After reading You’re Leaving a Digital Trail, I realized how much more further advanced we are in technology. I like my privacy and the idea of someone being able to watch my every move, freaks me out. The things people are coming out with are amazing to me; however, they have their drawbacks. I was watching the news the other night, and they were doing an experiment with cell phones and how hackers can get private information from your cell phones and use it to access your bank accounts. I looked for the video, but could not find it. I feel as if, people do not realize when they put information out like that, it has the potential to end up somewhere unsafe. I feel this is a way to spy on people without them knowing. The experiment Harrison Brown volunteered for reminds me of Little Brother, except Brown knew he was being spied on. His every move was being monitored. The information researchers are able to determine is absurd to think about.
“We were able to look at people moving around stores and other locations. Such travel patterns, coupled with data on incomes, can give retailers early insights into sales levels and who is shopping at competitors’ stores.”
There are benefits for example, which is not out yet, Personal Environmental Impact Report, this allows people to see how their activities affect the environment and make decisions about their health. Brown does not think it is an invasion of privacy; however, I do. While there may be some benefits, there are more negatives. Steve Steinberg stated, “There were significant chances that it would be misused, ‘This is one of the most significant technology trends I have seen in years; it may also be one of the most pernicious.’” It is people misusing the new technology that is more concerning to me than the benefits.
The subjects surrounding I’m So Totally, Digitally Close to You, are what are society is about. We are obsessed with what others are doing. I admit, I am one of those people who get on Facebook to see what others are doing. It is a way to know without talking to the person face-to-face. It is communicating to everyone without having to repeat yourself ten times. However, there are times when people post things and I wonder, “who really cares” or “why would you post that.” Sometimes I do not think people think when they post something. I do believe anyone older than our generation does not understand the phenomena of Facebook. They do not understand why people post so opening about their lives. They worry about privacy; however, you are in control of the information you are sharing and who you are sharing it with. I am very conscious about whhat I want people to know and who I am friends with. According to Clive Thompson it does pose the questions however,
“What sort of relationships are these? What does it mean to have hundreds of “friends” on Facebook? What kind of friends are they, anyway?”
I know many of the people I am friends with, but would I consider them friends in “real life,” probably not. The one phenomena I have not adopted is Twitter. I know I should at least try it, but I do not want people to know what I am doing every second. I have looked at celebrities’ Twitter accounts, but I do not think my life is that interesting that I need to share my life. It makes a full circle in saying people are so totally, digitally connected. It brings a new meaning to, everyone knows your business.
The article Learning by Playing: Video Games in the Classroom, made me ask many questions while I was reading it. I think video games have a bad first impression on people. I think they immediately think of the violent, uneducational games. However, apparently this school has found a way to base a curriculum off video games. First off, the funding they get for this school is legit. However, basing the curriculum around media is too much for me to understand. “Nearly every aspect of life at Quest to Learn is thus designed to be game-like, even when it doesn’t involve using a computer.” I think it is a good idea to bring technology into the classroom, I am all for that to spark students’ interests, but to have it be the base and foundation of the curriculum has me worried. The more I read the more questions I had that were still not getting answered. Unless I missed it, there was no mention how the core classes were taught. With a curriculum of video gaming how do you teach reading or writing? The article mentioned that this is the twenty-first century and it is about what students can use in the future; however, I would argue that it would be hard to teach this through video games. In addition, are they getting enough lessons on the core classes?
Another point I was wondering is this school is only open for sixth and seventh graders, so what happens when they go to high school? Al Doyle, a teacher at Quest to Learn at the time, said, “We feel like we’re preparing these kids to be producers of media — whether they become graphic designers, video designers, journalists, publishers, communicators, bloggers, whatever.” Therefore, these kids go to a specialized high school for this? What if they realize this is not what they wanted to do? What happens to them in high school? I feel as if they would get lost. Even their grading seems “elementary” to me.
“Students don’t receive grades but rather achieve levels of expertise, denoted on their report cards as “pre-novice,” “novice,” “apprentice,” “senior” and “master.”
I feel, if these kids are not going into some related field this information may be wasted and they might miss out on other learning opportunities. I was really confused on the article and the function of the school, I do think intertwining technology into the classroom is great, but to have a curriculum based around it is questionable.
“What sort of relationships are these? What does it mean to have hundreds of “friends” on Facebook? What kind of friends are they, anyway?”
I know many of the people I am friends with, but would I consider them friends in “real life,” probably not. The one phenomena I have not adopted is Twitter. I know I should at least try it, but I do not want people to know what I am doing every second. I have looked at celebrities’ Twitter accounts, but I do not think my life is that interesting that I need to share my life. It makes a full circle in saying people are so totally, digitally connected. It brings a new meaning to, everyone knows your business.
The article Learning by Playing: Video Games in the Classroom, made me ask many questions while I was reading it. I think video games have a bad first impression on people. I think they immediately think of the violent, uneducational games. However, apparently this school has found a way to base a curriculum off video games. First off, the funding they get for this school is legit. However, basing the curriculum around media is too much for me to understand. “Nearly every aspect of life at Quest to Learn is thus designed to be game-like, even when it doesn’t involve using a computer.” I think it is a good idea to bring technology into the classroom, I am all for that to spark students’ interests, but to have it be the base and foundation of the curriculum has me worried. The more I read the more questions I had that were still not getting answered. Unless I missed it, there was no mention how the core classes were taught. With a curriculum of video gaming how do you teach reading or writing? The article mentioned that this is the twenty-first century and it is about what students can use in the future; however, I would argue that it would be hard to teach this through video games. In addition, are they getting enough lessons on the core classes?
Another point I was wondering is this school is only open for sixth and seventh graders, so what happens when they go to high school? Al Doyle, a teacher at Quest to Learn at the time, said, “We feel like we’re preparing these kids to be producers of media — whether they become graphic designers, video designers, journalists, publishers, communicators, bloggers, whatever.” Therefore, these kids go to a specialized high school for this? What if they realize this is not what they wanted to do? What happens to them in high school? I feel as if they would get lost. Even their grading seems “elementary” to me.
“Students don’t receive grades but rather achieve levels of expertise, denoted on their report cards as “pre-novice,” “novice,” “apprentice,” “senior” and “master.”
I feel, if these kids are not going into some related field this information may be wasted and they might miss out on other learning opportunities. I was really confused on the article and the function of the school, I do think intertwining technology into the classroom is great, but to have a curriculum based around it is questionable.
I am extremely more cautious now with the advancement in technology. I cannot believe that some people would go as far to look up where they are at a given time on their cell phone gps. This world is changing more and more each day and I do not think that it is for the better in terms of social networking and cellular devices that allow one person to track another.
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