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Thursday, December 1st, 2005
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11:06 pm - Flickr or Picture Trail?!
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While I was searching for a variety of photo sharing sites I
discovered that there are many offered on the Internet. I think this is a
definite bonus because users are able to compare and contrast and find a photo
sharing sites that is suitable for them. The photo sharing website that caught
my eye was The Picture Trail (http://www.picturetrail.com/).
Similar to Flickr, Picture Trail allows users to upload pictures and save them
onto a personal account. Within your account, you are able to know how many
times a photo was viewed, which can also be done using a Flickr account. As
well, it is connected with to servers, which allows users to post photos to
sites such as Livejournal and Ebay. Something that caught my eye was the fact
that you can add music to your albums. I think that this feature is really
amusing and adds that added oomph to a users photographs. I find that it is
also quite easy to use and that is definitely a plus! When comparing the two
sites and trying to figure out which one was better, I had some difficulty. I
think it just came down to my personal taste in the lay out. I find that I like
the Picture Trail layout a bit more than Flickr and I also like the music
idea!!
current mood:  relaxed
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(17 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, November 28th, 2005
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11:31 pm - The Child and the Machine/Armstong and Casement
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I really enjoyed reading this article because I believe that
as technology continues to grow, literature and reading actual books starts to
get overlooked. I believe that it is very important for children to be exposed
to all types of literature and if that includes reading literature on the
computer, then by all means, include it in a child’s life. Being exposed to a
variety of reading materials is definitely important. Yet, this should not take
precedence over reading actual books. As stated in the article, school boards
are facing cut backs and often books are the ones taking the hit. This brings
up the point of having computer programs that install reading material on them
so that children are not negatively affected by the limited number of books
available in school environments. Although, books should continue to
prominently be a part of a child’s literacy experiences. Literacy is a
fundamental aspect of a child’s development in reading, writing and speech. The
article states that the first step to literacy is oral language. This was also
emphasized in my Language Development lectures, wherein I learned that children
understand language that they are exposed to, prior to the production of their
own words. Through exposure to oral language of their own language, children
are given the opportunity to understand it and therefore produce it. When
children are introduced to literature by computer, it may eliminate the actual
talking and listening that is involved in shared reading activities. When
children read an actual book, or are read to, children are given quality oral
language, which in turn will allow them to further their own development.
Listening to a computer ‘read’ a book will not have the same positive affect on
a child. When a child is exposed to oral language, they are able to distinguish
words said by watching the speaker’s mouth, open and close. This is not
possible when a computer ‘reads’ a book. In addition, when a child is reading
on a computer, they will attend to different things as opposed to reading an
actual book. When reading a book, the child focuses on the words on the page
and the illustrations. These illustrations accompany the words in order to
further develop the story and fuel imagination from their reader. By reading
the book with others, discussion may be fueled through the illustrations, which
strengthens the impact of literacy. As well, the physical handling of the book,
allows for a more hands on exploration to occur. The mind is allowed to move at
its own pace and it time is provided for reflection and stimulation of the
imagination. When a child is reading on a computer screen, the presentation is
much different. The electronic text is structured and, as the article states,
the mind stands still as the text flashes by, screen by screen. Reading should
continue to be an important aspect of each individual child’s life. Parents,
teachers, educators and all individuals interacting with a child need to continue
to embrace the act of reading books in order to foster literacy and encourage
reading in general.
current mood:  hyper
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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10:35 pm - Jason's Article/Tux Paint
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The monolingual privilege of English amongst the Internet is
tremendously difficult to understand. We are living within such a multicultural
society only in Canada, let alone all the rich varieties of cultures, race and
ethnicities in the entire world. It just doesn’t seem clear to me as to why
English would be the predominant language used in every program no matter which
country is using it. Even when things are written in another language, such as
Japanese, the coding is still in English. It is clear that English is the
worldwide language and all countries are exposed to it and expected to be
familiar with it. Yet, I do not understand why different countries cannot
create programming in their own language. This is only diminishing the idea of
embracing multiculturalism and celebrating diversification. It is as if to say,
individuals who wish to participate in the creation of programs, must be fluent
in the English language. That poses such a barrier to those who are not fluent
in English. Having an understanding of English will not allow for the creation
of programs. Fluency is key, when creating a program that has a Western bias. I
think that it is important to promote the idea of open source programs, because
as stated by Nolan, this type of programming allows for others to use their own
language of fluency to create programs since open source is not governed by one
dominant language.
Just on a small note: the article mentions the notion of
software programs on the Internet that do not allow you to save your work, such
as Livejournal or Blogger. I think that this would be quite beneficial in terms
of blogging. I find myself writing my blogs on my Microsoft Word program first
and saving it, just in case my computer decides to crash, or something goes
wrong in the middle of writing my blog. Then, I copy and paste my post onto my
Livejournal account. Having a ‘save’ option would be much easier for people to
be able to start a blog, and continue it later on if they wish to, or to just
have that reassurance that it will be there in case of a malfunction with ones
computer.
As for Tux Paint, I think that it is great to have
free programs that are made available for children to use. These would be quite
beneficial to be used in a classroom environment, through the guidance of a
knowledgeable teacher. The fact that the program is designed for children is
quite important because it is age appropriate and caters to their developmental
needs. I truly believe in an arts enriched curriculum and I believe that multi-curricular
activities should have an artistic foundation. A program like this will fuel
creativity and experimentation. Allowing children to be creative in a risk free
atmosphere, such as with Tux Paint, will only increase and promote artistic and
creative confidence.
current mood:  busy
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(24 comments | comment on this)
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| Wednesday, November 16th, 2005
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12:18 am - Week #11 - Children As Phenomenal Photographers!
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The articles this week pertaining to
children as photographers were not only exciting but also they were a
real eye-opener. I think that the promotion of a child as a
photographer is significant and it will continue to grow as the years
pass us by. I found the line, “new research shows that children are
natural photographers” quite humorous. How could a child with a camera
not be a natural? They are expressing themselves and revealing parts of
their personality through photography. As well, they are capturing what
they enjoy the most. This in turn gives an insight into how they view
their environment.
It was interesting to read that
children at the age of 11 years were more likely to take photographs of
natural settings outdoors. I believe that children at this age seem to
value artistic creation through photography, which reflects their
developmental capabilities as artists. Children at this age view nature
and the environment as art – in turn capturing innovative photographs.
As well, the children that were 15 years of age were more likely to
take photographs involving people, emphasizing the social nature of
their photography. I believe that children at this age are forming more
significant social bonds with others, as well as trying to find a place
within their social environment; therefore their photographs are a
reflection of this stage. As for a 4 year old, they’ll capture anything
that is emotionally or visually stimulating, which I believe reflects
their need to understand the world around them.
I thoroughly enjoyed looking through
the photographs taken by children of all ages. It was interesting to
categorize the photographs by age or gender and to look for significant
differences. This only emphasizes the idea of children being natural
photographers. These photographs reveal quite a lot about the
photographer, it reveals their interests, how they perceive their world
and who is important to them. You can learn a lot about someone just by
looking at his or her photographs. What better way to learn about other
than to look at some fantastic shots! I believe that children should
continue to be encouraged to use cameras and be photographers.
current mood:  drained
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, November 14th, 2005
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6:55 pm - Descending
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| Tuesday, November 8th, 2005
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8:22 pm - Blog on Video Conferencing for Wednesday's Class
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Attending the video conference on
Wednesday was quite an experience for me. I wasn’t quite sure what to
expect because this was new to me. I had never really had a chance to
use this type of technology although I had used a webcam, which is
similar, yet different. Also, I had seen this type of technology being
used on a television show (24 with Kiefer Sutherland -- fantastic
show!!)
There weren’t many people attending
our class so it was a little more intimate as opposed to Tuesday’s
class (from what I heard). It was interesting to see that we could
‘interact’ with Kenny in real time even though he was all the way in
Ottawa, and we were here in Toronto. At first, it was a little choppy,
which made it hard to concentrate. Yet that soon stopped, and we had a
smoother frequency. I also found that it was hard to concentrate
because I kept looking at all the different camera angles, and I was
looking to see myself moving on screen (there is the egocentric in me).
Also, I found myself just listening, partially because I felt like it
was the respectful thing to do, since he was presenting, but also
because I felt as if I was just watching television. I felt as if I was
in a classroom, watching a video – only when he would mimic body
language or he would respond to a question, would I remember that he
could see and hear what we are saying and doing respectively. I also
think that all of my reactions to this experience were because it was
novel. With more interaction of this technology, my reactions would
differ.
It was fun to see, I think it was
Maggie, go up on the table and then project the screen on her back …
fun stuff. And the way movement and dance could be portrayed using the
different windows was really innovative as well. It just shows that
with experimentation, this type of technology can be used in a number
of ways.
Of course, I think that video
conferencing is a really great tool for the adult world, for things
such as conferences and research. On the topic of having this within a
classroom, I’m a little apprehensive. I would like to see it first hand
before I would be able to actually make a statement on whether or not I
would agree or disagree with the placement of an Access Grid within a
classroom. Yet I do believe that children should have access to this
type of technology in one way or another.
current mood:  cheerful
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, November 1st, 2005
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11:53 pm - Week 9 (with week 12 readings)
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The
article “Children as Photographers” was, in my opinion, the most
interesting of all the articles read this week. I really enjoyed
reading about this study of children as photographers. It’s interesting
to note that Kodak suggests, “over three quarters of children aged 6
years and older living in economically developed countries own or have
use of a camera (p2).” This only acknowledges and illustrates that
children should be viewed as photographers and even if a young child
lacks the ability to aim a camera, the child is still capable of being
a photographer. I think that parents need to eliminate the fallacy and
clearly misleading notion of children just wasting film and allow them
to be creative with this art of photography. Once a child is given a
camera, they will arise to the opportunity to freely take photographs
of what they wish – and this, might I add, is not just wasting film.
It’s a good thing that now a days, we are able to purchase a digital
camera that is $20.00 to give to a child so that they can use it. These
pictures can be put onto the computer or printed and the child is able
to view what they have captured. Within the conclusion, a statement is
made that children’s photographs are not just their view of the world,
yet a construction of their identity. I believe in this statement for
the reason that when a photograph is taken, they aren’t going to
capture just anything. Within a photograph a possession, a family
member or beautiful scenery is captured – all this will reveal the
child’s personal perspective, a part of their identity.
On the topic of Video Conferencing, I
think that it is quite a beneficial use of technology. The ability to
‘interact simultaneously in real time with groups scattered around the
world’ is extremely valuable. By being able to see, hear and speak to
others through the use of a Video Conference, meetings can be
preformed, collaborations with others on research can be done, lectures
and tutorials can be taken to another level – and children can interact
with other children in other countries. I think that it would be
revolutionary and quite innovative to have access to Video Conferencing
within a classroom wherein children would be able to connect with other
children across the country in interactive, collaboratively virtual
ways.
current mood:  naughty
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(4 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, October 25th, 2005
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6:06 pm - Rape, Race and all things White
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Whoa. That was quite a lot of reading.
I began by reading the article ‘A Rape in Cyberspace’
because it caught my eye firstly. I was appalled to be reading what I was
reading. Of course, I’m not ignorant enough to believe that people like this do
not exist. Of course they do, in real life and in virtual life. Things like
this, according to the techno libertarians of LamdaMoo, are inevitable. Of
course, I was glad to know that this sick and twisted individual was ‘toaded’
from the ‘mansion’ of LambdaMoo. How interesting, that something that has been
virtually created by a bunch of numbers, letters and words can have such an
affect on people and create this up rise of vengeance within this virtual
reality. According to Dibbell, this program is just a database with a variety
of subprograms in which it allows users to interact within the rules and
regulations of the program. This program is merely mimicking the principles of
reality – the real world. Yet an occurrence, such as the sexually violent Mr.
Bungle, blurs that line between what is real and what is just merely a program.
It blurs it enough to create this immense disturbance amongst users in which
some felt violated, assaulted or just plain outraged.
The article of ‘Race In/For Cyberspace’ brought up the
issues of wanting to eliminate racial discrimination – and the element of it
being ever so present. The act of ‘passing’ is easier to do on the Internet
because one can represent themselves as a different gender, age or race then
one really is. That is, according to Nakamura, the ‘dynamic of the Internet.’
In LamdaMoo, users create a character in which they must give a gender to. Yet
race is not a required option. Users may chose to depict their race within
their descriptions – although, even if they don’t flat out say what their race
is, at times, it is easy to assume a users race, according to their
descriptions, ex. physical features of a blue eyed, blonde can be assumed as a white
person (I’m not fond of the term ‘white’). I just don’t understand why it is so
important to cancel out race or to even hold assumptions of who holds what
race. The part of the article that I really didn’t enjoy, is the “Orientalized
theatricality” in which users could choose to perform, as Nakamura describes as
‘racial play’ and create a character based on token stereotypical Asian
characteristics. If these token characters are being used within the program,
why have the programmers allowed for these characters to exist? As well, the
idea of being “whited out” in which there is a default of “whiteness” throughout LamdaMoo in order to
hold, what Nakamura states as “cybersocial hygiene” -- I don’t even know where
to begin with that statement!!
As for the article, ‘Bridging the Digital Divide” – to tell
you the truth, by the time I got to this article, I was all tired out. It was
easier to read then the other two articles and was laid out in a more organized
manner in my opinion. I wasn’t really impressed with the language though – I
don’t feel comfortable being referred to as “white.” Do I look white? Am I
classified under the category of white? Anyway, that’s beside the point, it
just irked me a little. I do fully agree with Hoffman and Novak when they state
that society is leading into a “digital divide” between those who ‘have’ a
computer, or at least access to a computer, and those who ‘have not.’
Interesting read, although it would have been more interesting if it were a
Canadian statistical paper – enough already with these American papers.
current mood:  hungry
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, October 18th, 2005
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5:51 pm - Readings, readings and more readings!!
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Wow.
That was quite a bit of reading to do. First and foremost, the Sims. I
personally have SimAnt, SimTown, SimFarm and SimSafari and each are
equally addictive. I haven’t dabbled in the newer versions of Sims; I’m
quite content with what I have. (Although Sims RollerCoster Tycoon – I
think that is what it is called – seems kind of fun) I think that the
idea of ‘edutainment’ is quite thrilling. Using these simulation games
to learn – learning by computers. As stated in the article, they are
turning the traditional subjects such as geography and arithmetic into
games, in turn, making it fun! By using this game one can build from
scratch, handle controversial decision-making and solve problems that
may arise. To think, these simulation games (i.e. the Sims) have been
around since the 60s and are still around and popular to this day. With
all of the variety and complexity of the numerous simulation games, of
course they would continue with their popularity.
Secondly, I looked at an article found on the Media Wise website called
‘Wired but Disconnected’ by Dr. Dave. We are living within a
technological society in which every person, as stated by Dr. Dave, is
‘wired.’ I fall under this category – I have a TV, CD player, computer,
videos and DVDs, Ipod – and that’s just in my room! We are living in a
society where people don’t even have to leave their homes when
“running” errands. I don’t think I can even call it running, because
now people can go to the bank, the library and do the groceries all in
the comfort of their own home – sitting in front of a computer. Not
only can errands be completed, nevertheless we can find out current
events, celebrity gossip, order books and CDs and watch movies, all
without leaving our homes. Dr. Dave states that trust is built when
people have shared experiences and children will learn how to interact
with others through practice in real life. Yet, by living in this
increasingly technologically dependent society, more time is being
spent alone. Dr. Dave says that we are spending far more time alone
than ever before.
Thirdly, and lastly, the Linux open source software. Hey – there is
something out there besides Windows?? Mac?? What’s Mac? Okay, that was
a joke. I know what Mac is, I’m just not a Mac user, and so it
frustrates me a little. (Although when interning at TVO I had to use
Mac and it was frustrating because I couldn’t bring the Word documents
that I wrote at home to TVO!! But I slowly learned to appreciate Mac …
sort of) Back to my point, I was unaware of this software, Linux. As
Dern states, the children were able to develop the ability to work on
the computer independently, creating their own desktops, window
managers and establishing a variety of programs. I think it’s great
that they are using this software to, as stated by Dern, express
themselves by using a computer and using it as a voice, a way of
getting information and communicating.
current mood:  tired
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(5 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, October 11th, 2005
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4:31 pm - Hacking Human: Nolan and Levesque
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It
is interesting to learn about this concept of ‘social hacking’ in which
people are watching people. It is true that there is so much
information out there on the Internet that has been lost, buried and
outdated over time. When you think about how much information you
yourself have put out there on to the internet, you start to think –
how much does someone know about me?! With all of the information that
has already been lost, it can be dug up by someone, in which they would
piece it together to create, what Nolan and Levesque describe as an
‘identity map.’
The idea that people are
actually sifting through piles of information and trying to piece
things together is boggling. Who has the time to do this?? And not only
does it take time, but it probably takes a lot of patience. Especially
those who spend time in a chat room and study the individuals that take
part in the chat. The hacker is sitting ‘passively’ in front on the
computer screen, trying to get a deeper understanding. Hats off to
those people who can successfully endure it.
The way that I see social
hacking is in the form of art rather than sport. It is an art to take
all the bits of information and collage it together in order to form a
character. This character may or may not be accurate, but they are
based on a true personality, with true credentials, a real person. As
Nolan and Levesque state, hacking is about exploring information for
personal ends. Using the tools that are out there in order to formulate
what I see as a work of art, creating and molding a person by using the
materials and information that they can dig up.
As stated in the
article, we can find out information on a person by using 411canada.ca
or MapQuest. I used these two search engines quite often when I did my
internship at TVOKids. I had to look up information on people and I
found exactly where they lived, their phone numbers, address, postal
code and a map of how to get to their home. I was surprised to see how
easy it was to find this information just by having a name. I’m sure
that I could have found out more information if I wanted to really look
for it. Crazy stuff!
It is noteworthy to know
that there is not one tool on the market that will allow a person to
know if they are being watched by a social hacker. As well, there is
not one thing that can assist a person in finding out if they are being
watched. If there is a Ying, then there will always be Yang; with the
numerous benefits of the Internet there must be the negative and being
watched by social hackers is just one of them.
current mood:  lazy
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(2 comments | comment on this)
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| Monday, October 3rd, 2005
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5:13 pm - Oops
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1:26 pm - Week 5 Readings
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The first article read
on the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) was titled “RFID Tracking
Pilot Program Ended in Sutter School.” The focus of the article was
that students of this school were mandated to wear student ID cards.
These cards had a picture of the student and stated the student’s name,
grade, school name and class year and were equipped with a RFID tag.
This RFID tag was a tracking device used to monitor the students. After
reading this article I was dumbfounded. Actually putting a tracking
device on a student?! How appalling. To quote the article, these
students are being treated and monitored like “cattle, shipment
pallets, or very dangerous criminals in high-security prisons.”
Teachers should be aware of their students and parents should be aware
of their children’s safety. By putting a tracking device on a student
the student’s privacy is violated and they may be put into danger. If
this is just a stepping-stone, what could come next? Tracking
individuals by using a RFID tag on our health cards? The article states
that parents were very angry about the tracking devices and fought to
have the program terminated, standing up for “family privacy and
security.” Victoriously parents felt a sigh of relief as the company
providing the RFID tags pulled out.
The second article read on the Centre for
Children and Technology was titled “Bridging the Gap Between Formal and
Informal Learning: Evaluating the SeaTrek Distance Learning Project.”
The focus of the article examined and evaluated a variety of formal and
informal learning strategies related to teaching the subject of
science. The article states that if we don’t “bridge the gap between
how students live and how they learn” education will become irrelevant.
I fully agree with this notion and believe that breaking the walls of
the classroom is beneficial to students. By allowing students to have a
more hands on approach to their learning, they will have a sense of
autonomy, more interest in what they are doing and will be more
intrinsically motivated to become educated. The article states that
this “bridging” of the gap has proven to be quite difficult. A strategy
that has been implemented is that of distance education where learning
occurs in a different place from teaching by “real people” who
introduce and allow for exploration of, a variety of learning
activities.
Both the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF)
and the Centre for Children and Technology are organizations that focus
on technology; the latter has more of a focus on the interaction
between technology and children. Both are relevant databases and are
beneficial because they have a focus and are useful for educating
oneself on technological issues or news within society.
current mood: busy
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(3 comments | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, September 27th, 2005
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7:28 pm - Webcams - Jorgensen
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The notion of having a webcam within a daycare setting is something
that I feel is quite controversial. Personally, I feel torn between the
‘yes I think it’s a good idea’ and the ‘no, I don’t think it’s a good
idea. I believe that it is valuable for the parents to be able to log
onto the Internet and see what their child is doing at the daycare at
any given time. As Jorgensen states, parents are able to start their
day at work by logging onto the website and seeing what their child is
doing at the moment. In today’s society, many families are living
within a dual income home and more and more mothers have careers. Being
able to tap into what their child is doing while they are at work,
allows parents to relieve, as Jorgensen states, some of the guilt and
to feel as though they are actually present during their child’s day.
As well, parents are able to see how the educators at the daycare react
to their child. Sometimes educators at daycares interact differently
towards children depending on whether or not parents are present. Not
that this is the case at all times. Yet by allowing parents to log in
and see how the educator interacts to their child, as Jorgensen states,
this gives parents a device to use in order to protect their child.
Many parents have insecurities and with webcams they are able to put
some of these to rest. Although I agree with the aforementioned I also
believe that the whole idea of ‘surveillance’ is a little creepy. You
never know who will be watching if this webcam is made accessible to
the Internet. Yes, there are passwords that are needed to get onto the
website, but there are means around it. As well, Jorgensen talks about
the aspect of control, whereas the parent is evaluating what they are
seeing. This evaluation may put educators in an unnatural and awkward
position. Knowing that you are being watched and that your every
interaction is being evaluated is nerve racking and can challenge an
educator, in turn creating a very stressful environment.
In response to the underwater camera: wonderful use of technology.
In response to the drowning: peculiar incident of hardly any “struggle” or “distress.”
In response to the follow up of the incident: what follow up?
current mood:  energetic
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(5 comments | comment on this)
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| Sunday, September 25th, 2005
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12:37 pm - Easily amused??
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| Wednesday, September 21st, 2005
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6:29 pm
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| Tuesday, September 20th, 2005
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7:38 pm - Halavais Reading
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I really enjoyed reading the Halavais article for many reasons. First,
I am an avid blogger myself so I enjoyed reading about the evolution of
blogging. Second, I am always trying to get my friends to blog and this
article gave me plenty of valid points as to why they should start.
Lastly, it opened up my eyes to a new way of learning and teaching by
using blogs within a classroom. With the evolution of blogs more and
more people are using them as their form of speech. As Halavais states,
blogging is an invitation to a variety of individuals who publish their
ideas and connect them to others, ultimately forming a community. This
community has individuals that identify themselves through their public
blogs. When I am writing a blog, I know that I am writing a public
entry. I know that others will be reading it and that in turn prevents
me from writing freely and expressing myself the way I would if I was
writing a private journal. As well, depending on the audience and blog
community that I am writing in, my language and content differs. For
example, the language and content found on my MSN space blog differs
from that found on my livejournal blog, which differs from my private
journal. Halavais discusses the notion of the “public” entry, stating
that blogging can be seen as a form of broadcasting. It is important
for people to broadcast their ideas and opinions and blogging makes the
preceding possible. Halavais also discusses the idea of eliminating the
“walls of the classroom” and giving students the opportunity to have a
more direct experience with their world. I agree that students need to
interact with their world in order to gain an understanding and
ultimately learn about their environment. By interconnecting the
classroom experience with the web experience we are bringing the
learning experience to another level. As future educators, we need to
be aware of the new ways of teaching and learning. I don’t believe that
field trips should be ruled out because you can go on an interactive
trip using technology, although I think that using both allows for a
greater understanding. I think that it is great that education and the
classroom is evolving because we are proving that gaining knowledge
does not have to conform to paper and pen. The evolution of the
classroom is something that is exciting and new and blogs are just one
of the things that are allowing this evolution to occur.
current mood:  dorky
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(1 comment | comment on this)
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| Tuesday, September 13th, 2005
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8:50 pm - Reading I & II
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Sherry Turkle brings up
some interesting points in her discussion on computers. Computers are used
extensively in everyday life as forms of communication and forms of play. From
the early years of simple documentation viewing and easy to use programs, computers
were seen as machines that work without a deep understanding of the how. Turkle
states that this is a surface understanding where there is no need to
understand any deeper then the surface explanations. She gives an interesting
example of Tim playing a computer game. Tim learns how to play the game through
the actually process of his play. If something happens that he does not
understand, he will not stop and try to figure it out. He will continue with
his play, at this surface level, without ever really understanding what is
actually happening. “It’s not what’s important” is how he responds – and it is
how many children may respond when engaged in play with the computer. When a
child is passively playing a game on the computer they are doing just that,
being passive. They are not interacting and understanding, they are merely
receiving a passive surface understanding of what they are seeing and “doing.”
Computer users are becoming more and more passive and developing a surface
understanding of what they are doing. Computers can be seen as predictable,
whereas human interaction is not. Children may have difficulty grasping the
concept of the passive dealings between themselves and the computer as opposed
to the interactions between two humans. As Turkle states, we are just
navigating through the screen simulations and aren’t actually asking questions
about what we are seeing or doing with our computers, therefore taking in a
surface understanding. Piaget studied children and their play, in which they
would interact with a variety of objects in their environment and manipulate
them to discover their own theories about their world. When Turkle utilizes the
theory of Piaget towards computers, it is difficult for a child to understand a
computer just by taking it apart. Children need to understand what a computer
is by taking a psychological approach, as opposed to a physical. They need to
ask questions of whether the computer has feelings, knows things, et cetera. As
Turkle states, children are learning that a computer is just a machine and it
is not alive, yet a blurring of psychological characteristics and “just a machine”
characteristics may occur.
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7:14 pm - The Incredible Incredible's
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I had first been introduced to this movie on New Years day,
driving back from Niagara and sitting in the back seat with a laptop on my lap.
I was immediately intrigued by the idea of the movie and the individual
characters. The use of computerization to make these characters come to life
was quite fascinating. Although, I didn’t get to see the whole movie. We
arrived at our destination around the time where Mr. Incredible defeats the
robot. So, I borrowed the movie and decided that I would watch it at home. To
this day, it has been sitting on my desk – unwatched. So, by actually seeing
the movie in class I was able to finally find out what happens. Then we had to
stop it because class was over. I think that there is something that just won’t
allow me to watch the ending. I still have the movie; I’m looking at it right
now. Will I go watch it? Probably not. Why? It’s that something that I was
talking about.
Now to the point of the blog. I didn’t even realize how much
technology is used in the movie until I really thought about it. When I first
watched the movie, the technological devices that were present just seemed to
pass me by. I believe that because we are living in a technological society,
seeing it on film is just second nature and not out of the ordinary. Of course,
there were some things that were far more technologically phenomenal and
explicit then others, yet they were seen as a logical part of the film. From
cell phones and police scanners, to elevators through waterfalls and
magnificent robots – technology is ever present and seemingly important.
Without technological devices, Incrediboy would be powerless. Yet with his
technological devices (i.e. Fire-boots) he was able to become powerful and be
“super.” The use of the technological devices to enhance powers and become
“super” is an implication of modern day society. We live in a technological
society, where technology is eliminating jobs and making our lives “easier”.
Another important factor that shows the technological importance is the use of
the tracers in order to track down a family member. Although once the tracer is
used, it gets Mr. Incredible in trouble. This can be an implication of the need
to be more aware of how we use technology. Elastic Girl was hesitant at first
to press the button in order to track down her husband, yet when she did, he
was caught. This advance in technology put him into danger, implying that
technology needs to be used carefully.
Now, I just want to see how it ends … maybe I should just go
and watch it.
Or not.
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clazarou's journal
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