Our Brains and Technology

I have been reading several articles on the interaction between humans and technology and how they affect and drive each other. Super interesting stuff! One article uses the term technostress which encompasses everything from technophobia to technoaddiction and everything in between. I even delved into a research paper on robotic systems in which a robot arm was connected to a pc and webcam (very simplified version). Robotic systems with sensory and motor skills are being currently being developed. They are capable of “learning” how to interact from observation during very basic experiments in order to help or cooperate with human partners. While research is still in the embryonic stages, those sci-fi movies with house robots and C3P’s might not be that far off. Already computers have removed much of the burden of performing everyday calculations and other mundane tasks. Information is much more readily available (I love when I pose a question in Google and it supplies how many seconds it took to answer me, as though it’s having a race against itself). I also read an interesting article by Matt Ritchel who covers Technology and Telecommunications for the New York Times and who was awarded the Pulitzer prize in 2010 for a series he wrote on driving and multi-tasking. Somehow he inveigled 5 neuroscientists into agreeing to accompany him for several days on a wilderness experience in Utah, disconnected from all technology. Their reactions were interesting even for the skeptics. I can’t wait for the day when my personal robot, does all the cleaning and cooking and homework for me! How about you?

New tools

Spent some time checking out this week's tools. I really liked Webquest and Edmodo and think that kids would really respond to it positively. Apparently, my daughter had been exposed to it 4 years ago in one of her high school class setting. Symbaloo, Google Maps and Fakebook were OK. Didn't much get into them although I can appreciate their applicability. There truly is an endless sea of tools out there to explore.

To be proficient or not to be proficient?

Tonight Dr. Dennen shared some insight on how she became so adept at social media and networking. Although that's not what she would say. First, she signed up to follow some interesting people and topics. She also subscribed to some professional journals and visited blogs of interest. Some tools were dedicated to personal communiques while others were more professionally focused. Soon she was learning tidbits from all kinds of sources and the separating lines became somewhat blurred. Finally, it took time. Growing a successful personal learning network cannot be artificially induced. It is a gradual process. That became evident when I tried to inject myself into the gardening community of practice I was observing. You have to be genuinely interested in a topic and committed to following along regardless of all the twists and turns. And you have to be willing to give it time.

Who Knew? Savoir Faire and other mini triumphs

This is probably going to sound retarded since it's such a basic thing for most of my classmates but I feel as though I just struck GOLD!!!! For the past several weeks (and prior) I've wanted to learn how to embed a link in a word. It seemed so cool, like something only someone who was really "pro" would casually do without thinking twice. Last night (seems like a week ago) at What Cafe, I asked Ji Yae if she would email me instructions on how to do it. However, tonight, as I was writing my previous post, I happened to notice the word "Link" on the dashboard. I clicked on it and a new world opened up to me!!! It took me a few tries but it finally worked. Ever see the excitement in a toddler's eyes when he takes his first steps on his own? This mini-triumph has led me to reflect on a much deeper truth. In the past, I have experienced a strong aversion to clicking on buttons I knew nothing about. I have even disliked watching other people click on buttons by way of experimentation. Tonight I learned that sometimes it's the best way to learn.

More Exploration and Discovery

Somewhere in the recesses of my memory, I have the image of a very young child surrounded by mountains of presents at Christmas. Instead of ripping them open and playing with them one at a time, the little girl just sat there, dumbfounded, mouth agape,in a state of confusion. Despite having to fight with feelings of being overwhelmed by the deluge of new tools we are introduced to each week, some of them surface as real gems. Today, I spent some time exploring WebQuest and found it impressive. I think it would be a great vehicle through which to present our next assignment. Now all I have to do is decide on the topic of instruction. In this class probably the hardest thing for me is wrapping my head around what any given tool is supposed to do and how it does it. Until I'm actually doing it, the concept is almost impossible to grasp. For example, when I first heard about Baked Alaska I couldn't conceptualize it. How on earth could you stick ice cream in a hot oven and it not melt? Then I tried it and witnessed it for myself. Then I looked up the science behind it and, although I couldn't relate to much of the terminology, I could accept and understand the concept. It's much the same with trying new tools in this class.

It's not for everyone

AS we draw to the close of week 6, I have come to some conclusions. Social Media is not for everyone. While I share in the excitement of all the tools that are available to us today with new ones developing all the time, I'm pretty sure it's not for me. Perhaps I'll feel differently after the class is over and the pace slows down. I'm definitely grateful for the exposure and knowledge I've gained. Certainly without Dr. D's prompting, I'd never be this far along. I was really excited about creating my first word cloud (lop-sided as it may be). I never thought of myself as a private person. Family, friends and even co-workers describe me as rather open with my life. Sometimes, I think, too much so. However, when it comes to putting myself "out there" for any and everyone to see, I am truly uncomfortable. Perhaps it's because of the lack of reciprocity. "They" are viewing me but I know nothing about "them". My pseudonym has worked very well for me. And, contrary to one of our classmates observations, I wouldn't dream of doing, saying, posting anything under a pseudonym that I would feel uncomfortable doing under my real name. For me it's just an added layer of protection. Of course, if anyone wanted to spend a little time, they could easily peel back the layer and trace the footprints back to me. However, I banking on no one caring enough to take the time. For a vacation week, this has been pretty stressful. I'm looking forward to a measure of normalcy returning now that we're not running all over the place and trying to keep up with school as well.

What Do Students Want?

Recently I read an article written by Lash Keith Vance and published in the Journal of Educational Computing. It was entitled,"Do students want Web 2.0? An Investigation into student instructional preferences". Needless to say, since I'm currently enrolled in a class on Web 2.0 and have been experiencing first hand all the wonders of this new phenomenon, the title caught my attention. The results were surprising. A survey of over 1800 students, ages 18-33 (the so-called millenials), revealed a strong preference for blended instruction utilizing both Web 2.0 or interactive, collaborative tools and Web 1.0, which encompasses the more traditional, instructor-generated material. In higher education, there was a strong preference indicated for using blogs as a learning management system and discussion boards for peer interaction. Although the article acknowledged the fact that the use of Web 2.0 for instruction is increasing, the author asked the question if this increase were possibly due to “well-intended” educators pushing in that direction rather than the students enrolled in their classes wanting it. Opinions, please?