The three most
influential communicative technologies that I picked are my iPhone, computer,
and television. All of these are part of my everyday function, and without them
life would be totally different.
1. IPhone
The IPhone has many functions such as apps,
games, social networks, anything that can be used to distract you. Sometimes
instead of studying, I am on my iPhone checking Facebook statuses. However,
despite its devious nature, it can be used for many learning experiences. I use
the phone to communicate with family and friends all around the world. Also, I
use news browsers as a way of being informed and I also use a couple of apps
for learning purposes. For example, I constantly use my dictionary app to look
up new words or the thesaurus to find synonyms of words. Through the IPhone I
can literally learn any new thing I want, learning is at my fingertips.
Similar to the
students in the video, I use my IPhone to listen to music and navigate the web.
Texting, however, is still the most frequent thing I do, as one of the students
in the video mentioned. I believe that texting is a great communicating skill.
As a prospective English teacher, any writing students do is great. Even though
texting involves many abbreviations, as one of the girls mentions in the video,
they are not used as frequently. The IPhone auto corrects everything you type
making spelling easier. This tool is very positive for my subject area because
students will learn how to spell correctly via texting on the IPhone. However,
there was one girl who stated that she could create anything with her IPhone. I
don’t use my phone for creation, perhaps because I don’t need to or know how
to, it is just simply used as I need it.
2. Computer:
Growing up I remember wanting to go on
the computer to play games and navigate the web. I also spent a lot of time
chatting with my friends via AIM and sometimes would be distracted from my
homework, which is never good. However, computers were and still are a means of
completing my homework. The internet is a vast learning tool and can be used to
collect data for research. Using a computer for me was a learning experience, using
the different programs and software took a while to get used to, similar to
what a student said in the video: “Experimenting with technology is what makes
technology. Like scientists experimenting with test tubes.”
Similar to the students in the video I
believe that technology makes us better learners. For example, whenever I am
curious about any fact I just Google it. This is a very positive way of
learning, because learning is interchangeable with curiosity. A student in the
video mentioned that “technology makes you a better learner because you learn
how to figure out which resources will be better for what you need”. I believe
this to be absolutely true. In high school, and especially in college, we use
many resources to write our essays and research papers. Being able to figure
out the right resource is a great tool for learning. Unlike many students in
the video I do not use the computer to create websites, simply because I do not
know how to.
3. Television
As a young child I used to watch various
cartoons and programs on PBS Kids that taught me many cool things. For example,
I remember watching a show on PBS that taught spelling and counting. On the
other side, television can be a big distraction and can expose children to many
harmful ideas. For example, I remember as a child when I would watch violent
movies with my older brother I always had nightmares. Of course many kids now
are into those things, but still to this day I cannot watch horror films. Also,
a lot of commercials now on the television are very exposed and graphic for
some children. Television has changed drastically since I was young, and it
seems that more and more cartoons are violent and inappropriate for young
children.
The students in the video did not seem
to talk much about television. Some mentioned gaming units such as the Xbox. I
remember when I was younger I would play video games with my brother, but
unlike these students I was not to fond of the competition gaming that they are
involved in their gaming communities. I used to like to play just for fun. Nevertheless,
I believe these gaming communities are a great thing, such as the student
mentioned in the video. It is a means of communication and cooperation online and
they cooperate in groups and learn how to work together to accomplish a task. This
incentive should be brought into the classroom so that students become more
involved in group work.
You bring up valid points for why your iPhone can be used for learning experiences. I have not had a smart phone for very long so I did not realize that there are so many apps that are educational and not just social networking apps. That auto correct on text messages is also a great tool to have on phones, because it fixes any mistakes a person may have when texting and they, in turn, can notice their mistakes and fix it when writing something in class. You also bring up some great points when you talk about the computer and how the internet is a learning tool. I, too, agree with the quote from the video that says, "Experimenting with technology is what makes it technology". If students do not test out different software or programs on the computer they will never be able to determine which ones work for them and which ones they do not wish to use. Having them experiment with different tools on the computer will let them determine those things. I also agree with you on how television has changed throughout the years and has become more violent and graphic today. I like how you compared the gaming communities to group work in the classroom. This is definitely a great idea to try to incorporate in class, because students may not realize that they are doing group work when they are playing video games. However, if you try to bring that aspect into the classroom the students will be more engaged in group work and will enjoy the experience.
ReplyDeleteAna,
ReplyDeleteThe part that struck me most about your entry was when you noted that television is so much more violent today. When I was young Barney and The Rugrats were my favorite shows, and while they may have had hidden innuendos, they were appropriate for my age. I previously nannied for children ages 1-9 so I have watched a wide variety of cartoons. Often I find myself stunned by what the characters say or do. Educational cartoons are not watched anymore. Instead the characters are making fun of one another and making comments no young child should be hearing. It worries me when I think of children missing out on the fun educational cartoons we used to watch as innocent children. Television today takes away children's innocence.
"Similar to the students in the video I believe that technology makes us better learners." Technology does make us better learner because we have more access that what a library can provide. A library may not have all the books desalinated to your interest. Google is a great search engine and we use it frequently. I personally use Google to search up photography tips and it gives me a million results. When I was younger I watched PBS for many years. PBS provided me with my favorite show, which was sesame street. Television can be distracting or it can be used to educate the minds of many.
ReplyDeleteI think a computer is such a limitless piece of technology. I remember the AIM days in middle and highschool. Forget about google we almost don't even need schooling someone could google all there is to know about a subject or content area and attain the knowledge the master of the old days spent years learning. 5 mins on google = 10 hours of reading a textbook if your good at it!
ReplyDeleteYou mention how you are constantly on your iPhone updating yourself on other peoples' Facebook statuses. When we become teachers, social media websites, such as Facebook, will still be around and our students will be constant users. I believe that connecting the materials taught in school to the students' hobbies is an excellent method.; the students will feel as if their lives and school are not discrete. As an English teacher, you can have your students create websites, blogs, and so much more. There is an excellent website, fakebook.com, which is safe for students to use and create fake websites. For example, if you are teaching your class Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mocking Bird," you can have your students create a fake page for the characters of the novel. For example, if someone chose to make a page for Boo Radley, the student would create an "About Me," post statuses, and post pictures, pretending to be Boo. The students could then comment on each other's pages through the voice of their character.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI like how you didn't hesitate to comment on the negatives and drawbacks of television. I agree that a lot of today's programs are unsuitable for children, but being that I remember watching and loving Fight Club when I was only 11, I've admittedly become numb to the much of TV's inappropriate nature, unfortunately molding the way I think now, particularly affecting my sensitivity to discretion. TV programs cross the line so much that there no longer seems to even be one, muddying and shaping my perceptions of the appropriate and inappropriate.
ReplyDeleteThere are most definitely benefits to television as mentioned in my own take on TV in my technology autobiography, but the obvious disadvantages would ultimately cause me to discourage my future children from spending too much time in front of the boob-tube, or as some call it, the "devil box." And after reading your article I'm starting to think that such a nickname isn't all too unwarranted.
Question: does this edit count as one of my comments this semester? Another question: does this comment on my comment count as a comment? Whoa...
Delete