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Farewell #COM641

Blog followers few:

Thank you for joining me throughout this somewhat condensed blog debate regarding technology and what these new advances in technology mean for our future.

I have thought long about the concept of "getting on board or being irrelevant" where technology is concerned and I have decided that it is okay to be irrelevant in some situations. I will never fully agree with where technology is taking us, but that may be because I believe communication is valuable. I would rather express my thoughts and opinions to someone in traditional letter writing than 140 characters or less. I am referring to social media, of course, but this idea applies to many Internet related circumstances.

In all, be educated, be informed, be authentic.

Farewell COM 641. I have learned a lot and now question even more.

I know where we've been, here's where we're going...#COM641

I recently read chapter 15 "Where Have We Been, Where Are We Going" of Joshua Meyrowitz's 1985 publication titled "No Sense of Place" and wanted to share the following:








So you ask where we're going? I will tell you. Unless more concern is placed on the future of technology and its impact, it will begin to shape us, mold us into what it wants us to be, not who we are.

Flash From the Past: Neil Postman- 6 Questions to Understanding Media #COM641

In one of my earlier posts, I said I would attempt to answer the following six questions as posed by Neil Postman and that I would do so when I was close to finishing this course. What I failed to mention in the previous post was that I would try to answer these six questions pertaining to social media. So, here goes!

ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Question #1 What is the problem to which this technology is a solution? Possibly the sense of community between groups that are not able to coordinate actually seeing one-another on a regular basis. For instance, stay-at-home moms, people that work from home, long-distance relatives, etc. The word "community" however, needs to be examined for authenticity within a given social media group. Only those who are truthful, upfront, honest and a shared interest are true communities. In essence, social media as a problem, can also serve as a solution to more efficient news or sharing between people who use it.

Question #2 Whose problem is it? At this point I feel social media (Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin, YouTube, cell phones, etc.) is the primary responsibility of the parents and educators of our children. I don't put my trust in the engineers who are the masterminds of creating this new technology to know what is best for our younger generations, but rather it is the people's responsibility to be well-informed of the pros, cons and unknowns. With social media as a trade-off to the old way of writing, speaking, and pure social exchange is changing. It is up to those parents and educators to decide what is 'safe' and appropriate uses for our youth.

Question #3 Suppose we solve this problem and solve it decisively, what new problems might be created because we have solved the problem? Well I think the biggest problem is that we won't ever be able to really keep up with the social technology media in the first place, thus causing constant information overload and confusion as to what we should/shouldn't know and how to teach this to our kids. There will always be new problems. I think the biggest issue might be the possible change in what is acceptable for speaking and writing and how this will change dialogue in general.

Question #4 Which people and what institutions might be most seriously harmed by a technological solution? Schools. Whether primary, secondary, college and beyond, this will change the way teachers teach and students are taught. It will also have a huge effect on our publishing companies and telecommunications.

Question #5 What changes in language are being enforced by new technologies and what is being gained and lost by such changes? The written and spoken word is being changed. Read my blog post titled "Superficial Communication" and I think that post answers this question.

Question #6 What sort of people and institutions acquire special economic and political power because of technological change? Again, I feel that the education systems are a huge area of concern as well as multi-media news sites. I don't believe that they now have special economic and political power because of technological advances, but they should. Those that hold such power now are those in political professions, more government based programs along with engineers.

As a blog post, this is a condensed version of all my thoughts regarding these questions.

3/28 #COM641

I was at the bank today when I noticed numerous colored drawings hung on a wall. The title of each drawing was "what I am saving for" and they were done by 3rd graders. I quickly noticed a pattern of wants when browsing through the drawings. Out of 28 drawings, only 3 consisted of items like a necklass, cat and gift for someone. The remaining 25 drawings displayed the following: Wii's, iphones, ipad, Kindle, cell phone, car etc.).

Really? This is what they are savign up for? With the exception of a car, I wonder how these kids came to draw what they did. Is it their hearts desire to own an iphone? If you ask me, marketing has either done it's job promoting their latest advances in technology to ages 7-100 OR our kids know nothing else. Likely both.

Ugh, very sad in my opinion.

Superficial Communication #COM641

Thoughts on Chapter 14 "The Nostalgia of the Superficial Young" by Sherry Turkle

Texting, blogging, e-mail, Tweeting, etc. All of these forms of social media are how young people communicate today. Will there come a time in our kids lives where they will experience "less pleasure for an immediate response?" OR will our kids and generations to come continue to live in virtual space?











I'm afraid to admit it, but my personal feeling is that technology is on the fast track to running the lives of our young; programming them as if they were robots taught to communicate in a specific way and direction. So...where does this leave us as parents? I'm not sure, but I find myself wanting to somehow capture the meaning of the written letter, stories on an actual page of paper and face-to-face communication in a way in which I can share with my children how important this type of communication is, instead of was.

While the Internet can play a part in constructing the identity of our youth, it can also create internal struggle and chaos. A line needs to be drawn, bt whose responsability is it to draw it? Will we soon have a way of Parents vs. Technology?

Food for thought: The above comments and questions capture only a few of the many I have after reading this chapter. In Turkle's last paragraph she says it best:

"Where we live doesn't just change how we live; it informs who we become. Most recently, technology promises us lives on teh screen. What values, Thoreau would ask, follow from this new location? Immersed in simulation, where do we live, and what do we live for?"

What do we live for?

A Tale of Two Tech Worlds #COM641

"Shallow" Takes on New Meaning #COM641

According to author, Nicholas Carr, it isn't just watching television and wasting time that is making us "stupid" - it is the Internet (i.e. Google).

Carr is something of a fatalist when it comes to technology. "He views the advent of the Internet as "not just technological progress but a form of human regress.""

Finally, someone I can agree with! Carr's position is that using the Internet can actually rewire our brains so that new skills are gained, but many others are lost along the way.

A few major points to note from "THE JUGGLERS BRAIN" a chapter from Carr's, "The Shallows: What the Internet is Doing to Our Brains":

1. The depth of our intelligence hinges on our ability to transfer information from working memory to long-term memory and weave it into conceptual schemes.
2. Those elements that we are able to hold in working memory will ... quickly vanish unless we are able to refresh them by rehearsal.
AND
3. When the [information load in our working memory]exceeds our mind's ability to store and process the information... we're unable to retain the information or to draw connections with the information already stored in our long-term memory.

Carr draws some great points and relevant to our time. The question now is, what do we do about this chronic distraction?

Even Google Was Invented Via the Wheel, Ha! #COM641

A Few Shared Thoughts on McLuhan's "Understanding Media" #COM641

The following Summary is taken from Chapter 19 of "Understanding Media"


Wheel, Bicycle, and Airplane

Summary: McLuhan stresses the revolutionary change of media as the message, but in this chapter he creates a “linguistic metaphor for the operation of media; “When such ablatives intrude, they alter the syntax of society.” (Editor, 244) We see the relationship between the mechanical to the organic form of technology.

Page 245: Revolutionary technology- extending the range and speed of human action, while being sensitive to the psychic and social implications of the technological extension of man…

Page 245-46: Invention of the wheel  horse collar  harness  wagon (axles & brakes)  streetcar  railroad  suburb  automobile  airplane  car (human chauffeur)- the shaping power of technology is “waning in the electric age of information, and that fact makes us much more aware of its characteristic form as now tending toward the archaic.”

Page 247: Idea of the most complicated uses of the “wheel” is the “movie camera.” It is, by trade, an intricate set of wheels.

Page 249: The rhyme of Humpty Dumpty demonstrates the challenge of the electromagnetic automation.

Quotes worth mention:
…”Things need to be studied in isolation. This is the habit of specialism that quite naturally derives from typographic culture.” (245)

“Under stress, it is more natural to fragment our own bodily form, and to let part of it go into another material, than it is to transfer any of the emotions of external objects into another media.” (247)

A Common Response to McLuhan #COM641

When all else fails, so will technology... #COM641

This is not our vehicle (we do not buy Ford), but the photo is posted so that you too, can understand and feel the frustration.

Thursday evening was anything but typical for the Keeler household. At 4:51 PM I received a phone call from my husband who had informed me that he would not be making it home in time for me to drive to Grand Rapids for my Emerging Telecommunications Technology class. The reason: His care over-heated in Hamilton, MI and he was stranded. Because of this, we were now without child care. Oh the luxuries of owning an automobile.

Three years ago (prior to us being parents) my husband called home from work to tell me that his car started on fire and that he was stranded. I don't remember feeling the same frustration then as I do now, but I'm sure it has something to do with the inconvenience of it all at the time each break-down occured.

So, why do I share this with you? In our most recent discussions in class regarding technological determinism and trying to answer the question if society's technology drives the development of its social structure/culture, I find it strangely ironic that I am facing one of the faults of technology...that it is subject to fault and it is not an absolute.

To further this example, I will use what Neil Postman says regarding technology and the automobile as a trade-off:

"Think of the automobile, which for all of its obvious advantages, has poisoned our air, choked our cities, and degraded the beauty of our natural landscape."

Postman furthers this discussion by talking about what will technology do and what will it then undo? We choose to drive fuel engined cars while the trade-off is corrupting the natural beauty of the environment of which we live.

The second part of this example is Postman's idea of advantages and disadvantages. Obviously our vehicle, for the most part, has been an advantage for our family- the disadvantage then, is when it decides to over-heat and disrupt our schedule, our finances, etc.

The final perspective to connect this situation with Postman's "Five Things to Know About Technological Change" is that of the automobile (technology) as mythic or God-given. Postman says, "When technology become mythic, it is always dangerous because it is then accepted as it is, and is therefore not easily susceptible to modification or control." Furthermore, Postman writes, "What I am saying is that our enthusiasm for technology can turn into a form of idolatry and our belief in its beneficence an be a false absolute. The best way to view technology is as a strange intruder, to remember that technology is not part of God's plan but a product of human creativity and hubris, and that its capacity for good or evil rests entirely on human awareness of what it does for us and to us."

Okay...so I don't think the car meant to be 'evil' by over-heating and causing me to miss class- cars don't have the ability to think...but I reflect on this experience for this one thing: "technology is not part of God's plan, but a product of human creativity and hubris..." God does not fail, but man does and so does man's creation.

Our Pontiac Grand Prix is close to 200,000 miles. It travels long distances on a daily basis. I cannot blame the car, but I can blame the technology- what else is there?

Can Humans Survive in a Completely Self-Sufficient Closed Environment? #COM641

In a recent Online article posted by Ryan Bradley, he writes about the possibility of humans living in a completely self-sufficient (closed) environment- and asks the question, is this possible?

NASA has been trying to create such an living environment since the early 1970's. It would inlcude a home which needs no power other than from the sun and water would then get broken down and reused- a very difficult process.

I understand the environmental friendly aspect of this new technology, but I do not understand the efficiency of it. It seems that we are currently more interested in making all things in our life work quicker with the "we want it now" mentality. So, how would a closed-environment living option appeal to the overall general public?

I'm Sorry, and the Question Is: Does Technology Drive History? #COM641

Parents Name Their Kid 'Like,' After Facebook
By Jared Newman on May 16, 2011

Read more: http://techland.time.com/2011/05/16/parents-name-their-kid-like-after-facebook/#ixzz1Ma56s9cj

In a Seinfeldian example of weird baby names, a couple in Israel has taken inspiration from Facebook and named their baby daughter "Like."

Lior and Vardit Adler fancied the idea of giving their child a unique name, Haaretz reports. Like had a nice ring to it, they decided, while also representing the age of social networking. "If once people gave Biblical names and that was the icon, then today this is one of the most famous icons in the world," Lior Adler said.

Not surprisingly, the Adlers' friends couldn't believe the name, although they probably should've expected something off-beat; the family's other two children are named Pie and Dvash, the Hebrew word for honey. I'm reminded of the Seinfeld episode in which Costanza decides on the name Seven for his firstborn.

I suppose baby Like is a testament to the success of Facebook's Like button, which launched nearly a year ago and is now ubiquitous on the web. Like has inspired Google to create its own +1 button, but to my knowledge no one has named a baby after it. I'm also not aware of any babies named Reddit, Digg, StumbleUpon or Yahoo! Buzz.

But don't even think about naming your kid "Facebook." It's already taken.

Article retrieved from: http://techland.time.com/2011/05/16/parents-name-their-kid-like-after-facebook/

Neil Postman - 6 Questions for Understanding Media #COM641

Found this video today and it is awesome.

http://www.blip.tv/file/4065269


Question #1 What is the problem to which this technology is a solution?
Question #2 Whose problem is it?
Question #3 Suppose we solve this problem and solve it dicicively, what new problems might be created because we have solved the problem?
Question #4 Which people and what institutions might be most seriously harmed by a technological solution?
Question #5 What changes in language are being enforced by new technologies and what is being gained and lsot by such changes?
Question #6 What sort of people and institutions acquire special economic and political power because of technological change?

At the end of this course, I will use this blog posting again, in which I will attempt to answer the above six questions.

"Hey Mr. (Neil) Postman..." #COM641

From Delivering a Hand-Written Letter to Creating one out of Thin-Air...

Okay, so there's more to it than this- BUT- the point still remains that "there is no aspect of human relations that has not been technicalized and therefore relegated to the control of experts" (PG 88).

Say What? Postman writes how the the United Sates has, in a sense, provided experts to help us in every area of our lives. we rarely do anything without having been educating by these 'experts' on how to loves, influence, create friendships, etc. What this means for us, then, is that there is a solution to all our problems via technical means.

OR

Is this all a "fragment" of the Technopolit's imaginations? (PG 88). Can technical machinery consule our issues alone and without an expert as a guide?

Put a stamp on that thought and see how far it goes!

Neil Postman...Technopoly #COM 641

Just when I thought I could take a hiatus from McLuhan, here he is again creeping up in the writings of Neil Postman in his book, "Technopoly: The Surrender of Culture to Technology."

IS TECHNOLOGY FAILING OUR CHILDREN?
Postman writes that, "children come to school having been deeply conditioned by the biases of television. There, they encounter the world of the printed word. A sort of psychic battle takes place, and there are many casualities- children who can't learn to read or won't, children who cannot organize their thought into logical structure even in a simple paragraph, children who cannot attend to lectures or oral explanations for more than a few minutes at a time. They are failures, but not because they are stupid. They are failures because there is a media war going on, and they are on the wrong side- at least for the moment" (PG 17).

As a mother and educator, I really want to understand what technological advances, the many that exists and those to come, will mean for our children. It concerns me that as parents and young teachers, that adults will not be able to 'keep up' or to really understand this new world in which our kids live in. We are caught in one of those 'it's too soon to tell' instances, which doesn't help anyone!

Quotes from the text:
"...the uses made of any technology are largely determined by teh structure of the technology itself- that is, the functions follow from its form." PG 7
"...technology imperiously commadeers our most important terminology. It redefines "freedom," "truth," "intelligence," "fact," "wisdom," "memory," "history"- all the words we live by. And it does not pause to tell us. And we do not pause to ask." PG 8
"...to whom will teh technology give greater power and freedom? And whose power and freedom will be reduced by it?" PG 11
"...whose unseen mind guides the unseen hand..." PG 41

Related Web Sources:
Thoughts on Postman's book
http://www.ibiblio.org/cmc/mag/1995/mar/hyper/npcontexts_119.html
http://www.hartmen.us/todd/BookReviews/0679745408-Technopoly.html
Technopoly in Education
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_RAi3XAPhA

Blog Hiatus Turned Hijack! #COM641

For the 9 that follow me...

It is no secret that my last blog post was in June, 2010- almost one year ago. Therefore, I see no reason why you should be upset when I inform you that for the months of May-June, my blog site will become that of an academic matter.

If you are interested in the surrender of culture to technology and what this exactly means, stay tuned as thoughts and opinions will be shared and could possibly interest you. However, if you prefer only to hear the mushy family stuff, you may want to block me from your list until this assignment is complete.

Thank you!