BXV Elementary School Coding Workshops

Last Thursday, the BVX Girls Coding Club organized an afterschool activity for second to fifth graders with the hope of creating more interest in STEM subjects, particularly with girls. With seven types of workshops, the elementary schoolers were encouraged to combine both programming and engineering concepts in their workshops. For example, the LittleBits station, which simulated a circuit formed of electronic building blocks, or the Makey-Makey station, which encouraged creativity by connecting common objects to computer programs. Younger students worked with Cubetto and Dash & Dot, two robots that demonstrate how computers (in this case the robots) took commands that were written into a program (which the students accomplished through basic block based coding). Exposure to such activities left the students excited to learn more, both on their own and in their technology classes.

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Spotting Email Scams

In the modern day, with much technology at our access, it is bound to have more people trying to scam other people out of their money or personal information. A very common way of doing this, is by emails. However, there are ways to avoid being scammed, for instance, people could look for things such as, links labeled “secure your spot,” or “click here first and then follow the instructions.” People could also look at the content of the email, if it asks for personal information, for you to log into your online bank account, or for you to put in other personal information.

How realistic can Japanese robots get?

Japan’s long history with robots first began in the 17th century with a mechanical puppet often used for theatre entertainment called, “Karakuri ningyō”. However, they have come very far with their advancements in technology and robotics.

How different is Apple’s newest Macbook Pro from previous models?

This year, 2017, Apple came out with a new Macbook Pro, with many new features added to its model. They have added a touch bar and touch ID to log in, which is similar to the feature that is included in iPhones, used to log in. The touch bar replaces the function keys at the top of the keyboard, and things such as volume and brightness. In terms of storage and speed, the computer has up to 130% faster graphics, up to ten hours of battery life and 100% faster flash storage. The speakers have also been updated, as they now have up to 58% more volume, and two in a half times louder bass in the speakers.

The new computer is said to be thinner, lighter as well as being smaller, making it more convenient to carry around. Another added feature to the Macbook Pro, is that it has a larger trackpad, and they keyboard itself has also been redesigned to be thinner as well. The display of the computer itself has also been improved, as it brighter, has more contrast, and has more colors that give the display a  more realistic look to it.

Backpacks: Becoming more than just fabric

Backpacks are a bag with shoulder straps allowing it to be carried on someone’s back and they are usually composed just of fabric and various pockets. Today, with so much technology available to the public, such as laptops, smartphones, and smartwatches, the demand for charging ports has increased. Most of the time when someone’s phone is running low on battery, they may not be near a place where they could sit down, take out their charger and plug it into an outlet. Due to this issue, the more convenient solution is to be able to charge it on the go. Although portable chargers are available on the market, another solution which is possibly more convenient is backpacks which have built-in USB and battery to charge your devices.

One of these innovative, new back packs is the TYLT designed “ENERGI BACKPACK.” It has five external pockets and two internal pockets with a battery, allowing users to charge up to three devices at the same time. It is also “travel friendly,” meaning that it fits on the handle of any luggage when traveling, and getting through airport security is easy, as you could also keep your laptop in the backpack. With this new backpack, people will have a mobile charging station at their access at anytime.