First Blog

To me this story drew back the argument/discussion our class was having on the Illich article. For people to go to Kimon they must have extensive tests done and pass an IQ test. I found it interesting that there was a quote which said that the government obviously was interested of the evolution of thought. If this is true then why does it seem that this is not the case now a day, but in the story it is because there is a place so exclusive that people strive to get there? Why can’t people strive to “think outside the box” in general? Going back to Illich, yes schooling has become somewhat political but teachers and society need to try to persuade people to want to expand their minds. The concept of censorship on Kimon and how they could control with telepathy what they wanted you to know or hear makes me cringe. Imagine if the government or whatever overruling power could have control with their minds what a persona can or cannot be exposed to. Scary! While reading this story I kept trying to connect it to various articles we have read and new media in general to keep my mind from wandering too much. Like someone posted earlier, it has many levels and many different directions it can go in. so is the purpose of Kimon to create a “higher-level” society rather than measly Earth minded people? Not really sure the purpose of that would be I feel like everyone would be trying to over think each other and therefore create chaos…maybe that’s just me.

Elizabeth and I have decided to switch the focus of our final project. We started out with the Facebook idea and creating an application for women’s DIII lacrosse. Creating an application is apparently a lot harder than we thought. With some guidance from Dr. C, we decided to create a social group through the website: ning.com. Both of us are unfamiliar with this website and social group setting. We hope to create a social group for Division III women’s lacrosse and get some interaction and feedback through it. We used the group we created on Facebook to get the word out and also created a sticky on laxpower.com. Since we are unfamiliar with this website we will discuss the history of ning.com, purpose and the various applications it can be used for. If anyone has any suggestions on what else we can focus on that would be great or if you are familiar with ning.com.

Since becoming an educator is one possibility for me next year this article was particularly interesting to me. Seeing how one person’s view of education and how it is incapable of functioning as its purpose makes me think deeply about the role of education and society in general.  “The pupil is thereby “schooled” to confuse teaching with learning, grade advancement with education, a diploma with competence, and fluency with the ability to say something new” is one of the first quotes which stuck out to me. Since I’m still a student I understand the importance and necessity of obtaining good grades. I mean without good grades you can’t/aren’t allowed to continue your education. Illich points out how grade advancement basically equals education and students are not worried/concerned with the knowledge they are obtaining but more so with whether or not their grades meet standards and beyond.

The education system and schools seem to be becoming more political and focused on social status. For example, if you are of a certain social status your IQ and education level is assumed. I’m not saying that this is true in all cases or even a majority but if it occurs at all it is wrong. One challenge I will face if I pursue teaching is trying to get my students to think outside the box and not to succumb to idea that grades matter more or that their only goal is to receive a diploma. I did find some of this article to be bogged down with excess information about politics and technicalities which kind of distracted me a bit, but overall the sections I read I agree with Illich. I wanted to write a post but I’m continuing reading and hopefullys ome good discussion will occur in class tomorrow.

When I first read this part of Viola’s article I was sure exactly what this story had to do with technology and condominiums. Like someone said in class today Viola’s article was confusing the fact that he had tendencies like McLuhan of jumping around with his ideas. I was going to post about the condominiums and data space, but to be honest I was kind of confused with the whole article in general and hoped our class discussion would relieve me of some this confusion. After Dr. C explained the story of Helen Keller and the Miracle Worker and how she was able to connect things with signs with understanding, the porcupine and the car story made a little more sense. Like many of my posts on here I basically end up babbling about my thoughts and how it relates and don’t really know if any of it really makes sense. The porcupine like most creatures only knows what they are exposed to. So the porcupine stood its ground and was proud because of it because a “car” to him does not exist….ok right now I have no idea where to go with this…maybe we can touch on it again in class on Tuesday.

-p.s. sorry for the late post my internet has been shaky…gotta love the dependability

So does the real world exist anymore? This is one reason why I don’t like video games. It is as if interactions between people are slowly decreasing. Some video game addicts never leave their couch because they have all the human interaction they need through video games. Yes, I do admit the technology and realistic of video games is incredible; but why can’t people just enjoy each other’s company? Lucasfilm’s habitat reminds me of Second Life with the use of Avatars, I have never participated in Second Life nor do I really have a desire to. Like I have said in previous posts, kids now-a-days are never seen outside playing and some have social issues because of the lack of interaction. McLuhan’s addictiveness to T.V. definitely applies to the addictiveness of video games.  What will happen when the computer crashes or the gaming system breaks? All hell would break lose I’m guessing. Maybe it is because I’m obsessed with the outdoors and simple things, but video games, avatars and habitats like Lucasfilms seem useless to me. Technology is cool and impressive but when does it stop? Programs like the Wii, or dance dance revolution are as close to exercise these gamer addicts get…which is sad I my opinion.

That was a statement one of my friends said to me and a group of friends when we were in high school thinking about school…Is higher education necessary?

To me that question is just as loaded as what is the meaning of life..well maybe not that intense. So, Is higher education necessary? Yes and no. I mean you hear those stories of people barely graduating high school making millions, but then you also hear that you aren’t going to get anywhere without going to college.

I think experiences impact people more than “formal” higher education. Then again, how to do measure success…many people use money…but it that really succeeding in life? People grow and learn from their experiences, a majority of those experiences can occur in college or higher. I also think that your peers and who you surround yourself with can ultimately replace higher education. There are people who go through college without ever looking or thinking outside the box. Surround yourself with people who will push your thoughts and that IS higher education. Just not formal. Ask me this question on another day and my answer will probably change a little. It is hard to write down and explanation to the answer when there are so many exclusions or certain situations.

I think that just blew my mind a little. First of all, can all my reading assignments be comics…I guess I just enjoy the pictures…I have never looked closely at comics and their structure before or the role of time. It is interesting to see how reading a comic like a book from left to right displays the time in which it is set, but is that really how the illustrator meant it? Like what McCloud discussed in the first example, it is one scene made up of many scene all happening at the same time…or are they? Crazy/confusing at times.

I never thought there were so many decisions in comics that dealt with time or that could depict time such as the distance between scenes, the text itself, and the shape of the “skin”. I liked how in the introduction McCloud refers to comics as “sequencial art.” I always considered comics art but never to this sort of level. After reading the section I understand the ideas and topics McCloud was focusing on. The ending of the piece sums it all up, life actually, “it all depends on your frame of mind.” With life, technology and new media in general how a person perceives the success or impact of something depends on how deep and at what angle he/she looks at it. I’m not sure if this makes any sense, I guess I’m having trouble articulating it into words…but just try and go with it.

I had never even heard of the Turtle before I read this excerpt, but the Oregon Trail was probably one of the highlights of my childhood. Like many people have posted Papert was predicting the future almost 30 years ago and was accurate (which is kind of creepy since it seems that all the writers we read have been accurate). I liked Papert’s reference to “Sesame Street” and how that offered “better” explanations to a child, but is basically a lecture series. This reminds me of the Baby Einstein programs they have now, even though they are not computers it will be interesting to see how this interaction with this type of technology will effect generations…Our kids are going to go blind by age 10! Technology is great, don’t get me wrong but I feel society is becoming way to dependent on it. The interaction between teachers and students and even peer to peer is so important to a child’s development. I’d hate to see it be overlooked. A child programming a computer can involuntarily make the child think out-of-the-box, but when do they become satisfied without the push of an educator?