May 22, 2013

What struck me about McLuhan was that he was not caught up in to media even though he was always in it.  His primary focus and goal appears to be to get his message and ultimately, the laws of media out there for people to access and use to figure out the world around them.   The creation of tetrads as a way for people to have a way to look critically at technology shows that he was a teacher at heart.  Most people do not associate the mainstream media as teaching tool, but I think that McLuhan must of seen the irony in using modern media as a teaching tool on this subject.  At times he was difficult to understand which is not the hallmark of a good teacher but at the same time his messages were profound and important and not to be overlooked.  I think the motive behind his work was to teach people how to save themselves from the maelstrom of technology.

We talked about some of the negative impact of technology in schools and how students use it, and the lack of judgement that seems ever more apparent in the Web 2.0 era.  I don't think we should be surprised, unfortunately.  I cannot think of another powerful force such as technology that has been unrolled so quickly and with so very little background knowledge for teachers and parents to grasp onto.  It is an incredibly hard job to stay at the forefront of technology when it changes so quickly.  There are no other core subjects that I could equate to technology use when we are talking about the social implications for students.  I think in many educational settings technology is viewed purely through the lens of a gadget or tool and not as a social force as well.  The education faculties and provincial curricula need to shift their focus away from only integrating technology into other subjects areas, but also need to start to explore technology as a area to be studied in social studies and the humanities.

May 13 & 15

The number of parallels that can be drawn from Poe’s, “The Descent into the Maelstorm,” and technology are many and varied.  When you view the story through the repurposed idea that we have been discussing in our class a very different version of the story comes to life.

The story starts on “Helseggen, the Cloudy” which can represent the cloudy view and thoughts that people in our age often have of the use of technology.  McLuhan’s, “The media is the message.” explains further our cloudy view of technology and what it can do for us.  Most people today see media as a liberating and boundary breaking innovation.  That is the message we are lead to believe by tech giants and their advertising departments, which leads many people not to question new technology, but to accept it and use it whether it results have positive or negative repercussions.  

The islands of Vurrgh, Moske, Ambarren, Iflesen, Hoeyholm, and so forth represent Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Google, Yahoo, HP, Dell and so on.  The sea that is described around these islands is a confusion of currents and waves coming from all directions and having no order.  I think that this represents the constant and unrelenting barrage of advertisements and messages about using technology or being left behind.  Poe uses the phrase, “monstrous velocity” to describe the current.  This phrase could also be used to describe the rapid pace of development of new technologies both positive and negative.

The uncontrollable force of the maelstrom can be viewed as the numerous negative effects that have come from technology use.  In recent times the consequences of texting and driving, and user created content in the web 2.0 frenzy that can shatter careers and lead to cyber bullying may be experienced by people who feel they have been sucked into the maelstrom of technology.

When the main character realizes his fate that he will be swallowed by the maelstrom and be killed, is the turning point that makes him realizes his arrogance, that he thought he could beat such a force of nature.  When he feels all his life will be lost is the first time that he starts to watch and think about what is going on around him, which in the end ultimately saves his life.   I wrote down the quote, “escape come from observation,” which I think is an important message when thinking about technology and how we use it.  I think the word observation could also be replace with reflection, which of course we have touch on in the Ellen Rose article.

I am starting to feel that reflection on technology is difficult because of the, “monstrous velocity” at which it is changing but at the same time, make the need for reflection all the more critical.


Lock in

Jaron Lanier introduced the idea of “lock in” in “You Are Not a Gadget” which is an idea that is not explored very often in media.  He relates it mostly to software design in chapter 1 but the idea of lock in can be applied to almost everything that we do.  The automotive industry is a perfect example of lock in.  We are tied to the internal combustion engine for many reasons but most people recognize the huge downside of this technology yet only the most superficial efforts to change this technology have appeared.  When I take time to look at some of the technology around me I find all sorts of locked in devices.  Many of the locked in devices around come from one company who is intentionally trying to lock me into their layers of devices that are interdependent to get the full value of them.  Lock in can happen unintentionally over time but I feel it can be very intentional by the creators and purveyors of technology and we should be wary of the companies that push the next greatest  life changing technology.
 

2.1.3.

I am currently teaching 2 grade 1 classes, math, science and social studies in Altona MB.  My reason for becoming a teacher were very practical to start.  When I was in the faculty of education at Brandon University very few teachers were getting jobs right out of university and I realized that being a male teacher in early elementary might give me an advantage in finding a job.  I now realize that the beginning of the education process is vital in producing life-long learners.
I have continued teaching early elementary students because they are fun and energetic and produce many new and interesting challenges.  My goal is to help kids realize themselves as learners and to keep them excited about the world around them.  I would like to see the kids who leave my class as more independent and curious about the world and to have bettered some of the basic skills needed to communicate and ask questions of the people and world around them.

In “On Reflection” in the 1600’s  the definition of reflection is, “...to turn one’s thought to something.”   In today’s fast paced, outcome driven society the idea of slowing down and making time to turn one’s thoughts on to a topic is not something generally valued.  The education system has instilled Dewey’s action driven reflection into everything that we do. I find that instead of looking in a mirror we are trained to view ideas and thoughts through a magnifying glass, that is instead of reflecting back, the light passes through the glass and is focused on a specific goal or outcome.  Ellen Rose’s view of reflection is difficult for myself to grasp and practice.  The question that leaves me with is; how do we instill the process of reflection with the qualities of care and attentiveness on a new generation that has since an early age always been asked to make sure that all they do is purposeful and has an outcome that has been clearly stated for them?

Educational technology seems to be evolving into an ever more complex and large topic in schools.  The definition that, “...educational technology as a thing, a gadget or a tool.” has been the primary focus of many educators.  The ideal that, “Educational technology is the study and ethical practice of facilitating learning and improving performance by creating, using and managing appropriate technological processes and resources.”, is slowly gaining ground but has not been embraced by the majority because of a breakdown in the system of implementing technology in schools.  In many situations the idea that if the devices are in the schools they will be used is a misconception that is played out often.  There seems to be a disconnect with the amount of money and resources spent on hardware and the level of professional development and continued support that is required for educational technology to have the later and more meaningful definition.