Almost Forgot One...

Soooo I just realized I am short one blog, typical, so I am adding one more. I found an article that I felt related both to the class and my plans for the future. I would like to work in a school setting someday and the article I found is about using social networks in the classroom. There were some really good ideas that I think students would really relate to and enjoy. It basically describes how to safely integrate Facebook into the classroom.

First it explains how the teacher should make the correct priacy adjustments, that way when they become “friends” with their students they will not see anything that wouldn’t be correct in a teacher/student relationship. It mentions creating “groups” for certain classes and then having a discussion board for assignments and projects. The article discusses the “richness” of the wall of the group where teachers can post pictures, videos, links, etc. which help to further instruction when teaching the students. It also stresses discussing online safety with your students, such as proper online behavior, keeping your password private, not talking to strangers online and treating others with respect.

            I thought this was very relevant to our current time and where the classroom is somewhat already headed. There are already online classes, why not make them apart of Facebook? It is something that people use everyday it only makes sense for it to be part of the classroom. It wasn’t that long ago that I was in high school and middle school, and even then the classroom was nowhere near as tech-savvy as it is now becoming. I think the most modern thing we had in the classroom were computers, but half the time we weren’t allowed to be on them anyway during class. Teachers taught with power point and also used media like movies, but it all seems so primitive in comparison. It really makes me wonder what the classroom will be like by the time I am working in one, which, hopefully, is in the next few years.

http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/tech/tech256.shtml

Wrapping up the final/class, yay!

Well I finished and survived my final essay for this class. It wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be. I felt I was able to come up with some good points to support my stance on the argument of America going “green.” Hopefully Matt feels the same way! =) I also thought some of the research was interesting, so it made writing my essay a little easier. Plus, Made to Break was one of my favorite books we read this semester, so pulling and finding information wasn’t too difficult. I am always a tough critic on myself, so I am always going to think my work could be better, but overall I don’t think it was too bad. Also I really wanted to put some pictures in it, but some professors have mixed feelings about doing that and I just didn’t have time to ask Matt if I could. Now I feel like it probably wouldn’t have hurt to do so. I feel like keeping with the theme of technology, maybe if we all did an individual presentation on something technological instead of an essay it would have been pretty cool. I would have enjoyed doing that much more than writing a paper. Just something to think about as an option for the class in the future.

Pre-Final Paper....Give me strength!

So as per usual, I have procrastinated to do my final for this course. I feel like if given the opportunity to write a paper on procrastination I would probably procrastinate that as well. But as a result of my negligence I have finally decided on a topic. I have decided to go the route of Made to Break, by Giles Slade. The topic is about whether America will continue to be a “disposable” nation or gravitate towards the “green” movement. We are supposed to discuss the financial and social interests, and how Americans have chosen to live their lives dependant on technology. I think this topic will be interesting to research because this is a rather poignant idea in today’s society. “Going green” is the newest trend at the moment and it will be intriguing to see if this really is a fad or a major attempt at changing the way we live as modern Americans. So with about 48 hours to make essay gold, lets put the pen to paper…so to speak. Wish me luck!

The Facebook Effect: 3

In the last section of the Facebook Effect, by David Kirkpatrick, it discusses the climbing success of Facebook and how Mark Zuckerberg wants to take it to new heights. He really strived to make the website a “platform.” “Creating a platform enables a software company to become the nexus of an ecosystem of partners that are dependent on its product.” (p. 218) Being that this first attempt was back in 2006, I thought about today and how centrally present Facebook is in many different avenues. It already comes as a pre-loaded application for phones, and other multimedia devices (i.e. iTouch), and has even more recently become a part of television where you can check your Facebook on your television. Also just the globalization of it has made it even more present not just to our generation, but our world. So Facebook has definitely reached a platform status of sorts, because it has infiltrated media and its companies that we are using everyday.

            I agree with Zuckerberg’s vision for the site and how he wants to make this a means of communicating and sharing yourself. I think that is why Twitter has not beaten out Facebook, because it lacks the things that make Facebook so appealing. I think with each new generation that has a Facebook, the site will evolve into ways that we could not even imagine. Facebook will always be important because this site is exactly what Zuckerberg wanted to be, and keeping in touch with people is not something that will ever go out of style.

The Facebook Effect: 2

In the second section of The Facebook Effect, it discusses the development of the company from an overnight success to a real and thriving company. At first it talked about how investors wanted a piece of the hit company, and how Mark Zuckerberg and Sean Parker weeded through all the possibilities to find the best fit for it. I found it interesting that even with huge figures being thrown at him, Zuckerberg still held his ground and did not settle until he found the offer he liked best. This showed how much he believed in his company and that nothing would prevent him from taking it as far as he could. He had even been asked to sell it numerous times, but each time refused because he does not think anyone else would be able to run it through his vision and he feels it is worth more than the offers given. When asked “What kind of number might make you interested anyway?” Zuckerberg replied, “I think it’s worth at least $2 billion.” (Kirkpatrick, p.161)

            This week’s reading has gotten me thinking back to when I first joined Facebook in 2006. I had just graduated high school and joining Facebook was the thing to do. After reading about when Zuckerberg installed the photos application, it made me wonder what the site was like before that. To me the site would not have the same value it does without having pictures. I had been a user when it had the application so I must take it for granted, but to be able to look at people’s pictures is what makes the site so enticing. Pictures are small windows into people’s lives, so to be able to scope out what people do and where they go is not only informant, but it is also a form of socializing in this modern era. I guess that also says something about our era and how voyeuristic we have become.

Solo Current Event Presentation

For my solo current event, I went to MSNBC.com and found an article entitled “Sex, drugs more common in hyper-texting teens,” written by Mike Stobbe. The article was about how in a recent study, there has been a correlation that teens who text a lot are more likely to use drugs and have sex. When I presented this to the class we got a pretty good discussion going. I had asked them why they thought there is this correlation and if it is due to bad parenting or if it is just a generational thing. Many considered it to be generational because teens today are constantly connected to people, whether by phone or online, thus making it easier to get in touch with people who are bad influences. For the people who thought it was due to bad parenting, they brought up the dilemma of whether they have the right to go through their child’s phone. Some students felt it would be an invasion of privacy and decrease their trust in their parents, while others felt that if parents are paying for their kid to use the phone then they have the right to look through it if they wish. I would have to say both points are valid in their own way.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/40087630/ns/health-kids_and_parenting

Group Project

Through observation of my group, as well as the rest of the class, I have come to the conclusion that Wikipedia is not a valid scholarly source. It does have some strengths and weaknesses such as it is a good source for a quick overview of a subject. However, its weaknesses outweigh it’s strengths in the fact that the sources are faulty or non-existent in some cases. In most cases the sources are not from reputable places, like blogs. I think these strengths and weaknesses are an indicator of how imperfect technology still is. It is evident that people rely heavily on the internet, and in doing so, come to believe a lot of things they see on it. This could potentially affect American culture in the fact that careless mistakes will be made due to such naiveté as trusting everything online. Also people’s reliance on technology will ultimately be their downfall. Technology is the best and worst thing to happen to our culture. It makes things easier, efficient, and in some cases unbelievable, but to trust in something that at times can be so untrustworthy is where we fault. What I will take away from this project is the reinforcement of that fact, as well as being on the defense with research in the future.