My Blog

As technology advances, our society is expected to adapt and advance with it. Through this adaptation, people must understand that in order to connect digital media to social consequences that follow, people need to understand both the features of technology and the practices that are emerging around it and that are going to influence it.

Attention span is defiantly influencing technology. Attention span is defined as the length of time during which someone is bale to think about or remain interested in something. Technology today, seems to be reducing peoples attention span and that aims specifically towards the internet. The people are able to get instant gratification and are able to fix things quick, peoples desire to research something in depth now is easily diminished because it is so easy to type in a question and get an immediate answer.

For example, Nick Carr posted that Google is “making us stupid” and said that “Over the past few years I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone or something, has been tinkering with my brain, remapping the neural circuitry, reprogramming the memory… Now my concentration often starts to drift after two or three pages. I get fidgety, lose the thread, begin looking for something else to do.’

The moral dilemma here is that technology has enable our society to connect with people quicker among other benefits. Baym brings up the notion of a moral dilemma with technology and how fast it is advancing in our world today. Children are being expose to technology too early in their life and are exposed to bad things like pornography and sexual encounters. That without internet they would most likely not be put in that situation at such a young age.

People have attached their lives to technology and can not go a simple day without it, even maybe an hour a day. People are just intrigued with what is happening on the internet. Society’s technology drives the development of its social structure and cultural values.

New media is hard to make sense of but then again, it is really easy. The people just have to adapt and they will be right back to where we were when Facebook first came out, new technology comes out and the people get used to it and it repeats. Technology is always going to keep advancing and as the people we are going to go along with it.

The Facebook Dilemma Part 1

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The Facebook Dilemma Part 2

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The Facebook Dilemma: Brad Parscale

While reading “Facebook isn’t making us Lonely” and “Is Facebook making us lonely?” I found a lot that I could compare. This topic has came up a lot in my life because I guess you could say that, I grew up with Facebook. Over the years I have watched Facebook develop into this huge social platform and I have seen the good and the bad side of it. The good side of Facebook is that you can stay connected with people as far around the world as you would like. That was the main focus on Facebook when it first came out, was to stay connected but now you can do so much as send out invitations and sell items on it. There was an example from Marche and he wrote “When the telephone arrived, people stopped knocking on their neighbors’ doors.” I agree with this statement but then Fischer replied with “When the telephone arrived, people didn’t stop knocking on their neighbors’ doors; they called and then knocked,” which is also true. It’s practically saying that once Facebook became a thing people no longer call and people no longer knock on the door and I agree with that. It is hard to decide if Facebook is making us lonely or if it isn’t because sometimes I do think that it can make you lonely, but are you actually lonely when you are on the web, isn’t it your choice?

Henry Jenkins on transmedia

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk3pahtpsVY&feature=youtu.be

Henry Jenkins interview short

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SGVfJVde164

Transmedia storytelling

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=38KC_5YyTiw

SUMMARY:

Henry Jenkins on transmedia and Henry Jenkins interview short has some similarities. The similarities are that they both are talking about media and how to operate the media sites and realize was is true and what is not. There are differences in-between two the videos because there is a product that you have but then there is also a process that there has to be use while being applied to media. There are new changes in the technical, industrial, cultural and social and they continue to grow throughout media. In the videos it is saying that this world is changing so much and media is coming with it. There are people that did not grow up with any of the media but today; there are people that don’t know how to live without it. In both the videos it explains how media is life changing and everyone is going to need to now how to deal with it because it is not going away. It was explained that there are people today that will go to a baseball game and not even be watching the baseball game but will be on their phone on twitter, or Facebook and then you realize while looking around the stadium that there are codes and what not for all media outlets. It is just another example of how media is going to continue to grow.

For Cravath and Trippe Lakes opening the dams and allowing the water level slowly lower until the water level is down to a stream bead have performed a drawdown.

A Lake drawdown is one tool that can be used to manage aquatic weed problems.

Lake level drawdowns often start in the fall and continue through the winter when water recreation uses are at their lowest. Most aquatic weeds are found near the shallow shoreline.

The Cravath and Trippe Lakes drawdown started on July 8, 2019.

City Manager, Cameron Clapper and Parks & Recreation Director Eric Boettcher worked with city staff David Himself and Andy Ascher to open the dam at Cravath Lake allowing water to flow both under and over it.

Eric Boettcher, Parks and Recreation Director mentioned,

“Some other cities will drawdown during the winter seasons only and Whitewater is doing a two season drawdown for a couple reasons, being able to freeze the lakes twice so the evasive species die and on top that Whitewater is going to dredge the lake and having it last longer will dry it out more.”

Monday, July 8th was the first day to release water from the lake. A marker was painted on a nearby rock in order to monitor the amount of water dropping each day.

Cameron released more water Wednesday, July 10th. There is a drain located in the Millpond near the 5 American Flags Memorial. The water will drain here and at the bottom of the dam allowing additional water to flow under Main St. toward the creek.

This is the first step of the drawdown. Staff will monitor the amount of water that is removed from Cravath Lake and make alterations as needed to stay on track. Stay tuned for more updates as the drawdown progresses.

Why does the City want a lake drawdown you might ask?

Whitewater is trying to freeze out and control invasive aquatic plants, such as Starry Stonewort and Eurasian Milfoil. There is already a weed harvest that happens twice a season to reduce the number of weeds in the lakes.

An extended drawdown has many other benefits to the lake including sediment desiccation, which means the silty or mucky bottom can compress up to 1/3 of its depth when fully dried out. This would result in deeper water in our shallow shore areas.

This along with a dry dredging while the lake is drawn down would allow for deeper lake and a navigable channel for recreational use.

An extended drawdown also would also allow other invasive species to be controlled, while some beneficial native plants, that provide excellent fish and wildlife habitat, are expected to rebound. The extended drawdown would also give the city and/or DNR an ideal chance to inspect the dam while it’s dry.

Some worries that the community has are about what will happen to the fish in the lakes. The drawdown must happen gradually so all fish and wildlife has enough time to locate to deeper water.

“The fish are expected to move with the water as the lake level goes down. It is possible that some fish may die if they don’t move up or down stream quickly enough, but this is not expected to be significant,” said Boettcher.

After the drawdown process is complete there will be a plan in place to restock to allow for a healthier fish population to return.

Another worry from the community and the people that share the shoreline is that they are losing a couple seasons of the use of the lakes and is wondering if the drawdown will really work.

There are numerous examples in Wisconsin and elsewhere that show that Eurasian water milfoil can be substantially reduced for multiple years following an overwinter drawdown if the exposed lake bottom freezes.

Preliminary laboratory testing with starry stonewort has shown that freezing, even for short periods of time, will kill the star shaped bulbils that allow for plant regrowth.

The exposure of lake bottom sediments to dry and freezing conditions can cause the organic sediment in the exposed lakebed to compact and oxidize; increasing the water depth following the drawdown.

This oxidation can lead to increased release of phosphorus from exposed sediments initially after the lake is refilled, but less phosphorus release after the initial flush from refill. 

The extent of control of EWM and SSW and compaction of lake sediments will depend on the severity of the two winters and the amount of drawdown that is possible.

Boettcher was able to add that,

“Colder and dryer fall and winter weather will create conditions for better control of these invasive plants and organic sediments. Cracking sediment on the exposed lakebed is a sign that the lake bottom has dried enough to allow compaction of organic sediments and plant seed germination.”

The exposed sediments will be checked in winter to determine the depth of frost and freezing conditions.

The lake drawdown will continue through the spring of 2021.

The Jefferson County Board had a meeting on Tuesday, October 22. The County Board meetings are taken place at the courthouse in Jefferson. One of the very important matters discussed was the 2020 budget. The budget is the total of $85 million. There is a lot to be done during 2020 and a few of the spending’s include road construction, paying off debts and remodeling the Jefferson County buildings including the main remodeling of the Jefferson County Courthouse.

Renovations

            The main renovations for the Jefferson County Courthouse include maintenance and making sure everything is operating right. The courthouse has become very tech savvy and has updated most of their files to electronics. They board members want to not just update their files but also modernize the building. At the beginning of 2020, the members will decide what exact updates will be made to the building. There will not be much done on the exterior of the building but it will take 2-3 years to make the changes that need to be done inside the Jefferson County Courthouse.

            Talking about the renovation of the courthouse, Jim Schroeder, Chair of the Jefferson County Board, said

“If you have a car that’s nickel and diming you to death, that’s not really a good way to spend your money. You’re better of either putting a new engine in the car or buying a new car, because in the long run your money will be spent more wisely.”

            Explaining that the county board doesn’t want to just fix a couple things here and there, that they want to make sure it’s renovated to also new.

Property Taxes

            Continuing on with the 2020 budget for Jefferson County includes property taxes. Property taxes are one of the major sources of revenue. Even though property taxes are a one of the main sources of revenue, the taxes for Jefferson County have been dropping since 2017.

            There was one hearing from the public and that was Anita Martin from Lake Mills. Mills works for the Land and Water Department and she explained that they are down a person in the department and was wondering if that position will be filled during with the 2020 budget or will that position be terminated.

An answer will be given in a county board meeting at a later date.

Badger State Solar Project

            Ranger Power is working with area farmers and landowners to developBadger State Solar, a 149-megawatt photovoltaic solar facility in the Towns of Jefferson and Oakland in Jefferson County, Wisconsin.

            There is another location that has not been moved forward with by the Public Service Commission (PSC) is in the northeastern part of Jefferson County in Watertown, Ixonia, Farmington, and Concord.

The project will produce enough clean, low-cost energy to power tens of thousands of homes and will help Wisconsin meet its goals for in-state renewable energy. The Badger State site is located close to existing electrical infrastructure, which minimizes the project’s footprint and avoids the need for long transmission lines.

Badger State Solar will create hundreds of jobs during the construction phase and 3-5 full-time jobs once operational. The project is a new private investment in Jefferson County and will be a major source of new revenue through the Wisconsin Shared Revenue Program.

            It was said at the meeting that the county and the developer states would use 15 hundred acres. It was discussed that access roads, landscaping and fencing will be happening.

            A couple negatives came out of having the solar project installed, such it is very modern and up to date and the public is worrying about losing the nature and rolling hills and worrying about the sound that will come from it.

            There is a meeting that will be open to the public and that will happen on November 6^th at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. at the Jefferson County Fair park grounds in the activity center.

            For more information on the Jefferson County Board, including meeting agendas and minutes, visit https://www.jeffersoncountywi.gov/.   

What happened this week?

A Common Council meeting was held at the Municipal Building in downtown Whitewater last Tuesday night at 6:30 p.m.  A lot was discussed Tuesday night about the upcoming 2020-city budget, the Palmyra-Eagle referendum and events that are happening around town.

Cameron Clapper, the City Manager introduced the audience to the 2020 city budget. Clapper spoke about the budget briefing for the next few months:

•          October 1: Budget Delivery to Common Council

•          October 10-24: Finance Committee Review

•          November 5: Final Presentation to common council

•          November 19: Public Hearing and Adoption

Clapper explained the Tax Bill Breakdown to help the people understand where the money is going. The Common Council wants a balanced 2020 budget. The money goes to the State of Wisconsin, Walworth County, technical college, the Whitewater school district and the City of Whitewater.

The 2020 budget has gone up by 2.5%, which means it is at $9.8 million. Clapper mentioned,

“Property Taxes and Intergovernmental Revenue is where we draw funds. Intergovernmental revenue is beginning to get smaller”

The top 3 general fund expenditures are general government, public safety and public works and this was equalized in 2019. It was said by Clapper that,

“We have experienced over that time period .68% growth.”

The major capital projects are:

•          Clay Street Reconstruction

•          PD Radio Console upgrades

•          Lake Draw Down Projects

•          Uninterruptable Power Supply Replacement

•          Industrial Drive Watermain

•          Amphitheater Installation

•          Public Works Facility Study

•          Walworth Avenue/Court Street Inlet

The 2020 Budget Review timeline will go through until mid December. The next meeting will be held on Thursday October 10^th at 5:30 p.m. and that will be with the Special Finance Committee to go in-depth with the 2020 budget.

The Palmyra-Eagle Area school district sent out a 2019 referendum and it did not pass. The referendum was to continue educating students while the district remains open, appropriate staffing levels and programs are maintained, completed repairs and general maintenance to the districts building and board and administration continue to work in cost mindful manner.

The referendum asks to exceed the limits by $1.75 million in the 2019-20 school year, $2.5 million in the 2020-21 school year, $3.25 million in the 2021-22 school year and $4 million in the 2022-23 school year.

The residents of Palmyra-Eagle have got enough signatures to force an advisory referendum on the school district. The Palmyra-Eagle Area School Board has voted on whether the school district should dissolve and the residents did too.

One way or another, the School District of Whitewater would be affected if the neighboring Palmyra-Eagle Area School District dissolves. Palmyra-Eagle has 381 elementary school students in two buildings in Palmyra and Eagle, 133 middle school students, 255 high school students and 15 open-enrollment applicants for the 2019-20 school year.

Whitewater board members acknowledged that the situation is complicated, but they said they want to start looking at how they can help some of the families who might be looking for a new district.

With the possibility of adding more students, additional state funding could make its way to the district.

For Superintendent Mark Elworthy, communication with area districts on what happens with the Palmyra-Eagle students will be key moving forward.

There is a Board Meeting coming up on Tuesday October 8^th at 7:00 p.m. at the Palmyra-Eagle High School.

Assessment day is an annual event hosted by UW-Whitewater. Assessment day is a day where people are brought together so they can share the work they have done on excessing student learning. People from individual programs, student affairs or even across campus come together to bring the information and data that they have gathered on what students have learned and what they experienced from their programs. It’s a day for people to share their work and their accomplishments.

Every year there is a keynote speaker presentation, a panel presentation and a poster session that are included in the exciting events of the day.

The keynote speaker for 2019 was Dr. Peter Felten. Felten is a professor of history, assistant provost for teaching and learning, and executive director of the Center for Engaged Learning at Elon University. Felten talks about six factors that are learning, relationships, expectations, alignment, improvement and leadership.

Felton believes that improvement is at the top of these six factors.

“We can always do better in what we are doing. And we can always support our students in learning more.”

Assessment Day is a day to honor research on improving student assessment and performance. At the University Center in the Hamilton room, anyone is able to go in there and see the 44 posters that have been made for Assessment Day and are able to look at the research that has been discovered.

There is tables set up for the people that attend so they are able to look over brochures, talk and trade ideas to the people around them.

Joan Littlefield Cook is the Interim Associate Host and the Director of Academic Assessment.

Academic Assessment is the process of gathering and analyzing information about student learning and using it to improve the learning process. During Assessment day Joan stays very busy making sure everything is going right and everyone is enjoying their day.

Assessment Day has a tag line and that is “Celebrate and Contact.” Cook wants to make sure that the people at Assessment Day are sharing and celebrating their work.

“It is a fun day to relax a little bit and celebrate the great things that are happening.”

Cook looks forward to this day every year.

It takes a lot of work to prepare for this day. It takes the programs and the people working in the programs to gather and assess student learning.

Assessment Day is to celebrate and to make people across campus aware of all the good work that is going on throughout the University. 2019 is the largest Assessment Day that there has been and it will continue to grow. It is open to all student, staff and faculty.

“Come and enjoy” Cook encourages, “It would be great if we could get more students to get a sense of what is going on in terms of staff and faculty and the interests in what our students are learning and what students can do to become more successful.”

Assessment Day happens every year and if you did not make it this year, mark it on your calendar and check it out for 2020 and be part of Assessment Day!

Hello everyone!

Can you remember using internet like you do now? The younger generation can’t think back to before internet but if you ask a parent or a grandparent, they know when the internet was invented, 1983. If it wasn’t for internet we wouldn’t have a whole other world behind the computer screen, cell phone or ipod. That brings use to, social media. What is life today with social media and how does it effect people everyday?

In the United States, an estimated 196 million people used social media in 2016, a number forecast to exceed 216 million by 2021.

 

I was able to interview a couple people from around Wisconsin about what they think about social media, what the positive and negative outcomes are, and what they think social media is doing to all generations.

The first people I was able to interview is Rebecca Morris from Clinton, WI. She is a business owner and said a few words about what she thinks about social media and how it is effecting people.

“They have lost social skills like how to talk in person to someone, it’s almost like they do not know what to say and it is easier to hide being a cell phone or a computer.” Said Morris.

Most people believe that social media has both positive and negative outcome in a persons life.

Social Media is defiantly for the younger generation.

Today around seven-in-ten Americans use social media to connect with one another, engage with news content, share information and entertain themselves.

I had the opportunity to interview Savannah Waller who graduated with a marketing major from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has used her major towards her career in marketing.

(There is more where this came from … )