The Snapchat Snafu: Woe Be to Users Since the Update

by Max Frommelt

    Snapchat has become the major social media of today. The newest update, released in January, has upset so many people that its power as a “social media king” may start to plummet.

    Snapchat, originally, is a simple social media platform that enables you to take a picture, add a caption, and send it to a friend. That was all it was: simple, easy, and free.

    Now the new update has been made and has merged the beloved photo sending frenzy with a news network. While this seems like a simple thing, Snapchat changed majority of the user interface to do so. This has angered many people and has created a growing group of unhappy users of the system. Snapchat has always been known for its simplicity and ease of use as a social media. People now have doubts about the applications original use and simplicity of the software.

    Anna Greenhalgh (‘16) says that, “It is unnecessary; if I wanted a news application, I would have downloaded one.” This seems to be the main response from snappers or “snapchat users.”

    The issue that the mass majority of snappers are upset with is the removal of the “Best Friends” system. Snapchat used to be able to mark three people as “Best Friends” because they are the top three snappers you send snapchats to. This system has now been dropped, and for heavy snappers, this is a major problem.

    Here is the interesting part: after getting used to the update, some snappers have had a change of heart, but many never had a problem with the update at all. Hannah Connolly (‘18) states, “The update is easier, I actually like it!”

PHS Teachers: They're Flipping Students Off

by Anna Greenhalgh

It sounds bad, but it’s not actually what you think; flipped classroom is back at PHS. Physics teacher Mr. Heer just began incorporating the flipped classroom videos in his curriculum.

If you haven’t yet been introduced to flipped classroom videos in your high school career, let me briefly explain. Flipped classroom videos are, as the name states, videos of the teacher or of the material being taught. Usually, the videos are watched outside of school and students take notes on them. The next day, the material in the video is discussed as a class. Mrs. Hefty brought flipped classroom to PHS a few years ago and taught utilizing the videos for a while with her Geometry sections.

Mr. Heer explains his reasons for using the idea in his curriculum, “It’s not just a way to teach for me. It’s also a type of experiment.” The experiment is mainly “to see whether or not the videos help students and their grades.” Mr. Heer goes on on to describe his plan. He has gathered data from his past six years of teaching and plans to compare it to this year’s numbers after the first semester exam. The studies he has seen say that videos are the most beneficial to his students and the learning process.

When asked about the effect on students through the videos, Mr. Heer replies that there are both positives and negatives.  “Some of the pros are that the students can pause, rewind, and replay the video if they’re lost or if they missed something. And the videos will still be there when you’re in college, if you choose to refer back to them for review.”  

Another perk in the flipped system is that the notes to go with each section’s video are posted online along with it. They are printable, so if you’ve missed a day, you aren’t necessarily missing out on the instruction. You simply log on to the school website, go to the link, and voila! Mr. Heer pops up to teach you about work and power.

“On the other hand,” reasons Mr. Heer, “the videos aren’t as interactive as an in-class lectures.” The questions that pop in your head can’t be answered before you forget them. It’s also much less cost-effective, if you will, from a teacher’s perspective.  For every 15 minutes students see on the videos, it takes more than an hour of recording, editing and cutting down, and forgiving a few minor mistakes, even after all this.

The Fastest Street Legal Car Is...Electric?!

by Max Frommelt

Just over the past week, two world records have been broken for a new car. The first record this new vehicle now holds is for hitting 0-60 miles per hour in 3.2 seconds which, many people agree, is similar to a rocket ship launch. The second? It is 100% electric. 

Yes, this is the new future.And yes, this is the Tesla D. Tesla revealed that their new “D” standard is a “dual motor” and “driverless.” 

Here is where people become hesitant. People do not like the idea of their car doing everything since you, as the driver, do not want to have zero input. The “driverless” portion is simply an autonomous assist. Turning on the blinker, the car will scan the area and then move for you if the spot is available. It will also watch both the vehicles in front of you and the road signs. If the car in front of you brakes, the Tesla will, too. If the speed changes or picks up, the Tesla will adjust its speed, as well. 

The dual motor on the Tesla gives it both power and more mileage, all in one. The car is able to change its power output between the two motors to create the correct amount of output to max out miles with minimal power. This is the exact opposite of other dual motors due to the fact that they are active all the time. Say you are going up a hill. A traditional dual motor will apply the same amount of gas to the front and back motors, thus dropping gas mileage. The “D” understands the vehicle shifting, thanks to that new sensory data from the autonomous sensors, and takes power from the front and inputs it to the back. This creation of power switching brings the new mile range, for this electric beast, to a total of 300 miles.

This is where people are upset again at electric cars. “300 miles is not enough for me! My gas car can get more befor it needs to refuel!” The solution to this is Tesla’s forte. There response is “Ok, how about free ‘gas’ at any of our super chargers!” That gets people in a very happy mood. All of Tesla’s quality cars are given free electricity at any of their superchargers for the life of the car. That’s right, the life of the car! That means you can pass this car down to your children and they still can get electricity for free.

The Tesla “D” comes at a heavy cost, though. $120,000 for the maxed out, top of the line model. Do not fret! While this is expensive, this is without the government subsidiaries. Another thing to consider is that you are not paying for gas anymore. This is still a questionable buy for some people. Even with all the Tesla can offer, people are not sure whether they should buy it. The final grand slam for the Tesla cars are their vehicle safety rating is a 5.4 star safety rating. Yes, 5.4 stars out of 5 stars! So with a safety standard above the rest, a gas price you cannot beat, a record holder for the fastest street legal car in the world, and a slice of the future ahead of its time, it is safe to say that the Tesla “D” is well worth the investment.

They've Got a HUNCH: PHS's New Extracurricular

by Adam Roberts

 

For some PHS students, being on a research team for NASA has come a lot sooner than they may have thought.

Just this year, Platteville High School has been added to the short list of schools participating in the HUNCH program. HUNCH (High schools Uniting with NASA to Create Hardware) is a program that was created in 2003 to give high school students real-world hands-on experience while developing cost-effective hardware for NASA. Students participating in the HUNCH program design and test hardware that will aid astronauts in zero gravity.  “Our primary goal is to make life better for astronauts,” says Mr. Matt Heer, advisor for the HUNCH team.  

Platteville High School’s HUNCH team is comprised of 15 students hard at work to create hardware for the program.  The team began tackling their herculean task earlier this year by creating a proposal, which involves creating a device that will stabilize a GoPro camera in zero gravity.  With the proposal being submitted and approved, Dean Loeffelholz (‘15), Mike Donovan (‘15), Max Frommelt (‘15) and Katelynn Quario (‘15) will have the opportunity to test the prototype this April in Houston, Texas.

After testing in April, a symposium will be held with astronauts and engineers to review the top 8 schools’ experiments.  A maximum of three schools will be selected to test their prototypes at the International Space Station.  

While the HUNCH program is already in full swing, the team can still use support and encouragement as they continue to work on this project. Says Mr. Heer, “There are kids at Platteville working really hard to put something thing on the Space Station.”  So PHS, be aware of the efforts of the HUNCH team, and get involved!

You can follow Platteville’s HUNCH team on Twitter (@PvilleHUNCH) or on their website https://sites.google.com/site/pvillehunch2014/

Want to watch the full interview? Check it out here: 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hDIsF58FeD8

Innovative Chemistry Website Ready for Use

by Pauline Justal 

     Did you miss a day of chemistry? Do you need extra practice? You’re in luck: there is now a website created by Mr. Molle that can help you! 
     Mr. Molle made this website to help students be successful in his class.  This website includes many things that will be of use to students, such as lessons, labs, worksheets, and problems sets with answer keys. In addition to being informative, it is entertaining, as it includes chemistry jokes.With the availability of iPads for this year's sophomores, Mr. Molle took advantage of the handheld technology and created the website. There are also textbooks available online, allowing parents to have access to the content of the class and giving  them the opportunity to help their children. The chemistry website is available to everyone and a great tool to use to reach success.     

Mr. Molle, PHS chemistry teacher, created a website for his students this year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Visit Mr. Molle's Website