The television show Frontline on PBS had an episode called "Growing Up Online". You can view the whole show over the internet at their website:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/kidsonline/
Whether you get to view the show or not, the main focus of the episode was that adults had better learn to embrace technology and help kids navigate it because it is here for good and for better or worse. (http://thejournal.com/articles/17616_3)
What do you think of all this? I mean, not just the blogging, but the myspace, facebook, text messaging, IM-ing, etc... How is it shaping our culture and our world? What should my role be as a teacher? Do I encourage it's use? Is this technology making us all less personal and more detached from each other? Am I contributing to the problem? The first day of class I mentioned that I want all of us to be teachers to each other. Can this blog help us all be students and teachers of each other? If so, think about the mindset you must have to be a part of this. This technology can create new ways of thinking for us if we are willing to write and read seriously.
While thinking about all of this, it is worth considering how to blog responsibly. See what the website above says, but also try following some advice from Dave Taylor.
http://www.askdavetaylor.com/are_there_dangers_in_having_high_school_students_blog.html
It's so weird that we characterize this as a problem! It is understandable that we are concerned that we may be becoming less personal and more detatched but, maybe we are just begining to relate in a different way! Blogging is cool and its definately helping us become students and teachers of eachother...
ReplyDeleteI think technology is great and teachers should be using it more in everyday classwork. I think blogging is great because if you were unable to say something in class, you can post it on your blog. I also think its great because its an easier way of communicating with your teachers and other classmates. Moreover, when you go to college, it is expected that you have a laptop with you to help you with papers and taking notes in class. I eventually think that some of the weathier high schools are going to require their students to have a laptop.
ReplyDeleteI think technology is great and always changing. Technology helps everyone easily access information they need while making everything easier and faster to connect to. Blogging specifically lets people write journals online, which allows other to read and relate to their personal experiences and thoughts. The internet and technology have several benefits, but it can also makes us more detached from each other.
ReplyDeleteAs a generation of growing up online, i feel that it has benefited us in some way but has also brought us down in others. it has been beneficial to us in the way that at the click of a button we can unleash mass amounts of information and surf the web for just about everything informing us on whats going on in the news to what rating a restaurant gets. although growing up has been beneficial it has also had its down sides. for one it is making people less interactive with each other on a personal level. another one of its down sides is that it isolates everybody from one another and leads us into a community where communicating personally face to face will soon be a thing of the past.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very intresting topic that definatly needs to be adressed. It is obvious to say that the "digital" world has consummed most of skills and ways of communication. However, I do not see this as a bennifit for us. Many would argue that the "digital" world gives us a way to communicate more frequently and quickly. Yet what we tend to overlook is the lack of one on one communication. Even my father says all of the time, "the communication skills of your generation are going down due to the new technology." He is 100% correct on this, due to technology we do lack one on one contact when compared to previous generations.
ReplyDeleteThere are many advantages to using blogs and social networks. I think blogging can give the power to be a teacher and a student because we can learn from each others experiences and from others opinions. Social networks like Facebook are efficient too because it is a good way to connect with friends, family, etc. At the same time, though, it can be not as good because people become "all talk". They can be themselves and even not themselves through text on a computer screen, iPod, or cell phone but then when their face to face they aren't as out there or they become shy.
ReplyDeleteBlogging has definitely become a growing part of our technological dependency. Whenever I think of blogging, I think of my friend's speech for speech and drama about the affects of technology for teenagers today. She quotes Aaron Barlow who wrote, "Blogging America" in which he talks about the problem with blogs letting anyone become an author and expert. I think blogging can go both ways. On the up side, it can definitely allow one to see different opinions across the web, on the downside, blogs are open to anyone. This means that the web is now open to everyone's opinion and I think that can be hard to accept sometimes. I think though that blogging in this class will help it to become more meaningful because we're working to understand others and try to listen to what they're thinking. So in this case, blogging is definitely a plus!
ReplyDeleteI think technology is taking over our society. Back in the day, many people were interested in actually DOING activities instead of just sitting at home, but now, this has changed dramatically. People have become lazy and rely heavily on technology. Never in my life have I thought that texting, IMing, and let alone facebook would make such a big impact on the world. However, I also think that blogging contributes to online social networking. Teachers should encourage students to use them, but only for school purposes and not so much that they'll become so attached to it. Blogging and other social networks like facebook can help people stay connected. From my personal experience, my parents have told me about their life back home in the Philippines, as well as other relatives they have. So because of facebook, I've been able to stay connected with family across the world I never knew I had. The digital world is very beneficial and it should be taken advantaged of. However, online users should be careful about what they post - address, phone number, ect can be harmful, as there could be stalkers out there.
ReplyDeleteTechnology should definitely be used more. Technology today is growing far too quickly, and with it, education's use in technology is straying too far away. Without today's technology, education would stay fixed, and no one would be able to fully teach themselves without requiring money.
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