This one from the UK seems obvious: Google is forcing us to change our habits.
And I'm on Twitter quite a bit this summer, chasing down trends in education and technology, so I found this interesting about professors using Twitter in the classroom. We are in the middle of what they call Convergence Culture -- or what Alvin Toffler described in his book The Third Wave (1980) -- when a new wave (of technology) comes in, previous waves don't just leave or die out. They thrive on their own terms, and they interact, provide resistance, provide support to new waves...so as new technologies come online, the old ones do not disappear -- nor should they! You won't find me arguing for the Kindle over the book. You'll find me wanting the Kindle AND the book.
I am someone with one foot firmly planted in both worlds. I am constantly pushing my colleagues and peers toward technology while advising my students to back off. Oh! Speaking of that...here's another little something by Howard Rheingold about Crap Detecting. (Pardon the crass language, but as students of language, I think you will agree that in this case, the word is most appropriate.) Crap detecting is the all important skill for you young people to develop. In a world with everything at your fingertips, what is real? What is useful? What is valuable? And what is -- well...crap?
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ReplyDeleteIn this technological world, there is much more "crap" than we know that is out there, waiting to muddle our minds and confuse, irritate, or anger us. Crap can come in many forms: from chain letters sent by text telling one that, "You will never be kissed unless you send this text to (insert ridiculously giant number) people!" to bulletins on Myspace telling one that, "You opened this bulletin! Repost it or die in twenty-four hours!".
ReplyDeleteNow that I think about it, it seems like Neil Postman really knew what he was talking about when he wrote about all of the nonsense (or crap) that gets thrown at us by television. Only now, crap has spread virally from the television to the cell phone and the internet, just waiting and ready to annoy another person.
NOTE: Just deleted my post above so I could correct some grammar. :P