PBS Documentaries Blog Post

1.  Compare and Contrast each documentary.  What has changed from the first one (Growing Up Online) made in 2008 to the newer one (Digital Nation) filmed in 2010 ?  How did what you watched in the two videos support your feelings about technology or how did it change your views?

The documentary growing up online investigates the public and private lives of kids growing online. Being online has provided a new whole world that has drawn the curiosity of many kids. With the massive activity going online it is not easy parenting now as it was few years ago. Many kids right from a young age are learning to make friends online, playing videos games and listening to even their favorite songs. The social network has caused a disconnect between kids and their parents, and many parents who are not computer literate don’t even know what their kids are doing online. Many parents however fear that their kids are exposed to many dangers .
 The second video, digital nation, covers the general effects of the internet to the social fabric of the community. Schooling has become more difficult because of the media thus causing distraction among students. Students consume too mach medium until schools have had to adopt use of podcasts, ipad, broadcast so that they can meet them in the world where they live for effective learning.
Being online has affected the social fabric and created a virtual world that is almost replacing the real world.

Technology has caused life to move faster than it was previously. The conclusion to the effect of the internet cannot be made now. Before the conclusion of any research can be made the technology becomes obsolete and it therefore keeps out distancing the research. Even though internet has made communication and learning easier it is difficult to imagine the impacts it carries with it. Using computer has become almost natural to many kids. Adopting technology has transformed school and learning in a big way. 

2.  Your thoughts on multitasking.  Do you agree?  Can you multitask?  Do you disagree with the video on the topic of multitasking?

The desire to multitask is increasingly getting higher. The internet has created an environment where we have to respond to impulses immediately they come to us. This causes someone to deal with distraction that comes with this kind of environment. There is an increasing demand to connect with the rest of the world. Even though we are able to multitask but it can only possible to a small percent. It is true that when we multitask our focus is distracted and we cannot properly get our attention to one task .This kind of distraction has lowered our effectiveness in whatever we do.

People who multitask are often slower that they could be when doing a single simple task. They often think they are affective when in essence they are miserably underperforming. Those who multitask have a disorganized memory. They are worse at reasoning thus unable to think clearly. If this is to describe all of us then we are progressively becoming poor thinkers.

According to the video, even psychologists have proved that it is impossible to multitask because the human brain is designed in such a way that you can only do one task at a time. I do agree with the video that multi tasking has made us less efficient reduced our ability to focus on one task and complete it in time.

The truth is with this digital world it is almost impossible to avoid multitasking. Therefore the generation is currently running into a valley of slow progress in accomplishing tasks.

3.  Is there an addiction happening in society today with technology or is it just a new way of living?   Should we be concerned?

Technology has just become essential as oxygen. It is has almost become impossible to do without communicating with even for a short time. The world is moving very fast that everything demands a quick response. I take the stand point that technology has just become a new way of life and not an addiction. Technology like a coin presents two sides to the users, positive and the negative. 

When used on business environment, technology can be a good tool to promote communication and facilitate learning of various things through the massive information it holds.

On the other hand if the use of this technology is not regulated, it can bring horrendous effects to its users. Students for example could spend so much time online playing computer games and not engage in their study thus cause them to fail in their academic pursuits.  Furthermore, technology has penetrated the fabric of the society such that it cannot be ignored. Schools have had to adopt technology in the learning of students so that learning can be more interesting to them.

There is need however to approach technology from a very sober view point. The need to respond to any impulse that comes to has made life more distractive. 

4.  Do video games serve a purpose in education or are they a waste of time?

It is practical to meet students in there world if we would want to capture their attention to learn anything in this digital age. Kids have consumed too much media until walking to a class to find a teacher talking in a monotone holding a chalk is like walking into a desert. Video games have a visual appeal that makes learning interesting. In fact I would support they use of such technology to facilitate learning. It would make learning more enjoyable. Most video games model the real world in a virtual environment thus providing room for kids to explore their curiosity with minimal danger as it were pursuing the same curiosity in real world.  

However we must be careful to what extent to take such learning otherwise we would missing a big mark that we actually live in real world though there is a virtual one. Learning should done in both world so that we don’t loose this reality. The real world has real dangers that have real effects to peoples lives.

5.  Do you believe that digital tools such as google tools can save schools that are struggling?

Google has made life easy. Anything you would want to use to satisfy your curiosity you can easily find in massive measure just on a simple key press at google. I believe the power of google to bring up massive chunks of information together for curious users can be harnessed to facilitate learning.

Equipping schools with adequate resources like building, books and furniture is not an easy task. This would be more compared to furnishing it with internet facility. 

 

An investment in the digital technology to facilitate learning is the way to go. Any effort towards this direction would be timely. The internet provides everything that a real library would offer. In fact it does provide even more. The ability to get books in online store and use them is an indicator that online resources are equally effective to well established schools.

Many struggling schools would rather have digital learning because it would expose their students to information that is beneficial in there learning. However it is important to note that since the internet is not regulated, the information may not be sieved enough to facilitate learning. Much of the information in the net is from non authentic sources that are not academic at all and would misinform learner. It is important to have a guideline of how to use the digital tools to facilitate learning.

6.  Do parents of today have any idea what their kids are doing online?  Whose job is it to teach them the safety and digital responsibility? Parents/Teachers/Community/Government??

I think most parents are not aware what their kinds do online. This is because most parents have been closed out by the technological trends and do not understand what being online is all about. It important to note that the current technology has created the widest generational gap like never before in history.

 

It is first the duty of parents to teach their children how to use computers responsibly. Even though this factor is affected by the fact that many parents have been locked out of the digital era and don’t even have the information on how to use printers and check their mails. This means that parent would have a wrong approach in training their kids on how to use computer.

Teachers come second in the list.

As much as we would teach our kinds responsible behavior as ethics then it would be equally important to teach them computer ethics.

 However since the effect of technology cannot be ignored there is a need for parents to play a big role in making sure there kids are safe. Since the internet provides answers to many questions, kids would often use it to satisfy their curiosity and an easy way to express themselves. The virtual world could easily bring them solace and give them an identity they think is better than that which they have in the real world. I believe it is a joint effort of the parent, teachers, the community and the government to make sure the internet is a save heaven as our neighborhoods would be if our kids are to be kept safe from much danger.

7.  Are kids and adults today ruining their digital footprints by sharing too much information online without realizing that it may be detrimental to their future? Should they care?

Every status you update on you profile speak a lot to the world of who you are, how you perceive things and easy helps detects your emotions.

These days it is easy to know about someone. All you need to know is go through there profile on facebook or myspace. This information is often not regulated thus anyone can access it and use it for anything they virtually think about. Privacy is an important piece of our lives. Opening up to the world where you don’t know who is who is a real danger in life today.

We should take great caution on what we do online. How we basically spend our time will determine immensely what we finally become.

The internet has provided an open gateway where people can express themselves anytime of the day. We should care what we update in our profile because that information may be used against us.

Our online life is what we are even though many people tend to built a new personality of themselves that is different from who they actually are.

We should be more careful even about the circles of friends we keep online.

8.“Stranger Danger” and predator fears are often overblown by the media on shows such as Datelines “To Catch a Predator”.  What are the real dangers of technology in this day and age?  

The rate of growth of technology has made it hard to determine the effects it brings with it. However some of the short term effects are already here with us and the reality of them cannot be ignored. Online predators are not a real danger though because you can more easily identify them and ignore them. Actually if you go about looking for danger in the internet you will find it. The question of encountering predators is determined by our participation and not being merely victims.

One of the greatest danger internet exposes today is the massive information it provides that can be used wrongly. Parents have no idea what their kids do online and therefore cannot play an active role in helping them sieve the information they get online.

Many a times parents cannot identify things like cyber bullying that happen online. many kids became victims of cyber bullying without the knowledge of their parents. They could further to hang themselves because of wrong influence. Internet has provided a safe haven where kids can easily express their frustrations.

Feel free to add anything else you feel would explain your views about the videos and how they relate to educational technology. What was your favorite part of either video? Why? Most interesting? 

I think the most interesting part of this video is virtual reality which has created a world almost similar to the real world. The internet has effected human interaction in a great sense where everybody would be online and disconnect from the real world.

 However this virtual reality is recapturing human interaction again only that this time it is online. Productions like second life have made it possible for people to do the impossible online than they would do in real world. Characters have ability to fly and do other things that humans can do. This creation has solved the need to travel and spend much money to attend conferences. Furthermore you can have virtual interaction with people you from various parts of the world who you would never meet in real life.

Virtually reality can be used to simulate real world events. You can easily determine whether you can win a negation by simulating it online. Thus help you plan and avoid risks that would come because of lack of preparedness. Kid can also have experience that they only dreamt about like swimming with whales.

I think the most interesting part of this documentary is swimming with whales. 

The virtual world has created a world that almost equal to the real world. Making kids get experience that they only dream of real is amazing. This can easily satisfy curiosity.

Literature Review-week 3

Class Objectives met through this review:
 1. Demonstrate the understanding of how technologies can effectively promote student learning.

In my opinion about this webinar using technology allows students to develop their knowledge.

2. Evaluate and use a variety of current technologies to enhance content instruction and to advance students' technological literacy.

Students are developing their literacy skills through using laptop and ipad.

3. Reflect upon and demonstrate effective use of digital tools and resources.

Webnar presents that the ipads and other computerized tools are usable into the classroom  . it is clear that technology has brought about highly relevant developments which have enhanced education and promoted the ability of students to carry out the learning exercise in very efficient ways.

4. Evaluate, adapt and reflect on emerging tools and trends by participating in local and global learning communities and by reviewing.

this webinar shows me ,how technology affect the cognitive development of students .

 In the webinar entitled (Social Construction of Technology in Elementary Schools: Case Studies from India and the United Kingdom) D/ Erik Jon Byker discuss how technology use has increasingly impacted on education in very significant ways.

Essentially, the use of iPads in the class set up has ensured the both students and teachers  can interact pretty well in order to communicate various significant educational information in order to achieve the objectives of education. Essentially, technology can effectively promote student learning in sense that, it is possible to use digital media since it has been upheld highly by different category people. Most importantly, students are able to share ideas and opinions amongst themselves which go in many forms including images, photos as well as texts (Gliksman, 2012). One of the most amazing ways in which we can demonstrate effective use of digital tool and resources is by reflecting on the use of iPad. It is possible for instance to tell a story by way of using a single picture using the iPad since one can present it to the others and from their give explanations regarding different features and what is attributed to the particular features as observable.

The video facility offered by many learning tools including the ipad for this matter show slides as well as practical demonstrations of some important information that is to be considered in learning. In this regard, the teachers and students are able to share information via the video facility found in the technological learning facilities. Webnar presents that the ipads and other computerized tools are usable in a class set up in which case learning information can be shared among students and between the teachers and the students.

Therefore, it is clear that technology has brought about highly relevant developments which have enhanced education and promoted the ability of students to carry out the learning exercise in very efficient ways. In a learning set up, students will be increasingly engaged through joint participation in the learning exercise as they attempt to give their ideas and share their experiences with the others concerning the learning activity that they are involved in. essentially, within the classroom set up, the teacher is able to provide the information that is being learned digitally in which case if every student has an iPad, that information can be passed over through connecting the teachers gadget to a central point from where the iPads held by students can get the information  (Gliksman, 2012). This is cost effective and highly efficient an approach. In this regard, the information presented in this particular article clear depicts the essence of technology in learning whereby various benefits associated with the use of iPads within the cost set up are given.

Notably, in the United Kingdom it has been identified that learning has been advanced and there is increased use of ipads and other related technological tools in education. Although this is practiced in India, it has not spread wide since India is at the developing stage with regard to technology though this is likely to be high within a short time due to the rate of development of the country.

 As such, it is clear that technological developments are highly advancing the rate ate which education is growing from phase to phase whereby in the long run it will practically be possible to conduct classes even at the elementary level virtually as long the learners understand how to use the technological gadgets that will be used in learning. The reading has some connection with the learning outcome in that, it ensures that the students get to learn on how to use technology in their day to day lives. For instance, the various ways in which the iPads can be used as a learning tool have been discussed whereby the approaches which are applicable are in this regard presented in this particular piece of information. The ways in which the students are able to utilizes the iPad in a learning exercise have been depicted in which case different features of the iPad are denoted as playing significant roles in enhancing education.

The iPad camera for instance will enhance the learning process through a single picture which is taken by use of the camera so that the teacher for instance is able to build a case in which he or she will be able to demonstrate using the different attributes as the teacher finds appropriate (Gliksman, 2012). Still, various ways through which the iPads can be utilized by different category people have been depicted in this article whereby important concepts with regard to the utilization of the iPad. Still some important aspects regarding the suitability of the iPad as a technological tool used in education have been presented which give the information substantial levels of credibility and reliability. With such information, it thus becomes quite easy for me as a student to take this as a challenge so that I may put this theoretical aspect into a practice hence coming up with devices that can enhance better living standards of other people around the globe.

INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY INTO THE CLASSROOM

It is a very common site to see students sleeping in class and being totally absent minded. The teacher will spend hours talking in front of them and will actually achieve no teaching at all. The question is why is this so? Why do students nowadays look so detached to what they are learning in classrooms? The answer is quite simple. It’s because they aren't being engaged. The teaching is more theoretical than practical and this makes the student lose focus of the importance of what he/she is being taught. Children in the 21^st century spend more hours using technology such as computers, i Pods and television than they do reading books.

A video Technology will enable teachers to achieve better performance from their students by embracing technology in the classroom. Most students understand better when a practical approach is used in teaching making it more meaningful and fun (Edutopia Staff, 2008) . An example of how technology is being utilized in classrooms is using a tool called Jing which is a screen casting tool that is used for recording screen casts in a technique used in education called flipping the classroom where teachers can record information of what they want the students to learn. 

Countries that have embraced the idea of utilizing technology in their classrooms are portraying much better performance in education and development compared to countries that still suffer from techno phobia in the education sector. By integrating technology in classrooms, students will be taught to think, create, analyze, evaluate and apply, by utilizing tools such as the internet, they will be practical in whatever, whenever and wherever they want. This will truly define them as digital learners.