Capstone #4 – Interview


For our 5th grade Capstone project, we needed an interview. An interview is where you ask someone questions and they answer them. My Capstone topic is Social Media so I needed to find an expert in Social Media. My site visit (a place related to my topic) was to a place called We are Social (advertising on Social Media), so my dad helped my find two people I can interview.

The first person was Matthew Friedman. Matthew works in strategy. For the interview I need questions so I made a list of 17 questions.

  1. Do we need Social Media in our lives?
  2. How has Social Media affected our lives?
  3. What are some top ways we can protect our privacy from different Social Media sites?
  4. Do you think Facebook’s scandals affected Social Media?
  5. What have Social Media companies been doing in response after the Facebook scandal?  
  6. Do you think the government can do anything to prevent Social Media privacy?
  7. In the event of a any violation of customer privacy by Social Media companies, is there any law that regulated and punish the companies?
  8. Do you think we should limit the access to information from different companies? CEO, and other big parts of a company?
  9. What is it that your company is doing to protect customer privacy?
  10. Are there technology developed specifically designed to protect Social Media privacy?
  11. Do you think people from different people view privacy protection differently and if so what differences?
  12. Are there Social Media products and services that are friendlier to privacy protection than other product and services?
  13. What are some of the best ways to teach kids to be responsible on Social Media?
  14. Has Social Media causes too much addiction?
  15. Do you think Social Media has ruined bonding, family, etc?
  16. Should there be a age limit for Social Media accounts like alcohol?
  17. What is the difference of Social Media evolution in the US compared to Europe?

These questions were very different but related to the same topic.  After I ask these question he gave some interesting answers. For example for question 12 he replied “Not that I know of”, which surprised me because I thought they world have some sort of technology that can protect our privacy.

My second interview was with Samantha Palser. Samantha works in research and insights. I asked her the same 17 questions and she had very similar answers but for a few questions she would say something like ” I think BLANK is BLANK but also is BLANK and Matthew was more of a straight answer. Samantha had less direct but more thoughtful answers. I think Matthew and Samantha were very different interviewees.

My second site visit for Capstone was to a place called Cowen (Diversified financial services firm that provides alternative investment management and investment banking services), there I interviewed one person, Liliana Riotto. Liliana had my questions in advance so she made a packet explaining all her answers. This helped me understand what she was saying during the interview. Her answers always had two sides and were way more complex. She had lots of opinions but most of her answer was based on research or an article.

My favorite interview was Matthew’s because it was clear and simple, which made it easier to understand. Samantha and Liliana were a little confusing and unclear. These interviews helped me in my Capstone research. The interviews also helped me see what real people think about important things about Social Media.

Capstone #3 – Site Visit


For our Capstone project we need to go on a site visit to a place that is related to your topic. My topic is Social Media so I researched my topic and looked at companies nearby. I found a few places, one was We Are Social. We are Social was a Social Media company that advertised on Social Media. This site visit was very cool, in the company there were many computers for research, but at the same time they had many fun things there like a bean bag room or a chair swing and a ping pong table. This was a focused but playful work place. I took many photos and learned a lot about Social Media. I thought Social Media was always just an app and never really thought there were many small companies that advertise and do many other different things related to Social Media. My favorite part of it was all the fun and playful things there.  Here are some photos:

          

My second site visit was a place called Cowen. Cowen is a  Diversified financial services firm that provides alternative investment management and investment banking services. They have a section on Social Media. This place was more open and spacious. They had many signs and things that keep track on things like how the Social Media stock market is doing. This was a more focused and serious company. My favorite part was how they have many very large rooms categorized for different jobs. Here are some photos:

   

Overall I think these two companies are very different in style. The first one was small but had many playful things and the second one was very big and also focused. I had lots of fun and learned many new things about Social Media Companies and where they work.

Ellis Island Field Trip


Today the fifth grade went on a field trip to Ellis Island. We had to take a coach bus that took one and a half hours to get to the dock, then we went on a ferry that took 15 minutes and got to Ellis Island. At Ellis Island we looked at exhibits, and watched a movie. For lunch we sat outside with a very good view.  After, we looked at the names of people who went through Ellis Island. We boarded the 1:40  ferry and went back to our school. I think this trip was very fun and also taught a lot about how the immigration people were treated like in Ellis Island.

Peruvian Restaurant Field Trip


Today the 5th grade went to a Peruvian Restaurant for a Spanish Field Trip. We ordered and talked in Spanish with the waiters. We had bread and butter, with salad as appetizer.  There were 4 dishes, Lomo Saltado, Pollo Saltado, Pescado el ojo and Talerin de la carne. We also has a Peruvian Drink called Chicha Morada. I loved the Talerin de la carne but my favorite was the Lomo Saltado. This trip was fun because we got to taste a different culture’s food. This was a very educational and fun trip.  The Spanish part of it was we had to fill out a worksheet on a few different questions like Did you like the food? or What was your favorite? This was a very yummy field trip.

 

Capstone #2 – Inquiry and Sub Questions


After choosing my Main Topic, I have to pick my Inquiry Question, this is the question you will be researching and presenting about. Choosing this meant choosing one part of your topic and making it a question. My topic was Social Media so I wanted to do The Evolution of Social Media. After a lot of thinking I decided to do How social media has effected our lives and should we have more restrictions. This is my inquiry question next you have to make your sub questions, your sub questions are your mini questions up to your inquiry. I did 4 sub questions and this took lots of thinking. But eventually I thought of the right sub questions.

Sub Questions;

What are the positive effects of social media?

What are the negative effects of social media?

What can the government do to control information leaks?

Should we have more restricted?

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