Human Issues presentation

Last class we had a couple students come and talk about their human issues study. They studied the use of technology -- specifically cell phone use -- in Mexico. It was interesting for them to compare and contrast America's use and accessibilty to cell phones compared to Mexico. While we have many competing companies to choose from, Mexico only had two companies. Although they were limited for options, they apparently have the best coverage compared to the US. Cell phone reception could be recieved at any location, at any time, and have not interruptions in between. And because they began to use cell phones and put up towers recently, Mexico is starting their technology when most bugs have been fixed and so they don't need to do any up-grading.

The presentation was about the human issue of technology in another country, but I really liked that they included their experience in Mexico and the children and people they got to know while working at the school.

Kids & technology

Lussier Center:

We've all developed a new appreciation for our technology. If you read about the Nine Themes of Citizenship from my last post, one of the themes was digital access. This is an important aspect of our technology because everything is changing -- from how we communicate to how we gather informtion.

So it was a good experience to work with the children at the Lussier Center because the integration of technology in our education needs to be taught effectively. We were able to work with 1 child per college student and we taught them how to create safe passwords, how to type in url addresses, and how to make avatars. They really enjoyed making the avatars and having them speak! This was a fun assignment because the children were so excited!  there is so much to learn that we weren't able to cover too much in the 1.5 hour we were there, but it was nice being able to help them play and find things on the Internet.

Ditigal Citizenship

(These were assessments of my classmates’ website we created for our digital class, CS105. It was interesting to see how different people interpreted the Nine Themes of Digital Citizenship, but they were all very important. Great job guys!)

Mackenzie:

            A nice over view of explaining what the Nine Elements are, and that they are being “integrated into classrooms and workplaces around the globe”.  I like that you are very comfortable with your technology and see it as a part of you, and not simply a “device” which you use. I wouldn’t have thought that modeling my avatars after me shows that I’m comfortable with who I am, but is less precautious – I like your explanation, though, because it’s true for both observations. So, I thought it was interesting when you stated that CS105 helped you to explore your digital identity. For many of your themes, I liked the explanation of the themes, and then further explanations of how those themes are included in your life and how they pertain to the assignments we were given in class from the examples you provided. You made the themes personal, and easily related them to everyday life.

Craig:

                I liked that you jumped right into the Nine Themes! I agree with you that digital etiquette is one the “most important and hardest to control” element and that it’s essential. As you pointed out, the need for this can be seen in cyber bullying. I like that you include facts in your statements … it helps to appreciate just how much we rely on technology for everyday use. Since this is a class focused on resources on the Internet, I’m glad you included things that weren’t only part of the assignments – i.e., Common Terms link, E-Commerce Stats link. I liked your explanations of the Nine Elements because they were factual, and you included comparisons of our lives before technology to how technology has morphed into our lives.

Mohammed:

                I liked your explanation that your digital citizenship is “an electronic version of … your personality and morals”. By this definition, the Nine Themes are explained nicely. I liked how you pointed out that although information can be found on the Internet, the joy of reading a physical book is different than when reading on the screen. I liked the examples you used, but there were a little bit hard to navigate through and since you grouped many of the themes together, maybe a title at the top with the Elements might help. Because you began your explanations of the Nine Themes as an extension of you, you should include how they are affected by each of the Elements.

Sara:

                Nice over-view of your use of technology for the introduction. Because many of us think digital etiquette is important, I liked that you pointed out how Second Life can be abused since people consider it as a world of fantasy, rather than a real society. I thought it was interesting when you described how digital communication is a “style” of communication but you’re right because some people do choose other ways of communication. I noticed that for you, e-mailing is used to contact your professors. Whereas, for me, I use it to contact many people. But it just proves your point that there are many other ways to communicate with people with different technologies.

Emily:

                I liked your statement that you view yourself as a responsible digital citizen because it means you’ve thought about the responsibilities that come with our technology. I thought it was interesting that you put your avatar and Facebook when talking about digital security. Since so many people use these sites as social networks, it is important that they are safe when they use them. For digital access, I thought it was great how you used your paper on the expansion of mobile technology to other countries. Its easy to take for granted our easy and constant access to technology, that we forget others aren’t as fortunate. Because there are many ways for us to communicate, I liked that you consider your blog as a way of expressing ourselves in a “relaxed, digital manner”. It’s great that you said it is our right to express these opinions because they are examples of freedom of speech. For digital health, I liked that you included the positives. The negatives are important considerations, but there are great advantages to using technology to find information on health issues.

Lindsay:

                Yes, I liked your statement that we now have a new outlook on our technology from our assignments and lectures in Digital Class. Some people viewed the Nine Themes as guidelines, but I liked your explanation that they are duties we need to integrate in our technology use.  I thought your examples in the Nine Themes were interesting because they were placed in different areas than most people placed them -- for example, the use of avatar in digital literacy, Blogging in digital etiquette. But I liked your breakdown of your technology use in an average day. I did like that fact that our digital rights and responsibilities need to be “addressed, discussed, and understood” because many people don’t understand these rights.

Katherine:

                I liked how you pointed out that you use the digital devices for their intended uses and how this connects to the Nine Themes. I liked your explanation of how in order to understand technology, we need to be willing to “learn about technology and how its used”. Many people use technology but don’t take the time to understand it. Many of our classmates use digital commerce at a minimum, so it was interesting to see that you use it on a regular basis. Nice point on the fact that although not everyone can afford all the technology expenses, people have a right to understand the basics of technology. Interesting that you put that point in the digital freedom theme.

Tiffany:

                I liked that you pointed out how we have different means of access to our technology – private and public accessibility allows us to have constant technological connections. With this idea, your online shopping has become your preferred buying option. It is a great tool, and as you pointed out, many stores use online shopping to “increase sales and reach out to customers” who don’t live nearby. But this easy accessibility does have negatives, and as you pointed out, “it comes with the territory”. So I agree with you when you put FaceBook in the digital etiquette theme. Yes, it is up to the digital citizens to abide by our digital laws, and so the Themes need to be enforced by the citizen.

Suzie:

                We’re all so focused on being a digital citizen that it was nice that you brought up the question of how we would be different people if we didn’t have our technology. I liked how you stated that although there are Nine Themes, in your life the dominant themes are communication, literacy, and commerce. These were the themes I focused on. I thought it was interesting that you have different e-mails for all your different communication types. And you’re right, technology literacy is like learning how to read because it is a skill people have to learn. For the digital commerce, I thought it was interesting that you get frustrated if a store doesn’t have a website. For me, I find it convenient but since I don’t use digital commerce often, it doesn’t affect too much of my life. But since it is becoming the preferred way to shop, I understand how you expect most stores to have websites.

Listening is an act of love

National Day of Listening:

StoryCorps has started this day called National Day of Listening, which is the day after Thanksgiving. I've really enjoyed learning about the process of StoryCorp because I it helps me to appreciate the people and experiences I've had in my life.

So, for the project I chose to interview my sister, Annie. She is younger by two years, and although there were times when we literally threw each other down the stairs, she has become one of my best friends. When people say we look alike and even talk alike, I take it as a compliment since I value her in so many ways.

In our interview, we discussed family. I didn't really expect it to revolve around that topic, but it shows me how important the connections of family is for both of us. We did talk about other things, but a lot of it had to do with how it could affect our concept of "family".

This was also difficult because it's harder to sit down, in front of a recorder, and try to have a normal conversation. When you have actual constraints (time, topics, etc.) it makes people more conscious of how they want to say things. But in the end, I'm glad I interviewed my sister.

A different world

Second Life

The newest experience we've had in our Digital class is using avatars in Second Life. Because I'm new at this, Second Life doesn't interest me beyond using it as an experiement. I did like the interactive part of the avatar and the ability to communicate with others. It's an interesting concept because Second Life can present opportunities that might not be available because of physical boundaries. To travel anywhere and at any time in Second Life and be able to meet anyone, are the main attractions to using avatars. I'm not totally writing it off, but I definitely need to get more familiar with it to enjoy it.

Vodcast on a lecture

Amy's Podcast

Podcasts/vodcasts

Our latest assignment in my media class was to evaluate three different podcasts or vodcasts. The first one I chose was the vodcast from the Wild Classroom and the topic was the Rainforest. It began with creative music that was fun and entertaining so that it would catch your attention. The presentation was relatively interesting but goofy. The audio was clear, and the background noise was minimal, the video was fuzzy and distracting since it hurt my eyes to watch. The organization also needed work. Although their lesson plan was to start at the top zones of the Rainforest, they kept jumping from topic (an animal specie) to topic (a tree specie), there were no transitions to lead you into the topics -- it felt as if they were just talking about anything that came to mind.

Next, I listened to a podcast from Storynory and an original story called "Sadie's Broken Heart". The content was artistic and interesting. However, after some background information about the characters and before the beginning of the story, the presenter did an advertisement for AccuQuotes Life Insurance for families. This didn't help me get into story-mode, and actually I resented it. Besides the side note, there was no introductory music. It would have been nice as a signpost that the story was beginning and the advertisement was over. All in all, the presentation was well-paced and punctuated so that the speaker was clear and crisp, easy-to-follow. There were some long, awkward silences that should be edited out, but the audio was clean and without extraneous noises. The organization followed the standard for a story with a dilemma, climax, and happy ending.

The final one I chose to evaluate was the podcast from the Jodcast, an astronomy podcast from October of this year. The content demonstrated a full understanding of the topic because the speakers were knowledgeable and used supporting materials. Except for the introduction which had a man snoring and being awakened by loud noises and a distorted voice there was no music or sound effects. The presentation could go without their introduction because it was horrible. The voice which awoke the man was distorted (like Darth Vader) but it was so garbled I couldn't understand anything he was saying. I skipped over that part and prayed the rest of the podcast didn't include him. Thankfully it didn't, and the rest of the audio was clean and without extraneous noises. The technical part was clean as well, and the organization was straightforward and well-organized.

Digital image

Avatar

This is my avatar, and I made her similar to me because I like the idea of a virtual representation of myself. With that in mind, I made her hair short since I just got mine cut to the same length (although I like hers better!) She is wearing a green shirt because green, and all its shades, have become one of my favorite colors. I placed her at the beach because that is the picture which comes to mind when I think about having a great and relaxing time -- this is what I'll be envisioning for the next 6 months of winter! So, although I created this avatar as a class assignment, I think it'll be fun to see what we will be doing with our digital-selves!