The EPIC video was scary. Jason said that media literacy is more important than ever. That is true so here is more. We read this interview in my senior English classes for a Neil Postmanesque project on the influence of media.
Check out the article interviewing Nicholas Carr (Is Google making us stupid?) from The Sun Magazine. Carr asserts that Google is rewiring our brains. Is this bad or good in your estimation?
My students also had to do Postman's diet of 24 hours without any media and record their reactions/actions about this experience. It is something to chew on. They were like crack addicts with no access to drugs. They hated it but many realized what "tools" they are of the media they use.
I am a digital immigrant and they are digital natives. Not my line, but a good one. There is much to ponder in the interview.
I think of Fahrenheit 451 when I see that big screen in the Forum. I also realize that I can't think with extraneous noise going. What does that say about me or my age or my brain wiring?I am not trying to be funny. I wonder how this will affect us all long-term.
Joanna Greer
John F. Kennedy High School
Silver Spring, Md
Posts
"Digital immigrant" ..... interesting phrase. I suppose I too am naive about much of the technology that is out there. That's why I really enjoyed this program. Prior to the institute, I had never blogged. I see countless possibilities for the classroom and even parents.
ReplyDeleteEric Gutierrez
Whitney High School
Cerritos, CA
The picture, juxtaposed with the blog title, makes me laugh. I am truly a naturalized digital citizen, but there are some ways my brain just doesn't work like those digital natives' do. The whole question of "seamless" mulitmedia platforms is one I still have to roll around in my brain.
ReplyDeleteJuli Stricklan
Rigby High School
Rigby, Idaho
For a more current novel (2004) on this topic, I recommend Feed by M.T. Anderson. It is a satirical look at teen life in the future where everyone is plugged into "the feed" (read: Internet). The feed is actually implanted in people's cerebral cortex, which as scary as it sounds, isn't too far off from always wearing Blue Tooth or ear buds. There are many "f-bombs", which may make it touchy to read in school, but I liked it because it was about teens and was very thought-provoking.
ReplyDeleteBecky Gemmell
Escondido High School
Escondido, Calif.
I try not to wax prophetic when it comes to technology and media, but like the video showed these conflicts and contradictions and developments are happening as we speak.
ReplyDeleteI watched the news about Ben Bernacke and the financial crisis. I mention it because it had only been less than a year since we endured the worst of it. Hearing about it now, I was shocked by the severity and consequences that that all entailed.
So fast-forward to now. Technology is updated rapidly, changing the way we get information and communicate at a pace that most of us don't realize how we are evolving. It's only in hindsight that people start connecting the dots.
I am glad I am a digital immigrant, just barely. I do not envy the new generation who are born into this 24-7 plugged-in world. They don't have the option of leaving it all behind. Their landscape is more virtual than physical.
I don't have answers to this, but thinking of this makes me see the need to focus on human contact, real experiences - like field trips, collaborative projects, and an appreciation for finite time and resources.