Blog Post #6: Each One Teach One

Exploring Our Connected World 

The story of the World Wide Web began in 1989 when Tim Berners-Lee invented it while working at CERN, a scientific research organization in Switzerland. His goal was simple but revolutionary: help scientists share information more efficiently. He envisioned a system that would connect documents through hyperlinks, allowing users to move quickly from one source of information to another. This idea laid the foundation for the modern web that billions of people use today.

Scientist Tim Berners-Lee

In 1990, the first web browser, web server, and website were created. Tim Berners-Lee developed both the browser and server himself, demonstrating the potential of his new invention. What made the first browser unique was its ability to not only display web pages but also edit them. This innovation marked the beginning of a new era in how people could access, create, and share information online.

The following year, in 1991, the World Wide Web became available beyond CERN. As more people gained access, key technologies such as HTML and HTTP played a major role in its growth. 

HTML allowed web pages to be structured and displayed, while HTTP enabled communication between computers across the internet. Together, these technologies provided the framework needed for the web to expand rapidly.

One of the most important milestones occurred in 1993 when CERN made the web technology freely available to the public. By placing the software into the public domain, organizations and individuals could use it without paying licensing fees. This decision encouraged innovation and allowed developers around the world to build new websites and applications. As a result, the web spread quickly across countries and industries.

Berners-Lee's groundbreaking idea was to connect documents through hyperlinks, allowing users to move easily from one page to another. To make this possible, he developed three core technologies that remain fundamental to the modern web today: HTML, the language used to create web pages. HTTP, the system used to transfer data across the web and URLs, the addresses used to locate web pages. 

Even today, the web relies on three essential technologies that continue to support its operation. HTML organizes the content that appears on a webpage, including text, images, and links. HTTP allows web browsers and servers to exchange information efficiently. URLs provide unique addresses that help users locate websites and resources across the web. 

World Wide Web 

The impact of the World Wide Web can be seen in nearly every part of modern life. People use it to communicate with friends and family, complete schoolwork, shop online, conduct business, and stay informed about current events. 

What started as a tool for scientists has evolved into one of the most influential technologies ever created. As technology continues to advance, the World Wide Web remains a powerful force connecting people and information around the world. 

AI DISCLOSURE: This assignment was developed with the assistance of Gemini as an editing and organizational tool. AI was used to help refine outlines, organize my class notes, clarify language, and format strategic frameworks. The research, facts, and information were gathered from the sources I consulted, and the final content was reviewed, edited, and approved by me. 

Blog Post #5: Anti- War Voices

Public gathering near the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C.

Mainstream news coverage almost exclusively frames foreign policy around military intervention and defense strategy. Independent outlets like Antiwar.com and The American Conservative (TAC) push back against this narrative, offering principled arguments against foreign entanglements despite their different political foundations. Their absence from major news broadcasts highlights a persistent issue: robust anti-war viewpoints are routinely excluded from mainstream media. 

Although they originate from distinct political philosophies, both publications consistently offer sharp, principled arguments against military involvement and overseas escalation. This divide highlights a critical issue in modern media analysis: why are robust anti-war viewpoints largely excluded from mainstream broadcasts, compelling audiences to rely on independent outlets for alternative perspective. 

Protest Of Anti-War

The main reason lies in mainstream media incentives. Corporate news networks rely heavily on government officials, military figures, and defense analysts as expert sources, creating a natural bias toward established foreign policy. 

Additionally, networks rely on advertising dollars from major corporations, including defense contractors. Because strong antiwar voices challenge the core premise of military intervention, corporate outlets view them as risky to include. 

To understand why platforms like Antiwar.com and TAC feel like outlets, one must look at the structural incentives of mainstream media. Corporate news organizations rely heavily on high-ranking government officials, retired military officers, and defense think-tank analysts as expert sources. This reliance creates an institutional bias toward maintaining established foreign policies. 

Furthermore, major networks are financed by advertising revenue, often tied to large industrial corporations, including defense contractors. Strong antiwar voices challenge the fundamental premise that military intervention is a necessary solution to global conflicts, making their inclusion risky for mainstream outlets that prioritize official access and institutional stability. 

Skepticism of military intervention spans the political spectrum. Antiwar.com highlights libertarian and anti-imperialist views, warning that conflict erodes civil liberties and domestic rights. Meanwhile, conservative outlets like TAC oppose foreign entanglements based on constitutional restraint, fiscal prudence, and realism. Together, they show that non-interventionism is a coherent policy position across political lines, challenging the narrative that foreign military action is the only realistic option.

Corporate news often acts as an echo chamber for official policy, independent platforms serve as vital counterweights by questioning defense budgets, human rights impacts, and war powers. However, finding these perspectives requires readers to look beyond algorithmic feeds. Ultimately, accessing genuine diversity of thought means actively seeking out specialized, independent sources that prioritize critical analysis over official consensus. 

Serving as a counterweight to mainstream echo chambers, independent platforms perform a vital service challenging defense budgets, war powers, and the human cost of military action. However, because algorithmic feeds favor corporate consensus, readers must intentionally seek out independent outlets to find genuine diversity of thought on foreign policy.

AI DISCLOSURE: This assignment was developed with the assistance of Gemini, which served as an editing, structural, and organizational tool. AI was utilized to refine outlines, synthesize raw class notes, clarify language, structure strategic frameworks, and polish overall presentation. All underlying notes, analytical direction, and subject matter context were directly provided by the author.

Blog Post #4 Digital Privacy: Self Reflection

A speaker stands on stage in front of a illuminated TED sign while addressing a live audience

Every day we go about our lives assuming that most of the thing we do are private unless we decide to share them with other people. After watching Juan Enriquez's TED Talk, Your Online Life, Permanent as a Tattoo, and Catherine Crump's, The Small and Surprisingly Dangerous Detail the Police Track About You, I realized that privacy is not as simple as it used to be. Both of the talks show how much information about us can be saved and collected, whether we realize it or not. Our posts online can stay with us for a long time, while the information about what we do or where we go can also be tracked. After watching and listening carefully, it made me think more about how technology has changed privacy and how careful we need to be with the information we put online and share with others.  

Digital Footprint 

The first video that I watched was Juan Enriquez's TED Talk, Your Online Life, Permanent as a Tattoo, made me think about how permanent the information that we put out there online can be. Enriquez compares this persistent footprint to a permanent tattoo which emphasizes how past mistakes or moments are taken out of context can follow us forever. Every search, post and location tag forms a mark that is impossible to get rid of.

 I know that even if I delete something, it could still be saved or shared by someone else. I try to think before I post and make sure that what I am sharing I would be comfortable with people seeing in the future. This talk reminded me that being responsible online is important because my digital footprint can stay with me for a long time.  

Traffic Cameras

After watching the second video, Catherine Crump's TED Talk, The Small and Surprisingly Dangerous Detail the Police Track About You, it helped me understand how much information can be tracked without us even realizing it. One of the biggest examples she discusses is automatic license plate readers, which are cameras placed on top of police cars and streetlights that take pictures of care as they drive by. 

What stood out to me the most was that these cameras do not just rack people who are suspected or crimes, they can collect information on everyone. Instead of deleting the information of people who have done nothing wrong, the data can be stored in large databases for month or even years. 

This made me realize how easily our privacy can be affected even when we are just going about our everyday lives. If someone has access to this information, they could see where a person has been and learn a lot about their daily routine. I think that this is very concerning because people should have some level of privacy in public and they may not even know that they are being tracked. 

Both Juan Enriquez and Cathrine Crump highlight how modern technology has fundamentally transformed what it means to live a private life. Enriquez demonstrates the long term consequences of the digital footprints we voluntarily create, showing that our online actions become permanent marks that can follow us. 

Crump talks about the hidden risks of surveillance, revealing how everyday movements in public spaces can be logged and stored. These two talks prove that privacy is no longer just a personal choice, but a challenge that spans both our online choices and our physical presence. Going through this new reality requires a serious approach, while actively advocating for stronger legal protections or practicing intentional mindfulness over the information we put out into the world. 

AI DISCLOSURE: This assignment was developed with the assistance of Gemini as an editing and organizational tool. AI was used to help refine outlines, organize my class notes, clarify language, and format strategic frameworks. All primary content, context, and data were derived directly from notes I took during class and presentation discussions. Every AI-assisted draft was reviewed, edited, and verified to ensure accuracy. The final strategic insights and conclusions reflect my own work and understanding.

Blog Post #3: Values Of Free Expression

I chose to pick one of the Values of Free Expressions and I will be discussing "The Marketplace of Ideas and Discovery of Truth". John Milton published in 1644 was one of the most important works that was connected to the idea of Marketplace Ideas. He believed that people should be allowed to have different ideas instead of having the government decide which is acceptable. Milton's main argument was that people should have the freedom to discuss, ask questions, and challenge different opinions. The marketplace of ideas is based on the belief that truth is more likely to be discovered when different ideas are allowed to compete with one another. He believed that people should not accept something as true because autonomy tells them it is true. This can connect to the discovery of the truth because the truth can be developed through learning, disagreement and questioning. 

The COVID-19, pandemic gives an example of Milton's ideas. During the time period of COVID-19 people have received information from government officials, doctors, organizations and social media. There was always many different opinions about the treatments, virus, masks, and government policies. As months went on, the information started to change as doctors and scientists started to learn more about the virus. This ties back and shows an important part of discovering the truth. 

What I have learned by connecting COVID-19 to Milton's marketplace of ideas is that it's not about allowing people to say whatever they want but to have the freedom to question information for evidence. During COVID-19 it has shown how difficult it can be when consuming a ton of information. I also learned that discovering the truth can be a process than something happens. This connects back to Milton's market place of ideas because it depends on people being able to examine different challenges and viewpoints. The pandemic has shown me that a disagreement does not always mean that someone is wrong, but it can lead people to ask questions to find strong evidence.  

The Biden Administration also has become a part of this discussion because the government has played a big role in communicating information about COVID-19.  This has helped support Milton's argument because people have questioned how much of the government should have control over all the information, especially during the public-health crisis. This has shown that the public and the government has been able to show and prove to the world that they have handled this situation poorly. People had very different opinions about decisions being made during COVID-19. Some people trusted and listened to the doctors, government officials about the information that was told.   

COVID-19 made Milton's argument feel more relevant to society because it demonstrated that the search for trust and truth can be complicated. I learned that discovering the truth requires listening to other people and their perspectives which can include asking questions, finding information or being willing to change your understanding when new information becomes available. Milton's marketplace of ideas does show why freedom of discussion and thought matter. 

Blog Post #2: Supreme Court Reflection

The image above is the Supreme Court Of The United States

                                                                

Before watching this video, I knew that the Supreme Court was the highest court in the United States, but I had never really thought about how much influence it has on the country. I understood that it was an important part of the government, but I did not fully appreciate its role in shaping laws and protecting constitutional rights.

One of the things that interested me most was learning that the Supreme Court was created by Article III of the Constitution and serves as part of the judicial branch. I had heard these facts before, but seeing them explained in the context of the Court's responsibilities helped me understand why the institution is so important. 

The biggest takeaway for me was the concept of judicial review. I learned that the Supreme Court has the power to determine whether laws or government actions are constitutional. That stood out because it means the Court can have a direct impact on the way the government operates and how laws affect people. 

I was also surprised by the process for becoming a justice. Justices are nominated by the President, confirmed by the Senate, and generally serve for life unless they retire, resign, or are removed through impeachment. When I thought about how long a justice can serve, it became clear to me why Supreme Court appointments receive so much public attention.

Another point that caught my attention was that the Court usually consists of nine justices, including one Chief Justice and eight Associate Justices. Even though it is a relatively small group, the decisions they make can have a lasting effect on American laws, rights, and society.

After watching the video, I see the Supreme Court differently. I no longer think of it as just another branch of government. Instead, I view it as one of the most influential institutions in the country, with the power to interpret the Constitution and shape the lives of Americans for generations. 

AI DISCLOSURE: This post was created in collaboration with Microsoft Copilot. I took detailed notes while watching a 20-minute video about the history of the Supreme Court. In addition to facts that I learned, I emphasized my own reactions and opinions while watching. I then asked Copilot to help me improve the text by correcting grammar, spelling, and punctuation. I then asked Copilot to help me shape the text into a blog post format. After review, I then added links to related resources, as well as appropriate images and captions.

Blog Post #1: 5 Sources of Information

 1. The first article that I chose to share information about is called, "NCAA Transfer Portal And Rules". While reading this article, I was able to dive deeper into what its like for an athlete to "release" yourself into a database were college coaches are able to go online and see your information. The NCAA Transfer Portal allows college athletics to notify schools of their intent to transfer and communicate with other programs designated transfer windows. Depending on the time frame, it can vary on the sport, season or division. 

2. The second article that I chose to share information about is called, "AI Solutions for Business". What I took away from this article is that AI is being used in many different job industries. Technology investments, especially in AI, remains top priorities for businesses right now to help improve efficiency and problem solving. AI agents specifically designed to perform complex tasks by interpreting contextual information, making decisions based on that interpretation and executing actions aligned with predetermined objectives. I can definitely see a change soon with the world implementing robots to take over humans in workforces. 

3. The third article I chose to share information about is called, "Women's sports reached record NCAA participation as leadership roles keep rising". The NCAA reports that women's college sports are continuing to grow. The growth is also happening in leadership, with an increase in the women serving as head coaches, athletic directors and college presidents. Overall, the data shows that women sports are becoming a larger and more influential part of college athletics. 

4. The fourth article I chose to share information about is called, "Problematic smartphone use and academic achievement: A systematic review and meta-analysis". Smartphones have become a major part of everyday life, but excessive use can make it harder for students to stay focused. Notifications, social media, and constantly checking a phone can interrupt attention and cause students to switch between tasks instead of concentrating on one thing. 

5. The last article I chose to share information about is called, " National Library of Medicine". Sleep plays an important role in college students’ ability to learn, concentrate, and perform academically. Research on first-year college students found that students who got more sleep early in the semester tended to have higher GPAs at the end of the semester. the study found that every additional hour of average nightly sleep was associated with about a 0.07 increase in GPA. This suggests that getting enough sleep can be an important part of academic success, rather than sacrificing sleep to study longer.