Digital Nation

So, I just finished watching Digital Nation, there were a lot of things that made sense and that I've noticed in other people. I have certainly known a few people who spend so much of their lives devoted to playing video games that they have neglected other aspects of their lives, particularly relationships and jobs. The truth is, anything that brings people a heightened sense of pleasure has the potential to be addicting. Some people get addicted to the sense of an adrenaline rush, some people state that they are addicted to getting tattoos. There are plenty of people who will admit that there are individuals who get addicted to video games or being online (they rarely admit that they are an addict). However, the documentary authors acknowledge that the digital universe is not likely to go anywhere.

The use of technology in education was especially interesting. I enjoyed seeing teachers use it as a tool to prepare students for the future, not just another means to teach the same ol' stuff in a flashy way. Yes, it's beneficial to use technology to teach traditional concepts, but students need to be prepared to use the technology that they will be expected to use in their career. I definitely feel like the teacher who expressed that he felt like an "immigrant" to the digital nation, because I am catching up to the skills that many of my future students already have.

I am concerned about the young Korean boy who spends so much time playing video games that his mother sent him to a video game detox camp. Referring back to the vg addicts, there is typically some underlying problem that causes people to seek fulfillment in something, which ultimately leads to addiction. As a mom, I set time limits for my son to play his game, and he is not allowed to play them till all his chores are done anyways. If a young person is not fulfilling their responsibilities at home or at school, then the parent needs to step in, enforce the expectations, and follow through with the house rules. I don't know how that woman lives, how much she works, or anything about her, but it made me sad to see that she seemed to be at a loss for what to do.

It seems that other people are able to carry on happy and healthy lives in the digital nation and they are able to perform at their jobs quite well. I am a little familiar with Second Life, but it is about as appealing as Myspace and Facebook, which is not very appealing to me. However, I can see how a lot of people really enjoy it. The documentary authors acknowledged that some people argue that we are losing human interaction and others believe that interaction is simply changing. There are some good arguments for both theories, but we have to remember that at one time people were suspicious about television, radio, and even flabbergasted at the idea of an automobile racing away at 35mph.

I have to agree that the digital age is exciting, mysterious, and intimidating. I look forward to seeing it put to good use, but I do not put it past anyone to use technology in ways that negatively affect people intentionally or unintentionally. I just want to be able to keep up.

2nd week

Hey all,

This last week went by pretty fast because the work load is starting to pick up. The Praxis seminar was pretty good, understanding how the Praxis III test will be administered and what we can do to be prepared was beneficial.

In EdTech, we worked on the power points project, which I really enjoeyed. It's a great chance to be creative and practice with microsoft office programs. I started the wiki assignment but I was only able to set the page up and post ten images with links. That alone took me about 3 hours. I hope that we go over the wiki assignment in class. Other than than, everything is going well.

See everyone in class!

first week of class

Hello All!!

It was a great first week of class, and I even learned a new tool to use. The social bookmarking site is life changing. I had no idea that social bookmarking sites existed and I am so happy b/c I have been wanting something like that for the last year or so. Some of the other students in the Special Methods class are receptive to using this tool as well. I have talked with one of my group members about using this for our projects b/c it will make lesson plan sharing so much easier.

The information about Web 2.0 was also beneficial; I did not know that the new style of internet communicating had a name, but it is nice to be enlightened. I don't typically use the internet for social networking but I am looking forward to learning new ways to use it in the classroom.

Take care, ya'll! Have a great weekend!

Kelly S.