ICE 2014

On February 26th, Mr. Markey gave me the opportunity to accompany him along with another student, Stephanie Castro, a Leyden graduate, Jeremy Mercado, and Mr. Manola to ICE.

I knew what I was getting into; speaking publicly in front of many people, but that didn't stop me from going. Of course I was nervous, but with a little bit of practice of what I was going to present, I believed I would be okay.

We had one presentation divided into five parts where each of us got to speak a little bit of. Mr. Markey did an amazing job on presenting about how Leyden developed and keeps going on 1:1. Jeremy Mercado did an INCREDIBLE on his slides about student voice. He came up with his own acronym  of how he got inspired and was able to do new things when he finally spoke and said what he wanted. Stephanie also did a marvelous job on student choice talking about her experience with Taste of Teaching and Mr. Manola really emphasized how student leadership can improve our school's environment and our student's lives.

My part of the presentation was student empowerment. As a TSI student, I am able to relate to the type of empowerment the school gave me when Leyden decided to go 1:1. I briefly talked about TSI and our opportunities and choices the class grants us with. 

I really hope our presentation influenced the people in our audience to consider going 1:1. Leyden has changed since my freshmen year when they decided to go 1:1. I personally think it has benefited our school academically and socially. Being 1:1 gave us opportunities that other schools don't have.

Thank you to Mr. Markey for inviting me and good job to everyone that went!

Women in Tech

Last week on February 26th, Ms. Gorzynski gave me the opportunity to be the moderator for the Women in Technology Panel. I automatically said yes.

Five amazing women came to East Leyden to talk to females about their career. The panel ladies were:

• Jordan Pedraza: Program Manager at Google for Education
• Salma Saad: President and Founder of Schoolishness LLC
• Nichole Baiel: User Interface Developer at Adage Technologies
• Nichole Buckle: Web Developer at Performance Trust Capital Partners
• Katie Harington: Social Media and PR Lead for Land of Nod

All these women were very inspiring. They gave us many helpful advice when pursuing our career. This was a great opportunity to any ladies who are interested in the technology field. Sometimes they may feel intimidated because it is often times dominated mostly by men. Women do get discriminated when it comes to this type of career. These ladies talked about their experiences about working with men and how it feels to be one of the very few females in their career.

Tech was not always their first choice when majoring. Mostly all of them went to college thinking they were going to major in a different field. They ended up graduating doing something completely different. This gave the students and I the chance to see that we don't necessarily have to have a major or career in mind by the time we go to college. This is good because we won't feel rushed once we graduate from high school.

All these women inspired me so much. There was one specific panelists that shared a sort of theory or experiment: A ceramics class was divided into two groups. One group was to create a one great sculpture by the end of the semester and however it turned out would be their final grade for the class. The second group was to create several pieces throughout the class. It turns out that the group that created more than one piece got a better grade. Why is that? They had more opportunities to make mistakes while in the process and when you make mistakes you learn. You don't succeed until you struggle or fail with something.

I really enjoyed this experience. It opened up my eyes to the world. I realized I can do anything I desire with my life and that I don't need to have a solid choice when it comes to choosing a career. I still have a lot of time to think about what I want to do and there's also different careers that I don't even know of that I could be interested in. The good thing about technology is that it's always changing so there's always going to be more jobs opening.

The Women in Tech went very well. It not only provided information about tech careers for women, but it also inspired us and that's what females need sometimes.

Thank you to everyone that contributed on making it happen and a BIG thank you to Ms. Gorzynski for organizing everything. She did a marvelous job.

Ms. G, the panelists, and I.

Where Are They Now? TSI Student Updates

This post was written by Ms. Lauren Martire, East Leyden TSI teacher.

On Tuesday, I got a surprise visit from a former TSI student, Zaid Alaraj.  I asked Zaid why he did not respond to my email about being included in a “Where Are they Now?” blog post.  His reasoning was that he had nothing going on and nothing exciting to share.  

I disagree!

Zaid is currently a freshman at Triton College and concentrating on taking his general education classes.  When not at Triton, Zaid spends his time working at not one, not two but THREE part-time jobs.  He works at Lolli & Pops, Watch Me and Asics - all three located at the new Fashion Outlets in Rosemont.

Zaid’s experiences in TSI have helped him at work, specifically at Lolli & Pops, whose register system is based on computer technologies.  In addition, at Lolli & Pops, he set up an audio visual system to use for advertising purposes - something that the store managers have been trying to set up for a while but did not know how to.

It is not surprising that Zaid would offer his technology skills while at work.  Not only was Zaid a stand-out TSI student, he worked in TSI all summer repairing & preparing the graduated senior Chromebooks so that they could be reissued to the incoming freshman.  Zaid does have one TSI regret - not pursuing a CompTIA A+ certification.  He recently applied to be a technician with Best Buy’s Geek Squad but was turned away because they only hire workers who are A+ certified.  His advice to all TSI students is to get as many certifications as they possibly can.  

All the technical skills he learned in TSI will also help him in his further studies.  After spending two years at Triton, he is planning to transfer to either UIC or University of Illinois to finish his studies in Mechanical Engineering.

During Zaid’s visit, I also asked him if he missed Leyden.  His answer - an enthusiastic “YES!”.  He misses everything about Leyden: his teachers; his locker; even the drama!  In fact, Zaid even had his 2013 Leyden Junior Olympics tshirt on.  He is also a little bummed that he is unable to experience some of the cool building changes like the newly remodeled art wing.

Zaid’s advice to current Leyden students, especially the seniors preparing for college, is to apply for as many scholarships as possible.  He loves that he is practically “getting paid to go to Triton”.  Due to scholarships, all his tuition and books are paid for.  In addition, he gets money for food, gas, school supplies, etc.

Overall, I would say that I won the small disagreement that Zaid and I had.  He has A LOT going on and MANY exciting things to share!

           

Click below to read previous "Where Are They Now?" blog posts.

Karolina Moniuszko

Jesse Fuentes

Flappy Bird

If you own a smartphone, chances are, you probably have played Flappy Bird. It became a big hit quick! I remember just scrolling through twitter one day and saw a ton of people tweeting about it. I didn't know what it was so being a bandwagon, I decided to download it just because everyone was talking about it. The game is so simple, yet so difficult! It's one of those games that make you so mad and just want to keep trying and trying.

It's pretty hard at first, but it gets easier after you play it a couple 100 times. I remember getting super excited that I got 7, and now I can get up to 100. You go around happily saying, "My high score is 32!" And then there's always that one person that says, "Mines 187" or something. Don't need to kill the other persons joy of success, lol.

There's two interesting things about this game though.

The person that invented this game is actually a teenager. This kid was making $50,000 per day just for an ad on his game. I mean c'mon kid, just drop out. He's probably set for life.

The other thing is serious. Two brothers were play Flappy Bird and one got a higher score. So the other brother stabbed him for beating him. This is why the app is not in the market anymore. It was starting to be taken serious that led to death.

I have this game on my phone and I play it all the time. Yeah, it frustrates me but I never quit. My high score is 120 and I haven't been able to beat it.

There's other games similar to Flappy Bird now since it got taken down so if you're looking for a similar game, make sure to check out the app store!

Where Are They Now? Former TSI Student Updates

This blog post was written by Ms. Lauren Martire

A couple weeks ago, I sent out an email to a few of last year’s TSI students to inquire if they wanted to be featured in my new “Where are they now” blog posts.  I immediately got a response back from Jesse Fuentes.  I asked Jesse to give me an update on how life at the University of Southern California is treating him and how Leyden prepared him for that life. Expecting a paragraph or two back, I was pleased (but not surprised) to receive an email NINE LONG paragraphs in length.  This is Jesse Fuentes...he goes above and beyond what is expected in ALL things that he does.  This described Jesse as a National Qualifier in FBLA, as a senior TSI student at Leyden and now as a freshman in college.

Jesse is currently studying Computer Engineering & Computer Science at USC but is considering making a change to Computer Science with an emphasis on Game Design and adding a minor in Computer & Digital Forensics.  When not studying, he works parts time at USC’s Information Technology Services as a student technical assistance where he supports the various learning environments on campus.  Jesse believes that his time in TSI prepared him for the job.  To quote Jesse,

“I was practically hired on the spot during my interview once I told the interviewers about the skills, experience and certifications I gained from TSI.  They were so impressed about my certificates and help desk/customer service skill that once I told them about TSI’s ticketing system and loaner laptop procedures, the job was already mine”.

Not surprisingly, Jesse has taken advantage of the internship programs available to freshman college students.  He interviewed for Qualcomm’s Freshman Early Identification Program and will be interviewing with Google sometime in February.  If Jesse gets accepted into Qualcomm’s program, he will spend ten weeks in their San Diego’s headquarters working with full time engineers on real projects.  He also interviewed with Microsoft.  Although he did not get accepted into Microsoft’s program, he was amazed by their interview process which required him to fly to Washington and stay for two nights at the Marriot (unlimited room service included!) - all expenses paid by Microsoft.

Outside of his academics, Jesse is involved in the Trojan Scholars Society and the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers.  He is currently organizing a “Discover Engineering Day” for 200 middle and high-school student.  Jesse has made friends with students from all over the world and says that his new friends are amazed to hear of all the opportunities he was given as a Leyden student.  According to Jesse, “Leyden has prepared me for college so much that had it not been for the support from all the teachers and staff, I would not have earned my scholarship or even acceptance into my dream school”.

.

Jesse’s advice to other students it to “take advantage of everything Leyden has to offer because there are kids out there who don’t even know of the opportunities that are available”.

I am looking forward to getting more updates from Jesse, all of which I am sure will get more and more impressive.  After all...this is Jesse Fuentes I am talking about!

Jesse at Microsoft

Where are They Now? Former TSI Student Updates

This post was written by Ms. Lauren Martire.

On Thursday, I got a surprise visit from a former student - Karolina Moniuszko.  Karolina was an active member in the Business Education department and one of my best TSI students last year.  It was great to catch up with her, hear about her college experiences at Northern Illinois University and learn about how Leyden prepared her for her future.

Because of her experiences in TSI, Karolina was hired as the first female AND first freshman student to work at the NIU technology help desk.  As a technician with the ResTech department (short for Residential Technology), Karolina is responsible for performing virus scans, installing software, setting up instructor technology systems, assisting with folder management and troubleshooting wifi connectivity issues.  She also helps students set up and connect their personal cell phones, xboxes and televisions.

Like other TSI students, Karolina has to use a ticketing system to document all her activities and provide updates to customers.  Karolina has had more open and closed tickets than many of the veteran workers and has already been rehired for next school year.  In fact, next semester, Karolina will be in charge of her own computer lab located in one of the residential halls.

Karolina said that her time in TSI prepared her for the job, but that being a girl in the technology field has at times been a challenge.  One customer mistook her for an assistant and didn’t believe that SHE was the one who was actually going to help HIM with his technology issues!

Karolina is loving college and is looking forward to getting a townhouse next year with friends that she met at Northern.

                   

Karolina as a senior TSI student         Karolina as a freshman NIU student.

Tip of the Week

As winter break is approaching, here are some tips to keep in mind to ensure that you keep taking care of your Chromebook:

• Make sure to keep your Chromebook away from pets, brothers and sisters or any other individual who may damage it.
• If you are going on vacation or traveling, DON'T take your Chromebook with you. Leave it safe at home.
• Don't forget to charge your Chromebook the night before coming back to school in January.

In general, be careful and smart with your Chromebook and enjoy your winter break.

 

Xbox One vs PS4

Xbox One and PS4 are both finally here. As Christmas is getting closer, they're one of the most wanted gifts this year. But which one would you prefer?


Why to get the Xbox One

1. It's a larger console. This is beneficial by letting air run through the system preventing it to over heat.
2. To some people, the Xbox One has a better launch line up than the PS4 like Dead Rising 3 and Zoo Tycoon rather than PS4's Killzone: Shadowfall. Games that they thought would launch with the PS4 were delayed until 2014.
3. The Xbox One has kinect. Although the PS4 has the camera, the kinect can perform tasks that the PS4 can't.
4. Call of Duty has been a very popular game for our generation, but the next generation game anticipating is Titanfall. This game is going to be made by the Call of Duty franchise. It's only going to be sold for PC and Xbox One, so if you want this game, get the Xbox One.

Why to get the PS4

1. The PS4 is smaller than the Xbox One. This can be convenient because if you have a small room, you won't have any issues keeping it somewhere.
2. It has iPlayer. If you want to use your PS4 as a TV streamer, this is good. Xbox One will get the iPlayer, they're just not sure when.
3. The PS4 is cheaper.
4. The PS4 has a better control than the Xbox One. It's more favored because it does not have the clicky triggers like the Xbox One.

So, which console would you get? I'm personally a Play Station fan. I love my PS3 and if I were to choose one, I'd buy the PS4 because of it's size, the online gaming is free, and I like the game play on Play Station better.

TSI Presentation

On Tuesday, December 3rd, Amina Patel, Michael Becker, Michael Vaiana, Miroslav, and I went on a field trip with Ms. Martire to two middle schools to talk to eighth graders about TSI and other Business Education Classes.

River Grove Middle School Presentation

The first middle school we attended was River Grove. Above you can see a picture of Miro, Amina, Michael, and Mike asking the students if they have any questions about the presentation. The following middle school we went to was Hester Junior High. 

Our presentation started off with how quickly technology advances and changes within just a couple years. It's incredible how quickly it goes. We then brought up the topic of Chromebooks. This was a very important aspect because they are eighth graders who will be attending Leyden the following year. We also talked about the basics of TSI. We informed them on what we do, how to get enrolled in the class, the cool technology we get to use, and how important we are when it comes to the Chromebooks. 

Not only did we brag about how awesome TSI is, but we also thoroughly explained the other options they have in the Business Ed department at Leyden. 

At the end, we allowed them to ask us any questions and if their questions were good, they got prizes! Those hands started going up when they saw them! We also took some devices with us such as the Mac, Surface, Windows, and a Chromebook so they can see and play around with them for a little.

You might be wondering if we got hungry throughout the day. You bet we did! In between our trip from River Grove to Hester, we stopped by IHOP (International House of Pancakes) for lunch! It's all about the free food. #leydenpride #leydenhungry

Overall, the trip went well. We all had a good time, got to get out of school, and of course, you can't forget about the free food. We hoped the eighth graders enjoyed our presentation and are excited to coming to Leyden next year!

Tip of the Week

Unfortunately, winter is quickly approaching. Don't expose your Chromebook to the cold weather by leaving it in your car overnight.  Also, take precaution when it is rainy or snowy outside.  Exposing your Chromebook to rain or snow can cause major damage.  As always, it you have any questions, stop by TSI.

And don't forget to follow us @EastSideTSI

TSI Tip of the Week

For this week's TSI tip, we want to share with you some advice for keeping the keyboard on your Chromebook working good.  For those of you who like to eat or drink around your Chromebook, be careful.  Food residue can make the keyboard really sticky and liquid spills can damage it.  Also, be careful with the keys. They can pop off easily.  If you have any issues with your keyboard, stop by TSI - the sooner, the better

Don't forget to follow @EastSideTSI

HP Chromebook 11 vs the Samsung Chromebook Series 5

The following post was written by Bryn Osborne, a first year TSI student.

My name is Bryn Osborne and I am a Junior at East Leyden High School.  I am also a first year student in the Technical Support Internship course.  Last week, I was approached by Mr. Jason Markey, East Leyden’s Principal, and Mr. Bryan Weinert, the Director of Technology, about testing the new HP Chromebook 11.  To do this, I used the HP Chromebook 11 for one full week in all my classes in place of my usual Samsung Chromebook Series 5.  The results could not be finer.

The first thing I noticed is that the HP Chromebook is extremely fast.  I tested the HP and the Samsung Chromebook side by side and visited a variety of websites.  The load time was much faster on the HP Chromebook than it was on the Samsung Chromebook.   I also did a side by side comparison of the HP Chromebook and a desktop computer in the TSI classroom.  Again, the load time on the HP Chromebook was much faster.  

The second thing I evaluated was the keyboard and trackpad.  Compared to the Samsung Chromebook, the keyboard on the HP Chromebook is more slick and provides a smoother typing experience.  The trackpad is more responsive and does not freeze like the Samsung trackpad does.

When compared to the Samsung Chromebook, the screen on the HP Chromebook is more hi-res and is better in image and quality.  The sound quality is very crisp and as the volume increases, the sound does not get distorted or muffled.  The device is lighter, smaller, and seems more durable, particularly with regards to the charging port.

There are two features on the HP Chromebook 11 that stand out: the fan and the LCD lights. There is no fan because the processor does not require one.  The LED lights on the front face of the Chromebook lights up when powered on.  This adds a cool feature to an already sleek looking device.

I was disappointed with one aspect of the device: the battery life.  On an average day, with the Samsung Chromebook, I use approximately 50% of the battery.  With the HP Chromebook, I used at least 75% of the battery during my normal school day & activities.  This is concerning since batteries lose their charge life as time goes on.  The one positive with regards to charging is that the HP Chromebook uses a micro-usb port.  This means that you can use a traditional phone charger to charge the device if needed.

As my final conclusion, I prefer the HP Chromebook 11 over the Samsung Chromebook Series 5 due to it’s fast speed, keyboard/touchpad performance and sleek look.

Update: On Wednesday, November 13th, Best Buy & Amazon pulled all their HP Chromebook 11’s from their shelves.  Rumor has it that the charging ports were overheating.

Mamabear App

Are you a parent that owns an Apple or Android phone? The Mamabear app lets you monitor your child's whereabouts. You can download it for free on your smartphone! 

What does it do? It uses GPS to provide the parents information about where their child is and when they leave or arrive places. 

To use it, both the guardian and the child must download it to their phone. For the parent, the app streams information such as a map to where the child is and buttons such as to send messages, check alerts, and change settings. For the child, the app has various icons they can use to send notifications. For example, the child can send a car icon to let their parent know that they want to get picked up. If parents are monitoring more than one child, they can change the colors on the map of where their child is.

The app also offers a feature where parents can monitor Instagram and Facebook activity. For example, if their child adds a new friend or are tagged in photos.

Installing: When you download it, it requires a few steps to get started. Parents must create an account and profile with information such as their name, birthday, and phone number.

Trying it out: Some parents might look at this app as one of the best things ever because they're able to know where their child is and what they're doing and if they're safe. But in my opinion, I would not like my parents doing this. I feel like parents that do this don't trust their children. They have to give their kid freedom so they can learn to become independent. If a parent is interested in trying this out with their child, then by all means, download it and use, but thank God my parents barely know how to go to their pictures on their phone so they won't be able to use it on me. 

TSI Tip of the Week

Does your smartphone run really slow? If so, it may be because of your apps. Did you know that a lot of apps keep running even when you are not using them? If you have an iPhone, you can easily close them by double tapping your home button and swiping up on each open app. If you have an Android, there are multiple ways to do this. Stop by TSI if you want us to show you how.

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @EastSideTS

iPad Mini is Near!

Apple has announced their new product. The iPad mini will be released this upcoming month!

This iPad has a 7.9-inch Retina display which is a liquid crystal display that has high pixel density making the screen a lot more clearer with higher resolution. It also is built with a new A7 chip that performs up to four times faster CPU (Central Processing Unit) and eight time faster graphic performance than the first iPad mini. What's also new about this iPad is the Wi-Fi by having two antennas instead of one. And of course with iOS7 that was recently released, the iPad mini 2 also runs with this software.

Other than that, the iPad mini 2 has the same features as the any other apple product such as apps, and games. 

I personally don't own an iPad, just an iPhone, but I believe there's little differences to the products. For example, the iPods are the same as iPhones except that in iPhone's, you can text and make phone calls. But Apple fans will be purchasing this product when it is released and there will be more feedback.

If you're thinking about purchasing the iPad mini 2, it will be released later in November.

If you want to read more information about the iPad, Click Here

TSI Tip of the Week

Are you keeping Chromebook in it's case when you are not using it?  If your answer is no, you should definitely consider using the case more often.  Using it can dramatically reduce your chances of damaging the Chromebook.  Your parents and their wallet will thank us!  If you do find yourself with a broken Chromebook, stop by TSI and we can help.  

Like always, follow me on Twitter @EastSideTSI.

Google Glass at Leyden!

Today, Mr. Markey introduced us to Google Glass! Students were able to try them on and use them in their TSI periods.

I been knowing about Google Glass for about half a year and I was always interested in using it and today I did! 

For anyone who doesn't know what Google Glass is, it's basically a computer in a pair of glasses. It's voice activated so when you put them on, you say "Ok Glass" and gives you options. From there you choose the type of command you wish to perform. For example, you can say, "Ok Glass." You will then see your options and you can say, "Start recording." and the glasses will start recording first person from what you see.

Google Glass isn't available right now in stock, but if you're interested in buying a pair... Click here

Mr. Markey is allowing us to come up with creative ideas to use the Google Glass at Leyden! This is a great experience to explore new ideas and to come up with new ways to improve our technology community.

TSI Tip of the Week

Is your Chromebook running really slow?  Try clearing all the history AND deleting your extensions.  If you don't know how to do that, stop by TSI and we can show you.  It's really easy!!  Click on the links below for step by step instructions.

How to Delete the Browsing History 
How to Delete the Extensions 

Don't forget to follow us on Twitter @EastSideTSI

CABEA Presentation

Yesterday, October 17th, 2013, East Leyden hosted a conference for 65 business educators in the Chicago area on behalf of CABEA, the Chicago Area Business Education Association. Everyone gathered at the East Leyden library to network and share ideas.

The picture above shows a presentation done by Mr. Markey, Ms. Martire, and four TSI students: Angel Castillo, Amina Patel, Mike Vaiana and I.  The presentation was about Leyden's 1:1 initiative and the TSI program.

The presentation went great!  At the end, everyone told us we did a wonderful job having the nerve to stand up in front of so many adults to speak. It was a great experience to practice public speaking.  Afterwards, the individuals at the conference had a chance to ask us questions.  The two men I talked to seemed very interested in our TSI program. Later on, the visitors were able to stop by the TSI room for a tour which gave them more of an opportunity to see how our class is run.  We were able to show them more in detail what we do.

Not only were we able to get out of part of the school day, we also got free breakfast and lunch! Who wouldn't love that?!

The picture above is a quick snapshot of me, Amina, Angel, and Mike who participated in the presentation with Mr. Markey and Ms. Martire. Everyone did a wonderful job!

The whole event went great and I hope the visitors from other schools are starting to consider going 1:1 like Leyden.

To learn more about CABEA & TSI, use the links below...

• www.cabea.org
• www.leydentsi.org
• Twitter: @EastSideTSI
• TSI Blog: http://eastsidetsi.blogspot.com/

Beginner!

Hey! My name is Miriam Hernandez (:


I'm a student at East Leyden High School. The purpose of this blog is to post about any TSI or technology related news. TSI stands for "Tech Support Internship" which is a class I'm currently in right now. What we do is repair Google Chromebooks, help out teachers with technology issues, and we get an opportunity to explore tech related areas that interest us.
So every week, I'll be blogging about any TSI updates or technology news. You can also follow the TSI twitter account at @EastSideTSI for any other additional information!
-Miriam (:

Any questions or concerns? Just email me at mh19451@student.leyden212.org