Cybersecurity and Technology

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Chika Wonah Benefits of AI in Education

Benefits of AI in Education

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is becoming more and more prevalent in our lives. Many industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, and retail, use AI. But did you know that education uses AI? We will discuss the benefits of using AI in education.

 

  1. AI Can Provide Supplemental Instruction to Students Who Are Struggling

 

AI has the potential of providing supplemental instruction to students who are struggling. Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are computer models designed based on the human brain known as artificial neurons. These artificial neurons process information similarly to biological neuronal cells in humans. Pattern recognition, classification, and calculation use ANNs. These networks are perfect for problems with a large amount of data that students can use as models to predict labels on new data.

 

  1. AI Is Capable of Creating Personalized Lesson Plans for Students

 

Artificial intelligence can create personalized lesson plans for each student by analyzing their strengths and weaknesses. Students learn better and faster with an algorithm explicitly made for them. It will determine the level of understanding for each student and come up with lesson plans for them.

 

  1. Teachers Can Use AI to Track Students’ Progress

 

Teachers can track their student’s progress by using artificial intelligence. Some teachers are already experimenting with AI to help them understand how their students are progressing through the course material. It allows teachers to determine if a student has trouble understanding specific concepts or needs additional resources based on the collected data.

 

  1. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Offers Quick Responses to Students’ Questions

 

AI can analyze students’ questions and determine the best way to answer that question based on previous answers given by other students. The more people ask the same question, the better the AI decides the best response. It allows for immediate feedback and quick answers to many of your students’ questions.

 

  1. AI Can Be Used as Virtual Tutors for Individualized Learning

 

Artificial intelligence can be used as virtual tutors for individualized learning. AI can be used as a virtual tutor to help students who require one-on-one assistance. It will give the instructor more time to focus on other students and still give them individualized attention.

 

Conclusion

 

The benefits of artificial intelligence in the classroom are endless. We must ensure that we are using AI to meet the needs of the students. Only then can we truly maximize the potential of this powerful technology.

 

Chika Wonah U.S. Tech Hubs

U.S. Tech Hubs

A vibrant tech ecosystem provides numerous benefits to both consumers and the industry. Millions of Americans and billions of dollars worth of investment capital flow into technology hubs. One such hub is Silicon Valley, which boasts a dense network of venture capital firms, large corporations, startups, and established businesses.

 

Silicon Valley Statistics

The yearly amount of VC funds in Silicon Valley has risen steadily since the early 2000s. Between 2008 and 2010, the number of companies accepting venture capital increased by an average of 20%. According to the National Venture Capital Association, California has become the leading startup capital of America. In 2008 alone, over 60 billion dollars were invested in new startups.

 

Silicon Valley has successfully replaced New York City as the most important technological innovation and commercialization center for the past few years. 2014 was a particularly fruitful year for Silicon Valley.

 

The Advent of Major Tech Companies

In 2014, technology giant Apple opened its first research facility in Beijing, China. In April, Google announced it was establishing a new campus in Singapore. Later in the year, the internet technology company Yahoo announced a new campus in New York City.

 

Apart from this, San Francisco city is home to several networking groups such as Startup Grind and Founder’s Forum, which provide opportunities for emerging entrepreneurs.

 

Benefits of Tech Hubs

Being a hub is beneficial for the government, consumers, and businesses. For instance, a high density of venture capital firms makes it easier to access investments. A non-exhaustive list of the benefits to consumers includes technological innovation and commercialization, improved products, and faster response to demand.

 

However, the benefits to businesses are highly variable. Some benefits include increased revenues, increased profits, and improved products. It is easy for a firm to get more customers through access to larger markets. A high market value is a definite advantage to businesses because it allows companies to access more extensive funding.

 

Silicon Valley has long been an innovator in technology and has made many breakthroughs. However, the presence of competition from China has reduced the prices and quality of products in Silicon Valley. The low-cost shipping of Chinese goods via companies such as E-bay, Alibaba, and Amazon has threatened to wipe out Silicon Valley’s position as an innovator.

 

Conclusion

In conclusion, Silicon Valley is a leading center for technological innovation, commercialization, and global trade. The presence of high-paying jobs has attracted entrepreneurs, and the entrepreneurial environment has led to increased venture capital firms.

The Risks Of Login Codes Sent Via Text Message

The Risks of Login Codes Sent via Text Message 

 Two-factor authentication can seem very useful for securing your essential accounts from intruders. However, more and more hackers have been getting into accounts that use text messages for two-factor authentication. Look into these reasons why you should switch over the type of two-factor authentication you operate away from text messaging.

Routing Messages

 When you’re holding your phone close to you, you might be thinking that an intruder will have to get into your phone by getting you to install malware. For the past couple of years, though, intruders have been more clever into how they get into mobile phones. They can do this by going directly to your mobile phone carrier.

 The way they do this is by first finding some personal details about you. These can be as complicated as your social security number or as simple as the address you live on. From there, they call up your phone carrier.

 Depending on the phone carrier, they can be easily convinced that you’re locked out of your mobile device, and you need your number transferred to a separate phone. Intruders can accomplish this by giving up their details and paying a small fee. If it goes successfully, an intruder will have full access to any phone calls or text messages coming your way, with no way to stop them until you’re able to call your phone carrier again. This all is why you shouldn’t ever use text messaging for your two-factor authentication.

Notifications

 Sometimes, an intruder might not even be far away to the point where they can be looking at your phone screen in public. Depending on your mobile device settings, you might have notifications popping up with security codes on any screen of your device. Intruders can come up with a plan to get a security code this way.

 For example, you might be live-streaming a game on your phone to the internet. Intruders will use this to their advantage by logging into your account online and checking your stream for when the phone notification appears. After that, they can log in to your account and do enough damage before you even have the chance to change the passwords on your accounts. Notifications are just another reason why you shouldn’t be using text messaging linked to your two-factor authentication.

Chika Wonah Technology Hiring

Technology’s Impact on Hiring and Recruitment

Burgeoning tech has been laying claim to multiple industries from real estate to insurance, and more recently technology began to disrupt our hiring and recruitment tactics. In the digital age, it’s no surprise that how people find openings and apply for jobs changed. Now the vast majority start their searches online with sites like Linkedin and Indeed, but the actual interview process itself is also changing. Portfolios all take place online, interviews originally happen via video and personality diagnostics are standard.

One Way Interviews

Interviews are typically two-sided. A few business representatives interview a potential hiree, and while the hiree wants to impress the business, it’s also a chance to field questions and get to know each other.

Tech poses to change that with the rise of video interviews. As Dave Lee describes, “Traditional interviews with an interviewer and interviewee could go by the wayside, too. Rather than a two-way interaction, job candidates will upload video responses to interview questions. New technology will detect non-verbal cues such as those facial expressions and tone while eliminating human bias.” Brands like Red Bull already hopped on board with video interviews. This added step tests the applicant’s ability to think on their feet while also working through potential red flags or false starts eliminating wasted time for recruiters. Then, once the cream rises, formal interviews can take place. As Rajpreet Heir highlights, “Not only does digital interviewing allow candidates and employers to connect earlier in the interviewing process, it also saves time and money. A study by OfficeTeam revealed that 63% of companies are using video interviews vs. 13% from 2011.

Analytics and Diagnostics

Personality diagnostics are also increasingly popular as an inexpensive means to gauge fit and placement within a larger company. As Chamanpreet Singh says, “Data is critical in the digitisation of recruitment. It allows you to determine the effectiveness of any strategy implemented and will enable HRs to develop future recruitment strategies based on the metrics and measurements received. This data will give an insight into channels that can work for your company which means cutting down on time and expenditure.

Building a Business-Savvy Brand

It’s important to remember that if you can find them, potential recruits can also find you. As a result, recruiting in the digital age requires a larger emphasis on companies’ online brands. People want to understand the company culture they throw themselves into. Show personality, but also be sure the image you portray is accurate. Top talent is going to do their research, and if your digital presence is non-existent or inaccurate, they won’t want to work with you. As Rachit Jain says, “Building a healthy working culture and employer brand is getting more important day by day. But most importantly, employers and recruiters have to adapt and move to the modern recruiting technology faster.

Pro Tips Chika Wonah

Pro Tips for Keeping Your Crypto Safe

Staying safe online is harder than ever, and the stakes are even higher when there’s money involved. Someone can easily make a fake Twitter account using your profile image and copied bio, and in the time it takes you to report the account, another person might have mistaken it as you and already transferred money to them. It’s an easy mistake to make if you’re not being vigilant, and unfortunately, as soon as you report one account, another can pop up in its place. To keep your cryptocurrency safely in your possession, these suggestions will help you do that:

Know the attack vectors.

You can’t protect yourself if you don’t know what you’re up against. Fake sites have gotten very good at mimicking their targets – so good that if you don’t double check the URL, you might not even know the difference.

Use strong passwords.

This might seem like a no-brainer for digital natives, but it’s worth repeating. Don’t use words like street names, birthdays, or song lyrics. But don’t randomly keyboard smash, either, because a) you’re not as random as a computer generator and b) you want to be able to keep track of your keystrokes, or else risk not being able to sign into your account anymore.

Use cold storage.

All “cold storage” means is offline and unattached or “air gapped,” which is to say, unconnected to your home network in any capacity. You can do this by removing the network card from your computer, or by buying a hardware wallet. If you’re feeling really cautious, you can cover your computer’s camera and microphone, and even remove all electronic devices from that room.

Test everything.

Make small transactions beforehand to make sure everything works. Never manually type in a url – it’s too easy to make a mistake that way, and could cost you a lot of money in errors. Copy/paste and QR codes are your best friends, though make sure your scanning app is reliable! Test your seed phrase on your hardware wallet; test the MD5 checksum before and after you load the SD card on your air gapped computer. Check everything. You can never been too careful.

Store your seed phrases in multiple places.

Your seed phrase is the string of 24 words that you can derive a private key from. You want to make sure your seed phrase stays secure at all times. For some, this means writing the seed phrase down on paper, in which case, it is recommended you make two copies and store them in separate places. SD cards are also an option, though they don’t tend to last more than five years and can be wiped by an EMP bomb. A combination of analog and digital methods is the best option. For the most cautious, they will split the seed phrase in parts and store those parts separately. If you do this, be sure to remember the order they go in, or else lose access to seed phrase altogether.

Plausible deniability.

Most simply, this means be able to keep some of the data hidden. Like in the physical world, you don’t want to advertise how much money is in your bank account, so don’t do it in the digital world, either. Also look into using multiple wallets rather than storing all of your currency in the same place.

Keep your environment safe.

Require two-factor authentication, and educate others on how to stay safe. Help the community at large by reporting fake sites and teaching the less tech-literate about why strong passwords are important. Not only are you keeping yourself protected, but you are also protecting others and paying that forward.

 

Best Smart Devices for your Home

Whether your home is already hooked into the Internet of Things, or whether you’re shopping for your first smart device, there are lots of great products on the market for you to try. Here are some places to start:

Amazon Echo: This smart speaker can access Amazon Music, Spotify, Pandora, iHeartRadio, and TuneIn, and has great 360 degree sound quality. Its voice-activated AI, Alexa, can make phone calls, check the weather, report traffic, and more. If you’ve never owned a smart device before, the Echo is a fun and accessible place to start. And it connects to many other smart devices, including Hue lights and Nest systems, so you can really start building your smart home.

Logitech Harmony Elite: Great if you like the idea of Alexa but feel silly barking orders at your radio, or if you’ve fantasized about the idea of a truly universal remote. This looks like a regular TV remote, but can access all sorts of smart devices, including your TV, your speakers, and even smart lights. Users also get access to the Harmony App, which allows you to use your phone like a remote as well.

Nest Protect Smoke Detector: The Internet of Things can be fun and convenient, but it can also be used to make your home safer. The Nest Protect senses smoke and carbon monoxide, and can be controlled from your phone.

Kuna Toucan: This outdoor security camera works with Alexa or a smartphone app. It alerts you when a car pulls into your driveway or a visitor arrives at your door, and takes both video and audio, which it stores online for easy access. You can even have it make a siren sound to scare away unwanted visitors.

Nest Learning Thermostat: Not only is this thermostat easy to control through a phone, tablet, laptop, or Alexa, it quickly learns your temperature preferences, and is capable of turning itself down when the house is empty. Plus, by monitoring outdoor temperatures and your preferences, it can help guide you to the most energy efficient temperature settings, and save you lots of money on your heating bill.

June Intelligent Oven: Tell this oven what you’re baking and how you want it, and it does all the work to make that happen. The June Intelligent Oven works great for everything from casseroles to Eggo waffles, but it’s at its most impressive cooking hard-to-perfect meats. At just under $1500, it’s the priciest item on this list by far, but it’s also a great demonstration of how smart smart tech can be.

QardioBase Smart Scale: If you’re watching your health, this scale can give you all the relevant information–not just your weight. This scale can check your BMI, muscle mass, and bone mass, help you set and track fitness goals, and even tell if you’re pregnant. And it’s compatable with iOS, Android, and Kindle.

Chika Wonah: What is the Internet of Things?

What Is the Internet of Things?

Popularized by the explosion of wifi-enabled technology, the phrase Internet of Things (often abbreviated IoT) usually refers to the interconnectedness of physical items to the world wide web via wifi or cellular communication. Describing a device as a “smart” device often refers to the same general phenomenon. This “connection” is made possible by sensors and software that allows for remote monitoring and control of said device. Today’s Internet of Things is the stuff of science fiction, marked by self-driving cars, bluetooth enabled refrigerators, apps that turn off your lights from anywhere in the world, and voice-command devices that answer questions and performs on command.

The idea that things could be connected to each other and to a wider network first captured national attention in 1982, when a Coca Cola machine installed at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA, was programmed with the ability to report its inventory and detect the temperature of recently-loaded drinks. The actual term Internet of Things was coined in 1985 by Peter T. Lewis during a speech he delivered to a Congressional Black Caucus, during which he said, “The Internet of Things, or IoT, is the integration of people, processes and technology with connectable devices and sensors to enable remote monitoring, status, manipulation and evaluation of trends of such devices.” Since then, the term has been adopted in academia, predictive analytics, and technology forecasting to describe the exponential growth of “smart” items, devices, and tools.

Over the past 10 years or so, broadband internet has become less expensive and more widespread. Simultaneously, more and more items have been constructed with wifi capability. Thus, we found ourselves with all the ingredients for an explosion in the field of Internet of Things.

Some items that fall into the “internet of things” have come as welcome advancements in medicine and health. Some heart monitors and glucose monitors, for example, can connect to a smartphone or computer to capture and log data regarding its measurements and the wearer’s health. On a less extreme level, this comes in the form of sports technology like a fitbit or jawbone, which tracks movement and sleep schedules.

Some items in the Internet of Things, by contrast, benefit the home and pander to those who have the funds to make everything in their houses interconnected. Appliances like dishwashers, coffee pots, and refrigerators are now equipped with the ability to sync to a smartphone and take commands from anywhere in the world. Amazon has been on the forefront of developing IoT for the home by producing and pushing Amazon Echo and Amazon Dash buttons to assist in keeping up a home.

The Internet of Things also extends from just the home to beyond. Headlines have touted the continued testing of self-driving autonomous cars. Elon Musk and some progressive European cities have begun designing and implementing the concept of the smart city. In such a city, the assets and properties, including transportation, parks, libraries, schools, roads, hospitals, etc., would all be interconnected via IoT and communications tech.
The future of the Internet of Things looks more and more connected. Gartner, Inc., predicted in 2015 that the number of interconnected “things” will reach 20.8 billion by 2020. As time marches on and “things” become more and more connected, law, research, and human interactions will alter and adapt to keep up with developments.

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