Foot: Make-Up Assignment

So far in this class I have learned some interesting technology-based techniques for teaching adolescents. My favorite idea I have picked up has been the Multigenre autobiography; I think this project has a much higher chance for completion and success because students will want to complete this assignment. There are parts of Language arts that some students find as pointless and boring, therefore some students simply don't do the work or readings and can't participate in class, with this assignment full participation is almost guaranteed. However, 100% participation wont make this project a success, it is what the students take from the project that will determine if it is a success. The main point if this project is getting students to realize what 'texts' have influenced them over time, and how these 'texts' have shaped the person they are today (or whenever project is done). After watching all of the presentations in our class, the only thing I could think to improve this project would be a very strict time limit on presentations, so everyone gets an equal chance to display their autobiography. I wouldn't assign this in student teaching, just because I don't want to overstep my boundaries, but If and when I get my first teaching gig I will definitely use this project to get to know my students and to let them get to know me.

The other aspect of this class that I have been introduced to this semester is the idea of having the whole class connected by a social website. To be completely honest, I don't like the idea of meshing social network websites that students use for fun with school work. I think that having a class connected through the Internet is a great idea, but through a neutral system, like how we use vista at Kent. Online discussion boards allow for the shy to have a voice, and it also encourages the students to think about the course material outside of school. If i teach at a district where I know all students have Internet access, I will definitely set up a wiki (if I trust my students) or some type of web site where they can post their thoughts and reply to classmates. The notion that movies, music and shows are 'texts' has changed my thinking. I see now how these areas are all interconnected to one's overall outlook on the world. So as much as we stress literature as important texts, we ought to pay attention to the media our students take in as well. So far this class has given me some great ideas for practice.

Foot: You're Leaving a Digital Trail

Technology has been good to me so far in life. In the movies we see the idea of "big brother" and government surveillance affecting the individual, but I suspect that if this trend of monitoring our web activity continues and becomes accepted by the public then it is the public that will suffer. The government won't use this technology exclusively to track down 'bad guys', but it will be one big marketing ploy, they want to know what interests us, what motivates us, how they can get our laborers to spend their money. The only good part I read was the idea of using this tracking technology to track the spread of disease, Dr. Pentland recalls that if the technology was around a few years ago it could have nipped SARS in the bud "If I could have looked at the cellphone records, it could have been stopped that morning rather than a couple of weeks later,” he said. “I’m sorry, that trumps minute concerns about privacy”. Those freshman at MIT who let researchers see their every web move are sell outs who are willing to give up their privacy to be in the good graces of the esteemed researchers at MIT, and if someone wanted to do research that reflects that movements of the average American, then why in the world would you use 100 freshman at MIT as the sample group, it is not random at all, and the people at MIT are very different than the average American.
Here is a video clip about how the FBI can listen in on your conversations even when your phone is off. click here

Foot: I'm So Totally Digitally Close to You

This article dealt with a very serious issue that is prevalent in young people culture that doesn't get any media attention. However, the way the author dealt with the emerging trend of constant news feeds and ambient awareness only represented one side of the issue. Cline recognized that peoples' Internet dependency could lead to people becoming anti social, but for the most part he put in quotes and arguments that said "its okay to be obsessed with twitter and facebook because every body else is doing it". He didn't mention the notion that peoples' need for quick Internet socializing stems from the fact that people are bored with their own life, so they go on twitter and facebook to supplement the lack of activity and spontaneity in their own lives. Also, I was offended that this article tried to justify those people in relationships who feel the need to text each other every minute, that isn't affection or love, that is compulsive behavior that occurs when someone is so brainwashed by thew media and what they see on the new dramas that they think it is normal and required behavior for couples to text every minute. People who try to say that news feeds from facebook and twitter updates create a more 'connected world' don't realize that these quick little messages with no meaning are deteriorating our society's definition of socializing, the Internet is creating superficial relationships among people who have never even met, and by doing so it is devaluing real face to face relationships. I will close with my favorite line from the article, said by the founder of Flickr " These technologies allow you to be much more broadly friendly, but you just spread yourself much more thinly over many more people".

Foot: History of Facebook

I have never liked Facebook, Myspace or any other social networking website. They are causing my generation to value superficial relationships over genuine interactions, these social networks are working towards making our society anti-social by encouraging computer use over face to face interactions. People confuse social network websites for some new innovation that has brought about a new way to 'stay in contact', the only legit reason for social network sites is for lifelong friends and family who are physically separated. The instant gratification that Facebook offers makes the relationships it fosters less meaningful because real relationships take time and effort. Facebook has made my generation more impersonal like its founder. I may dislike Facebook, but I loved the article "History of Facebook". It was a modern tale of entitlement, new markets, young entrepreneurs, greed, and taking our fellow man for granted (I am going to see that new "social network" movie now that this article has grabbed my attention and thoughts).

I was reluctant to read this story at first, but I'm glad I read it. It is so much more in touch with our reality than the average user while posting on Facebook. The story doesn't surprise me all that much, Mark Zuckerberg was a prep school boy with an overwhelming sense of entitlement who only knew computers and the concept of 'getting ahead in life by sitting behind a computer'. His social ineptness and isolation allowed for him to develop into a callous person who didn't value real relationships (he is the father of superficial relationships). I dont have anything against computer geeks who get rich from some new idea, more power to them, but I do have a problem with people who work with others to create a new product and then cut out the others. Mark's overwhelming greed and inability to keep collaborate and give credit make Mark an easy target for the media. The way Mark used his friends and their ideas time after time is definitely illegal, but the very 'loose' way in which they created Facebook allowed for Mark to cut and run every time he got a better opportunity to bolster Facebook. As I was reading this article it was playing out like a Greek tragedy where the main character's hubris leads to their downfall, but we haven't reached the point in time where Mark's overweening pride and ambition lead to his downfall.

Foot: Multigenre autobiography / pleasure reading

I have revived many nostalgic feelings inside myself while doing my multigenre autobiography. I am going to break it into sections according to the stages of my life (childhood, middle school, high school, and current) and when I look at how far I have come from my childhood I can't believe how many different shows, books, movies, music and people have had an impact on my development. I like to think of my self as an independent person who has shaped their own experiences, but this multigenre autobiography really has shown me how much myself and others are impacted by the culture we live in. I have also been in contact with my parents and lifelong friends to talk about this project, our different recollections of the past and what I was reading, watching or listening to has sparked some debate, perhaps we all like to remember the past in the way that brings us to peace with the present. This experience of reflecting on my past experiences with literature and pop culture and public discourse has been wonderful, when I become an English teacher I would most definitely assign a project like this to my class at the beginning of the semester or quarter. A project like this may not be academically rigorous, but it promotes self-reflection and will bring the student to a clear understanding of how they have become the person they are today. I believe the main objective of this assignment is to get the student to come to a self-realization of what has shaped them into their current person, it is a very worthwhile activity that should be encouraged in the schools.

During the summer and winter breaks I like to read, but while I am in school I have no time for pleasure reading ( I can only enjoy reading for about 2-3 hours a day, any more and it becomes work). However, the other night I was bored and had no homework so I picked up one of my collections of old short stories, this particular one was my Hemingway collection, and what I like to do is randomly run my finger across the index and whatever story my finger lands on I will read ( this is my lame attempt at fate directing me to great literature), this night my finger landed on The Three-Day Blow . This is one of Hemingway's Nick Adams stories, Nick Adams is a very innocent impressionable adolescent that is the main character of a number of Hemingway short stories. The story was interesting, there wasn't any climax, but Nick and the other character give into their temptations at the very end by "getting really drunk". The main idea of the story (at least in my eyes) was about how our pasts always catch up with us and how some of us are destined to be like our ancestors.

Foot: An Oral History of the Internet

I always knew that the creation of the Internet involved many different people, companies and government agencies, but I never imagined that so many different parties took part in developing the web. The article clarified for me the controversy of Al Gore saying that he created the Internet. Apparently Al Gore made sure that the government funded different projects that led to the creation of the Internet. However the article was very drawn out and its unique style of using different people's opinions about issues that they all had biases on made for a story that was not true to the facts, but rather people's personal feelings about how they were involved with the creation of the Internet. It would have been better if the article took more of a summarizing approach rather than being 100% personal narrative. The story of how today's Internet came to be is an important story that we all should know, because we all are directly affected by the Internet.

Students could learn from this story because it shows the true nature of human greed, and how when there's a will there's a way, and how our government will step into the the field of technological research in order to keep the American society at the top of the pecking order. The story shows the concept "big fish eats the little fish" through Microsoft using its threshold over the computer software market to make sure that no one else created new Internet browsers or operating systems. A teacher can teach his or her's class about how Microsoft and other monopoly like companies are like the mafia with their unethical business methods. Students can also learn about the market place from this story with how once the Internet became huge everyone started investing in .com companies and how most of the .com companies eventually failed because there were so many different .com companies competing with one another, and how today everyone seems to use the same 2 or three websites to buy most things from (ebay, amazon, etc.). Living in a society where the Internet reigns supreme, the public ought to have a clear, unbiased explanation for how the Internet came into existence.