Smart Boards, are they a smart move?

Who wouldn't want a giant touchscreen board being used in their classroom? Teachers would be able to more effectively analyze images in front of the class. You can write on the Smart Board, as well as drag and drop. At first glance it seems like this is the direction all schools should head in. Yet, in class we discussed whether the Smart Board is worth its value. The cost of the Smart Board ranges from $1,500 to $3,000 plus a computer and projector would also be needed. The cost seems very steep, especially in this current economy when many teachers are being cut off and schools just don't have the budget. However I have no doubt that Smart Boards are the way of the future. I see them being purchased by businesses. My prediction is that in 10 years, a Smart Board will be in every major conference room. The Smart Board will be used at board meetings, company meetings, and presentations. If it has positive impact at any of these events, it will be well worth the high cost. The quality of a small company's pitch to a potential investor is critical for the companies chances at success. If the Smart Board can help produce a better presentation it will definitely be purchased. Large companies will also be likely to make the purchase because they can afford to do so. I think Smart Boards are the future, just not in the classroom.

Reactions to Lexia to Perplexia

Lexia to Perplexia was unlike anything I have ever read. I agree with Hayles and it seemed like it was alive. A constant about reading print is that the reader is in control. The reader reads at their own pace and reads line by line and page by page. In Lexia to Perplexia, the reader is not in control, the website is. At first I found it amusing and entertaining, but then I soon became frustrated because I was not in control. I think Lexia to Perplexia was very extreme and too wild for the reader. However it definetly shows that the Internet as a medium has a lot to offer and has more capabilities than print.

THIS IS SPARTA

In the reading Writing in the 21st Century I particularly liked the example given of the power of Internet networking. Using Internet networking, AP test-takers organized writing “THIS IS SPARTA” on their exams then crossing it out. 300,000 students partook in the event. The reading also mentioned that younger people are showing notable skills at Internet networking. I agree that younger people can Internet network extremely well. A lot of it they do for social reasons, but Myspace and Facebook our powerful networking tools and mostly youth are using them.

Cavemen or Cyborgs?

At the beginning of this week I thought that a cyborg was something that could only be found in Star Trek. I consider a cyborg to be something that is part technology and part human. After the readings and discussions in class, I soon realized that many people (including myself) are cyborgs. At first I blamed this phenomenon on newer technologies such as iPods and cell phones. Then I started thinking back to our previous discussions about Thoreau and the pencil. As a class, we established about three weeks ago that the pencil is indeed a technology. If this is the case, then mankind really has been a cyborg since the pencil! However, why start at a pencil? Humans have been using technology ever since cavemen started crafting tools. I guess it all really depends on how you define a cyborg and what you consider technology to be. There's definitely a difference between a sharp rock attached to a stick and a mechanical third arm.

iPod popularity

I really liked the reading from Sound Moves: iPod Culture and Urban Experience and the discussion we had in class. I think that it really makes sense that iPods have great popularity in urban areas. Music can be used as a way to make hectic situations more relaxed. The city is a chaotic place with many random and abrupt noises. With an iPod, people can choose what they hear instead of listening to the chaos. Mark from the reading says, “sometimes it seems to look a lot more hectic and almost like I’m in my own slow world, going at the speed of the music I’m listening to” (29). The city can be very fast. People in the city seem to be in more of a hurry. Listening to music is one way for a person to slow everything down. Many are able to remain calm in the hectic city through music.

I use my iPod in the city for a different reason. Whenever I am walking in a city, I get bothered by people asking for money or trying to convert my religion. The iPod is a way that I can create more private personal space. When I have on my iPod, it’s like I am removed from my surroundings. No one tries to talk to me. Listening to an iPod is a great way to find isolation in a crowded area. Some find isolation by talking on phones, playing video games, or watching movies. However I enjoy listening to music and find commuting from place to place more enjoyable with an iPod.

Take two

Well maybe I got a little carried away in my last blog entry. The Internet is an amazing invention that is tremendously useful for connecting people and as a source for information. Even the new speech recognition technologies that Nuance and other companies are developing are good for writing. They allow people with disabilities, who can’t write by hand, to be able to write. However, I do believe that the new trend of communicating with others as quickly as possible via text or instant message is damaging the quality of writing as a whole. However, if school systems can keep up with the technological advancement, the problem will be limited.
Moving on… There have been some very interesting readings assigned this week. I can not say that I completely agree with Kuhn’s theory of paradigm shifts. I think scientific revolutions are mostly based on the information scientists have available. I believe the rate of scientific discovery has sped up over time, and will continue to do so. In today’s modern world, scientists have an abundance of accessible information. Therefore scientific advancement is growing at an exponential rate.

where has the quality gone?

Many different technological innovations have changed the writing process. In 1858, the eraser was invented (Trivia-Library.com). Before the eraser, a lot of planning would have to go into writing, for there was only one try. Early on, there was much opposition towards the eraser. Many teachers disliked their students having the ability to erase. Now it is expected for writers to go through many drafts before finishing. In my opinion the eraser greatly improved the quality of writing. Other technologies also have changed writing, such as the printing press, computer, and so on. Like the eraser, many of the technological advancements have made great contributions towards writing. However technology is now significantly harming writing. The downward spiral started with the invention of the Internet. Now, it goes without saying that the Internet is not completely harmful. Email and blogs are two positive uses of the Internet that allow for more communication to take place. However, the Internet brought along inventions such as Instant Message, where users write socially at an extremely fast pace. It is this fast pace that is destroying the quality of writing. People are using writing to communicate with each other at a rapid pace, not only via Instant Message, but also by text messaging. People are sending each other short messages as quick as possible with little thought. All sense of formality is being lost and abbreviations and shortcuts are being created. It seems like an entire new language has formed of quick messages comprised of code. The most basic example of the code is “g2g” standing for “I have to go.” Now a day, many write as though they are in a race, and as technology improves, the race is only going to speed up. Voice recognition software is the next innovation that will harm the writing field. Many companies have developed software recognition programs. Nuance not only created voice recognition for processing sheets, but also for the cell phone. Now people can type and text verbally. This allows writing to take place even faster than before. The faster people write, the worse the quality seems to get.