E-Portfolio

 Artifact 8
Friday, April 1


Artifact 9
Thursday, April 7


Artifact 10
Friday, April 15

Artifact 10: Internet Distraction, Movie-Going and Addiction

I picked the article, "Out There in the Dark, All Alone" by Manohla Dargis.  The article talks about the radical change in how Americans "go to the movies".  A statistic in the article states that 90 million Americans went to the movies each week in 1948.  This number is much higher than the 23 million who currently go to the movies each week.  Why?  Well the author says that because of the new ways we can access movies, it's no longer neccessary to run out and see a movie more than once.  Back in the 40's, people had to see a move they liked twice because they would probably not ever see the movie again after the theater stopped playing it.  Now we have ways to access any movie, at any time, through technology.  For intstance, people can now watch movies not only on their tvs, but on their computers, ipods, cell phones, etc,. 

To define some terms used in the article:

• on-demand era - the current time period in which people can instantly access movies and other media using the internet and other technologies.
• modernity - not oldness, newness or novelty
• cinema - from the Greek word kinema which means motion and emotion

In my view, it is totally understandable why people don't go to the movies in such large numbers anymore.  I mean think about it: you go to the movie theater and spend 10 dollars or more for a ticket. You then spend an additional 15 or so dollars on the overpriced snacks offered there. After this, you go into the theater to find a seat, but if you don't get their early there will only be the crappy seats left, the ones that nobody wants.  Also when going to the movies, one risks being seated next to someone who is A. talking through the movie, B. making a bunch of noise with their snacks, or C. fights you for the armrest.  Of course there are many more scenarios that could negatively affect your movie going experience, but these should do for now.

So why do all of that to see a movie when we have a plethora of other options for movie viewing?  There are so many ways that we can access movies now, that sometimes it doesnt make a whole lot of sense to actually go to the movies.  It makes sense to watch movies in the comfort of your own home, not only because it is comfortable, but because we have the ability to see a movie more than once, very cheaply.  So I definitely understand why the numbers of movie-goers have gone down.  It wouldn't make a whole lot of sense if they didn't.

Artifact 9: Sharing

I had not idea that museums were using the internet to such a great magnitude.  I really think that it's interesting because no one thinks of an art museum as being all that technological.  Some of the technological ideas that they are including in the museum exhibits and on the museum's website were really cool, not only because it's technological, but because it's amazing that we can do these things.  Not too long ago, the art museum was just a place that you go to in order to see art.  Now, there is so much more to it.  Facebook pages, and online involvment are important for keeping the museum interesting and keeping people coming.  Do we really think that people would be interested in going to the art museum now if there wasn't a technological component to it?  I liked when the author said that the museums are trying not to get caught up in fads, because this shows me that they don't see the technological movement as a fad.  They are trying to permanently transform the museum experience to something that captures the attention of this generation.  I would definitely be interested in some of these things if they were offered at the St. Louis Art Museum.  Who knows? Maybe they will catch on to this trend soon!

Artifact 8: "Social Networking & Gaming for Health"

It's amazing how much of a difference technology is making in every aspect of our lives!  Now we have healthcare information readily available online which I think is just fantastic.  I have gone online many times to seek information about an  illness or some other health issue.  This really helped me know what was going on with me and often times gave me remedies to fix it myself without going to the doctor.  However, if I did end up having to go to the doctor, the availability of this information online really helped me know: A. what to tell my doctor about the illness, and B. what I think it could be.  Doctors aren't miracle workers!  So I am so glad to have the ability to participate in my own healthcare and be aware of what's going on in my body. 

The part of this video that I found very interesting and surprising was when they talked about the video games that kids play in which characters in the game are combatting cancer cells.  The statistics of how much better these children were in their treatment was amazing.  It's amazing what wonders our minds can do for us when put into the right mindset.  This was a totally new concept to me, but I think it's great.  Hopefully all children with cancer will have access to this game or one like it to help them to understand their illness, and to get their mind around the idea of fighting it.

Artifact 7: Professors Use Technology to Fight Student Cheating

In this article, the author discusses about a million and one ways to catch cheaters on college campuses.  Although they thought of some really cunning and effective methods of catching cheaters, I don't think it will matter much because people who want to cheat, will. 

I have two issues with this article:
1. Although I agree that cheating is completely, 100% wrong, there is never going to be a fool proof way to put an end to it.  Let's face it, college kids are younger, and therefore more adept in computer technology.  This means that no matter what a college professor does to deter cheating, it is going to happen.
2. Although you only see one side of the argument from this article, it seems to me that the teachers that the author interviewed were more concerned about cheating than anything else that occurred in their classrooms.  While I do believe that the prevention of cheating should be high on the priority list, it shouldn't be the number one concern in the classroom.  Because, believe it or not, there many students who don't cheat and deserve just as much attention in the classroom.  If a teacher spends all of their time trying to reprimand cheaters, where does that leave the non-cheaters?  They are there to actually learn, and the constant war with cheaters will take away from their learning experience. 

So paying too much attention to cheaters is no good because it brings down the integrity of the learning process.  And paying no attention to cheaters is also a negative option.  So while I agree with that these professors are doing, I think that they should be sure to do it moderately, and balance these ploys with the actual classroom activities that should be taking place.

Artifact 6: I am Anonymous

Anonymity has been totally abolished since the development of the internet.  This is scary because it seems like people can no longer do the things that they want to do or say the things that they want to say.  This website that he talks about in the video gives people a place where they can be free to talk about whateever they want and express themselves in whatever way they choose.  The wonderful thing about the site is that it is totally anonymous.  Therefore, the people of the site cannot get themselves into trouble online for anything that they say because they cannot be tracked.

I think that the internet should be entirely anonymous because we live in a country where freedom of speech is a right.  However, with internet tracking, people can become targets because of their speech or beliefs.  I like the idea of this site, and it seems to be very popular.  It also shows that when people feel like they are free do express themselves, some revolutions and movements can be started online, such as the one he talked about with the cat abuser who was caught and put in jail for his crimes.  I think that people can use the internet for some real good, and this website shows it.

Artifact 5: Thank Sex for Making the Internet Hot

I had no idea that sex paved the way for the way we use internet today.  That was a huge surprise.  Learning about the guy who dropped out of school to create a porn site was interesting.  He knew that sex was where the money was and he was right! 
Until recently, sex sites were the most visited areas of the internet and they contributed to how we use the internet today.  For instance, e-commerce was pioneered by pornographers so that they could take their customers' credit cards over the internet.  Porn is a huge money making empire, and this is a well known fact even though it isn't spoken of much.  Porn is a very popular business, but the statistics of internet porn are shocking since people never talk about it, and it has some negative conotations attached to it.
I was not so much shocked at the statistics of internet porn, as I was shocked that it was such a driving force behind how the internet developed, and how it is used today.

Artifact 4: "Uncanny Droid?" and "Old School? or What?"

The "Uncanny Droid" video about the "actroid" was a little scary, yet extremely fascinating.  This is the side of technology that I fear.  Soon these robots will be walking down the street amongst humans and we will not have any ability to tell the difference between humans and robots.  We will have to change our schema of what a human is because these robots possess so much of what a human is in our minds, yet they are not human or anything close.  Hopefully whenever robots begin to walk among us, I will already be dead because this notion gives me goosebumps.   But who knows? Maybe they are already walking among us and we don't even know it!  What makes it scary isn't the robot itself, it's the fact that we cannot tell the difference between ourselves and them.

The video about the pencil sharpener, on the other hand, made me laugh.  How low tech can you get and still need to make a YouTube how-to video about it?  But obviously whoever created the sharpener feels that an instructional video is necessary.  What's funny about this video is that at one point in time, pencils themselves, as well as their sharpeners, were considered high tech.  There was a time period where people didn't know what a pencil was or what it was used for, nevertheless how to sharpen it.  We laugh now because we have assimilated pencils and pencil sharpeners into our minds as an everyday object that everyone uses.  But how about in 50 years? or a hundred?  Will people be laughing at our how-to videos on how to use an iPod? or our iPad for Dummies books?  Well, of course they are. And we may or may not be around to hear their laughter.  Technology moves so quickly that things quickly become outdated.  This cycle doesn't stop with us, it will always continue to evolve.

Artifact 3: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains

In the video Nicholas Carr talks about the book he wrote about what the internet is doing to our brains.  I personally found the parts that he discussed in the video to be extremely interesting.  He writes the book from his personal perspective and includes some of his life events involving technology.  He says that the start of it all was when he realized that he could no longer concentrate when reading books or doing other activities that require attentiveness.  I think that many people in today's society feel this same symptom of over internet use that he felt, but we may or may not attribute it to internet usage.

How do technological tools influence the way our brains work?  Well Carr explains that we are constantly being distracted throughout the day.  For instance, he talks about office people checking their emails up to 40 times per hour.  He says that these distractions are an issue because they prevent us from being able to think deeply or to transfer information from our short term memories into our long term ones.

What I found most interesting was his recount of moving into the mountains of Colorado being almost completely disconnected.  He has to become accustomed to living this way even though his brain still desires the internet.  He compares being without the internet to going through drug withdrawal.  This is interesting because it really demonstrates that the internet is, in fact, doing something to our brains.  Eventually though, his internet cravings subsided and he was able to cope with being disconnected.

I would love to try going even just a weekend without internet technology.  However, I have a feeling that it wouldn't go so well!  I just know that I would feel out of the loop and I feel like I would miss something important if people were not able to get in contact with me for a long period of time.  Anyway, this video kind of got me thinking about how unhealthy it probably is for people to sit in front of and stare at computers all day long.  I do believe that more people should try going without it so that they can really see how dependent they are on the internet.

Strand 2: Units 1 & 2

Unit 1 - Online Ethics and International Inequities

Unit 1 begins by talking about international inequities.  Surprisingly, most people around the world are not online for many reasons

• 1.5 billion people in the world live on less than a dollar a day
• the national average monthly income in Africa is approximately 50 US dollars
• 4 billion people around the world will probably never get online

We then get into freedom of speech. There are many people in the world who cannot use free speech even online. A lot of times, what these people say online will be used against them.  Also, the lack of internet for many people means that they cannot communicate freely with others online.

Online ethics is the next important topic that the book covers. It pertains to how we communicate online, and the rules and morals we should use online. For instance, the Association for Computing Machinery has developed an internet code of conduct. Also, the Computer Ethics Institute has a list of Ten Commandments of Computer Ethics.

Inequality online is a very big deal.  As well as in person, people are being discriminated against because of language differences, gender, age, physical ability, race, and ethnicity online.  One reason for these problems is that most people who use the internet are white and economically well off. For example, only 5 percent of US internet users are African American, the statistics for Latino Americans are even lower. Economic power equals the ability to communicate online.

People now are trying to get internet available to more people around the world. Some ideas for doing this include:

• community technology centers
• sending computers to under priviledged countries
• public internet terminals

Although governments and organizations are trying to reduce the amount of racism and hate online, many people have a problem with this because they feel that these groups are trying to take away their rights to privacy, which is the most important ethical concern on the internet.


Unit 2: Online Identity: Real or Virtual

In Unit 2, we begin by reading about symbolic markers which is a concrete way in which people communicate their identities to others. Identity is what we are portraying through symbolic markers. For instance, clothing is a symbolic marker. It's how you associate yourself with a particular group of people. The people you identify with.

Online the issue is multiple identities. We can experiment with different ways to express ourselves online since we are not limited by being judged by our appearances.

People were excited about the anonymity of the internet.  The popular saying "on the internet, nobody knows you're a dog" illustrates the mystery and curiosity of online identities. The computer was considered a 'second self'.

Another important issue is what to tell about yourself and what to hide online. The Johari window does a wonderful job illustrating how and what we disclose to others on the internet.

Artifact 2: William Powers: Hamlet's Blackberry

William Powers is a wonderful speaker as well as an effective, new-aged philosopher.  After reading the article about his book, I was super excited to watch the video where he talks about the book and what went into making it.  I love the way he used the words "connected" and "disconnected" and was astonished at the realization that there really aren't many people who are "disconnected" these days.  In the video, Powers talks about being in the park and seeing some people talking on the phone, others texting or doing something else on their phones, and then there were people who were just holding their phones, "waiting for the summons beyond."  This was interesting to me because more often than not, I find myself doing the exact same thing.  I just hold my phone and wait for the next text message or phone call or email.  I don't realize how silly I probably look doing that, but it seems second nature to me. 

Anyway, what I liked about Powers' philosophy was his agreement that technology or "connectedness" is good and helpful, as well as his argument that like all things, "connectedness" has to be balanced.  We have to learn to balance our time with technology with some time without it.  And, although it may be difficult, I agree with him that everyone should try to set some time aside where they put down their smartphones, unplug the internet, and use that time to build and maintain relationships with their families.  Powers and his family, started a ritual where they unplug their computers and modems on Friday nights and spend the weekend without internet.  He admits that before his family began to do this, they weren't as connected with each other because they were always "running for the screens."

I would like to see more people adopt this philosophy.  If more people did this, I'm sure their would be some major societal changes.  Powers got his family back, so we can do it too!

Artifact 1: Internet Surpasses Television as Main News Source for Young Adults

After reading this article, I can't say that I'm completely surprised.  I totally agree with the reasons the article gave as for why people turn to the net rather than television.  Personally, I would much rather read the news than watch it on tv.  This way I can read only the news that I want to read, and I can look back over it if I want to.  When watching the news on television, it's really easy to miss important information that you can't look at again.  Also, I would much rather be able to look at the news at a time that's convenient for me rather than whenever the news comes on tv.

Something about the article that I found particularly interesting was the fact that the older the surveyed adults were, the less they got their information from the internet.  While the number of older people who look to the internet for their news increased as time progressed, those numbers were still considerably lower than those of the younger people.  I guess the generational gaps account for these differences.  While the younger people were probably raised with some exposure to the internet, the older generation grew up without the internet and became accustomed to receiving their news through other means.

I can't see why anyone wouldn't want to use the internet to get information since it's fast, and you only get the information you're looking for.  With tv, for instance, you have to watch all of the news you're not looking for in order to see the news you're interested in.  And, on top of that, you have to watch all of the commercials too!  My vote is for internet news!