We are in the Centre of the Media

Through Alec and Wesch, I was able to see how the internet affects every single person from the minute they are born until the minute they die. It has become so vivid and real to me, how once something is posted on the internet it is truly there forever. Once something is uploaded onto one site, it can suddenly appear on various other sites as well. These implications mean that we need to continue to teach our students about how to safely use the internet and how we must be cautious of everything that we are posting. The media is evolving at a rapid rate, and it has shaped our lives. This means in our future classrooms; media will continually surround us in every direction we turn. As Wesch said, it is an “integrated mediascape that we now live in” which affects us in and out of school.

It has become clear that when media changes, so do human relationships because they go hand in hand. As Alec stated “We shape our tools and then our tools shape us” which shows how technology influences us and in turn, we influence it. It is essential we pay attention to what we are doing and honour the present. We cannot allow technology to take us away from what really matters. To add on to this, when I was in school, my first phone I got was in grade 9 for my 14th birthday. My parents required me to bring up my phone every night, at about 9 pm and keep it upstairs away from me so I would get a good sleep and not get overly caught up in my phone. Although I hated this at the time, I think it was important they did this, and I think it is important that children have discipline with technology because it is everywhere and sometimes we need to take a break from it.

As Wesch stated, “We are in the centre of the media.”

Within each of these presentations, the whole discussion revolves around YouTube as this is where everything essentially began. A central topic of these talks is how once something is on the internet it is now “spreadable” and people begin to recreate different videos. We are apart of the “remix generation.”

During our class, Maple commented “I think teachers forget about this “important talk”, especially maybe “young teachers” because we assume that being on our phones acceptable during work hours, and there is no one regulating us during the day. However, students really pay attention to when we are and are not listening and watching them.” I think it is important we have these discussions about ownership and how technology is a powerful tool when used right. Students must be aware of technology etiquette, which is something that became clear to me in my ECS 311 class.

We take advantage of the good by using it to our advantage within the classroom and to spread messages/information that we may need. We use it to our benefit whenever we need, wherever we may be. As a teacher, this is a way for us to engage our students by using technology but it is important that we are aware of the consequences of using the internet and various technologies and the students are aware of this too. There are disadvantages to using the internet such as false information is provided, so it is important to research, once anything is posted it is on there forever, it can be a dangerous place, etc. It is vital as a teacher that we have these conversations with students, so they understand the potential risks.

Schools are becoming a place, where technology surrounds it. For example, instead of chalkboards or whiteboards, they now have SMART boards in a lot of them. We are able to access information so quickly. It is crazy to think that “59% of kids under the age of 10 have a social networking account,” as Alec stated. So my question is: How does this affect the future of our classroom? How does it affect each generation? I find there are endless answers to these questions, but I am curious what each of you think.

Attached is a video but the role of technology in Education that I found to be fitting.