What concept or idea intrigued you most in this weeks' readings? What concept or idea did you disagree with? How/do these ideas impact your thinking about instructional technology?
In the reading, Vinton Cerf, one of the Internet's designers said, "It will become critical for everyone to be connected. Anyone who doesn't will essentially be isolated from the world community."
I found this to be very interesting that he says that if someone is not connected they will be isolated from the whole community. I kind of feel like what he is saying is true to a point. With the internet becoming such an important part of almost everyone's life, whether they use it for shopping, emailing, sharing memories with people that are far away, for business or whatever it be, in the world that we live in today, I do feel like those people who are not connected are isolated from everyone else. Nowadays, if we do not teach our children how to use the computer they are at a disadvantage.
"What complicates the issue is that we are free to hand over something of our humanity to our machines. We can refuse our own responsibility for the future, and machines will readily fill the void. They will make our decisions on the battlefield or in the boardroom; they will imagine a deeply falsified subatomic world for us; and they will supply us with the words we write."
I disagree with this statement. I feel like the author is saying that people are going to no longer “think” for themselves. They are going to just rely on technology to do the work for them and I do not agree with that. I think that people use the technology they have available as tools. Whether they are an accountant using excel spreadsheets, or a teacher creating a powerpoint with information to share with their class, they are using it as a tool. I do not see anything wrong with that. If it makes life easier...... why not?
With the way the world is going with technology and being a 5th grade teacher, I think one of the most valuable lessons I can teach my students is how to use the internet safely and the many programs available for them to use as tools for their future.
3 comments:
I would tend to agree with you in relation to whether people will no longer think for themselves due to advancing technologies and say that they will probably have to still think for themselves. But technology has been replacing manual labor with automated computer technology for decades causing people to loose their jobs. These people have been forced to either retrain for jobs to keep up with the latest innovative technology or find new jobs. In the same manner of speaking people have been forced to learn to think for themselves in new ways considering new technologies. Therefore it is critical to stay connected in order to keep up with the ever changing world of technology. It is changing more and more and faster than ever across the internet. Todays' state of the art is tomorrows old hat passay technology. It is critical to stay connected. How can we keep up in an ever changing world? Think for ourselves or as the old adage says if you can't beat 'em join 'em...
Buddy,
Irv
Krissy, I too agree with Cerf's observation that those who do not have internet will be isolated. World organizations are working to connect isolated communities as quickly as possible so that they can have access to such vital information as health care and education.
On the other hand, critics of the internet warn that it can be the cause of isolation. A machine such as a computer does not possess human values such as concern for others, empathy, and cultural awareness. People, especially children, who are not introduced to those values will have little motivation to expect honest interactions not to interact with authenticity. The Washington Post recently published a report that indicates that students are become less honest and cheating among students is a growing concern. Computers make cheating easy and take away the shame that comes from realizing that someone who cares about you would be disappointed in your dishonest behavior. computers are only tools, they are not substitutes for teachers.
Hi Krissy,
Have you ever watch the movie, Terminator 2 played by Arnold Schwarzenegger? No matter how much people rely on robot cops to do the dirty job, they can be still malfunction sometimes. In any case that happens, how can robot cops detects if they capture the criminal or civilian? Let me take you to the simplest technology we ever proud of inventing – automobiles, which can go wrong on the road in any second. Recently, I have to use Access to enter data at work. I constantly hit “save” to save the data because I do not want any chances of losing the data and redo it. But, the Access was designed to save the data automatically each time information was entered. What I learned was that I just have to trust the technology. I do agree with you about the more technology is being used, the great isolation we create with the people and the community. However, I do like writing E-mail or E-card to someone I have no talked in a long time because my hand decides not to cooperate with me (sore and pain as I tried to hold the pen). Or avoid shopping with people who drive crazy like a lunatic on the road or lower the chance of getting robbed during holiday season. And yes, I can see how you may be nervous about shopping online with identity theft concerns in mind. But, there are just so many possibilities that can happen to us on the internet or in reality.
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