borrow money if you choose a degree in a subject area like science, technology or engineering -- which offer clear pathways to a career and employment, rather than choosing a less secure route? Degrees in subjects such as art, music, literature, religious or even media studies may be more precarious choices if employment is the primary motivation. Should you choose a “sensible” college course that will enable you to pay back loans and enable you to calculate how long it will take to be free of debt?

Choices about loans are the kind of decisions that will be with students for years to come and impact their future, and given that student loan debt is now higher than all credit card debt in this country, can students be prepared for what lies ahead? For example, many schools are offering classes in financial management as a way to protect students from the financial perils suffered by their parents.

Resource

KQED News segment College Students Navigate Financial Life.
For many high school and college seniors, graduation is a time of new beginnings and harsh realities. Their thoughts are turning to money — for tuition, rent and credit card bills. Three Illinois students have already made decisions about debt and finances that will be with them for years to come.

This segment is part of a series on young people and financial literacy.

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NPR segment College Student Debt Grows. Is It Worth It?
The amount of money Americans owe on student loans recently exceeded the nation's credit card debt. That may lead many to ask: Is it smart to borrow a lot of money to go to college?

Photo from Thinkstock

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