Emotional Ending

42 posts and its over. cannot believe how quickly this year has gone by maybe because of the blogging! But i have been able to take from this that technology is always expanding and improving and who knows where it will end up, if there is an end to the advancements that can take place. The digital world has been exciting to be a part of! even though there has been tensions! I should of commented more on others blogs to become a technophile of blogging! and i probably would of become more emersed within this digital society! But i have enjoyed the highs and lows of blogging from not knowing what to say to being able to fill up a bottomless website with ideas. If i had something to blog about then i would probably carry on because i have enjoyed being able to express myself publicly because i like to give my opinion! But this has been a great experince!

You Dirty Technophile

A technophile is someone the literally is obssessed with technology and every form of it, including, mobiles, tv's, sound systems, computers and dvd players. We live in the age of the iphone and HD television. So in 2020, who can even imagine what technology we will be surrounded/almost supressed by! With the emergence of Web 3.0 or the semantic web and most probably the development of Web 4.0, i can only imagine that our phones wont be phones but chips inserted into our brains storing our information and becoming one with our brains! With all this technology being at your finger tips, a technophile with literally have a techno-orgasim!

Neo-Luddite

A Neo-Luddite would hate University in the modern day. Because for we as students have such a dependency on technology to succeed in student life. For example, we use the computer to go through the library catalogue, we use the computer to read e-journals, i am using it now to describe why a neo-luddite would hate being at university in the present day. So the daily frustrations of a neo-luddite would be plentyful. being surrounding by technology they would go insane!

The Youngest Digital Immigrant I know and a person who most threatens the notion of native/immigrant in digital culture

This would have to be my Dad. He is a man fascinated by technology and likes the 'new' best thing that could enhance your experience in, tv watching, music listening and internet surfing! My mum sees it as a waste of money but he constantly reassures her that she needs the newest 'stuff' to keep up with the changing world. Although she says that once you buy it, it is already out date! He is a very clever man though having a masters in some aspect of social sciences, not to sure what it is specifically. So he can understand cultural affect that technology and the digital world has.

Week 9 an 10 Question 5

5) What is the 'semantic web'?
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"The semantic web is a vision of information that is understandable by computers, so that they can perform more of the tedious work involved in finding, sharing, and combining information on the web." The notion that we as human beings have stopped need an inanimate object to dredge through the mondainness of the internet, so that we can relax an enjoy more of the world wide web. The semantic web will enable a more virtual use of the web because it will make things easier, Tim Berners-Lee believes, "Humans are capable of using the Web to carry out tasks such as finding the Finnish word for "monkey", reserving a library book, and searching for a low price for a DVD. However, a computer cannot accomplish the same tasks without human direction because web pages are designed to be read by people, not machines. The semantic web is a vision of information that is understandable by computers, so that they can perform more of the tedious work involved in finding, sharing, and combining information on the web."
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SOURCES:

• Berners-Lee, Tim; Fischetti, Mark (1999) Weaving the Web. HarperSanFrancisco. chapter 12.

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6) How does it differ from web 3.0?

Isn't web 3.0 the semantic web and vice-versa, giving the computer a brain, allowing the computer link every single aspect of our digital world. "Nova Spivack is an evangelist of the next phase of the web's development - what Silicon Valley, with its expansionist zeal, has taken to calling Web 3.0, or 'the semantic web'." Times Online
October 24, 2007.

Week 9 and 10 Question 4

4) Is there a potential problem being stored up for people if 'education' is tailored to fit into their cultural and personal preferences?

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I believe that there would be a problem because i do not believe that the educational system can with stand or adapt to such a change! "And therein lies the rub. The current pressure on schools to perform well in the national curriculum tests and on the 5 A*-C's at GCSE measure, will make flexibility of assessment hard to achieve." Although it would be good to have a change from the mondain settings of an hour long lesson with a teacher that could be the most un-appealing person in the world! Coming from me a person with ADHD, i believe that this would be a very good change because at secondary school you could probably imagine that i was a handfull for some teachers, being the hyper bugger that i am, and this was due to me not being able to concentrate in some classes because of the appeal of the teacher and the content of the lesson. However, i was able to concentrate within classes that interested me on a clutural and personal level, i didnt realise this at the time because i was in a world of hyperness!

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Its not that i dont agree with the changes and improvements that personal learning could bring to the students, i just dont believe that the national system for schools could with stand such a change. I feel that students could take the change because children are not as "set in their ways" as the teachers that could range from 25 to 70. Children are more adaptable to change. So this 'problem' building up would be for the teachers and how flexible they are to sucha dramatic change.

Week 9 and 10 Question 2

A)To socioeconomically related access issues within a society?

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The socioeconomic issues can affect someones resources with technology. For example, someone from a high socioeconomic background are more likely, compared to a low socioeconomic background, to have access to things such as computers, the interenet, ipods, radios, televisions and more availabilty of paper based materials. "The term digital divide refers to the gap between people with effective access to digital and information technology and those with very limited or no access at all. It includes the imbalances in physical access to technology as well as the imbalances in resources and skills needed to effectively participate as a digital citizen. In other words, it is the unequal access by some members of society to information and communications technology, and the unequal acquisition of related skills. The digital divide may be classified based on gender, income, and race groups, and by locations." Rice, 2002.

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b) To global access issues across countries and regions?

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The digital divide does not just effect the socioeconomic classes of developed countries/Continents such as The UK, US and Europe but it effects everyone on a global scale, including third world countries such as Africa and India. "People in the developing world are getting more access at an incredible rate - far faster than... in the past," from a report by th UN, but they have stated that the divide is still "very real". It is thought that the internet and digital technology can take a students thought miles beyond the classroom because of the access to an abundance of information!!!

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What difference to all this might the 'digital divide' make?

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So to conclude. The digital divide can effect someones ability to learn to the best of their ability. " E-government is revolutionizing the way government agencies interact with citizens. E-services improve the responsiveness, efficiency and transparency of the public sector. Unfortunately, these benefits may not be realized by the entire population. A digital divide exists in society, both from an access point of view and from a skills point of view. This study explores the potential effects of the digital divide on e-government by surveying a diverse group of citizens to identify the demographic characteristics that impact use of e-government services. The results indicate that income, education, age and frequency of Internet use significantly impact the use of e-government services. We discuss the implications of these findings and provide suggestions for future research." Belanger, F.; Carter, L. 2006.

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Sources:

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_divide#cite_note-B.26M577-19
• http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/Xplore/login.jsp?url=http%3A%2F%2Fieeexplore.ieee.org%2Fiel5%2F10548%2F33364%2F01579452.pdf&authDecision=-203
• http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4296919.stm

Oldest Digital Native I know.

The oldest digital native i know would be my sister, 22, who is a facebook addict, she is half way around the world in malaysia at the moment on her travels (I am not jealous). Even half way around the world she takes time to find an internet cafe to technologically socialise! She had a myspace which then led to a facebook as she saw it as old technology! When she was back home at work they had a computer in the back room and she would use it during work hours, no wonder she got fired. She is around the generation where digital technology was really coming into its element with such things as the cd player and the emergence of mini disc.

Week 9 and 10 Question 3

3) Should education 'stretch a person do you think? (What do you mean by 'stretch'?)

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What do I mean by stretch?- well to stretch is to enlarge or expand, for example, to stretch someone's imagination, in oder to make them believe something that was never thought possible.

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This is education is it not? education should stretch one's imagination whether young or old, to learn is to define the aspects of life that remain unsolved, it can help us understand they world in which we live, for example, taking MCC!

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However, can education have a negative affect socially?? For example, if you are educated does this make you better than someone? Or give a sense of supperiority? Someone with a degree is more educated than a person with a vocation such as building and plumbing, but could that educated/degree blessed person build a house?

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So I put to you, does education STRETCH socioeconomical and class boundaries, for the worse?

Week 9 and 10 Question 1

Wenger's communities of practice would relate to prensky's notions of learning through technology would relate in a few ways.

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It relates because of a community of practices need to learn, they are constantly learning and will always as long as there is intent from the in habitants of a certain community, for example, a school with technology learning.

"Learning involves a deepening process of participation in a community of practice"-http://www.infed.org/biblio/communities_of_practice.htm

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An example of a community of practice from the website link above was, "a clique of pupils defining their identity at school." Prensky wants technology to teach, this could be on school grounds or at home or anywhere, but this means that the pupils and techers will have to create communities of practice in order for them to learn. So this is another way in which the two notions relate. Because we are constantly learning and have a need to find new "enterprises" in which to learn from.

Week 8 Questtion 5 and 4

ABRSTRACT 1:

This first article is by Brigitte Vittrup, 2009. And is a part of the, Journal of Children and Media, Volume 3, Issue 1.

This article discusses the mediation that the parents have on their childrens television habbits and how they perceive their interaction with this mediation. It also discusses how different the different socioeconomic backgrounds of the families change their attempts at mediating their childrens viewing of television. The article also finds out that low income or low socioeconomic status families do not mediate as much as high socioeconomic families and that low (SES) parents do not see that non-age suitable television can affect their children. Again the high (SES) see this as a problem.

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ABSTRACT 2:

Journal of Children and Media, Volume 2, Issue 3, Jo Aldridge; Simon Cross.

This article discusses the contradicting influence that government policy and the media have on children of todays "youth" society. Going into depth about how in the UK media there is a great emphasis on the "youths" and "hoodies" of todays children. Also how the government place laws to protect but also control children and goes on to discuss the affects on childrens social interaction with the law and feeling they should be treated as equals. This attempt at freedom from the law inevitable ends up becoming another page 10 article for the sun.

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ABSTRACT 3:

Underpinning the paradoxes in the artistic fields of MySpace: the problematization of values and popularity in convergence culture by Hiesun Cecilia Suhr.

This article disccuess and raises questions about social networking and its affect on musician break through, using myspace as a prime example the article discusses many points such as myspace music being a participatory media with links to the mainstream so it is also creates a convergence culture. The article questions sites like myspace music, for example, are independent artists using participatory media simply to have their work viewed, or are they seeking mainstream media exposure?

This does not directlt link to children but who are the more digitally native musicians? chuildren are.

here is the link to this article: http://nms.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/11/1-2/179?rss=1

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ABSTRACT 4:

The virtual geographies of social networks: a comparative analysis of Facebook, LinkedIn and ASmallWorld by Zizi Papacharissi

This article discusses four main points, "the private/public balance present in each social networking site, styles of self-presentation in spaces privately public and publicly private, cultivation of taste performances as a mode of sociocultural identification and organization and the formation of tight or loose social settings." The article then goes onto discuss how different sites have different restrictions which would appeal to different audiences for example, the more restricted sites such as, LinkedIn and ASmallWorld, would appeal to an older audience, whereas facebook would appeal to a younger audience because of its looser values and spontaneous activity.

Here is the link for this article: http://nms.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/11/1-2/199?rss=1

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ABSTRACT 5:

Growing Up Coporate: News, Citizenship and young people today. By Cynthia Carter

This article discusses how the coporate and consumer world that we live in has changed the way children interact with society, saying,

The culture in which children are invited
to participate is becoming increasingly individual and commercial and less social
and civic. The language spoken is of the market and its demands for profit rather
than of democracy and the political rights and responsibilities of citizens.

The article also goes onto discuss how there is no social responsibilty to deliver news to teenagers aged 13 to 17 but there is newsround on the BBC for 8 to 12 year olds.

Here is the link to this article: http://tvn.sagepub.com/cgi/reprint/10/1/34?rss=1

Week 8 Question 1

A digital immigrant is someone that was born in a generation where there was no such thing as digital technology, for example, digital cameras and mobile phones. These immigrants were used to technology such as analogue television and radio (not DAB).

"as digital immigrants learn — like all immigrants some better than others — to adapt to their environment, they always retain, to some degree, their 'accent', that is, their foot in the past." Marc Prensky in 2001.

This quote puts forward that the immigrant will always remember how things used to be, but also that they, as immigrants, will never be as "digitally smart" as a digital native. A digital native is someone that was born in a generation that is interactive with digital media. This brings to us that even though a digital native is younger than a digital immigrant, the native will have more experience with digital technology! Although, Richard Wood from the times thinks that we have to be accepting of the digital media in order for it to affect our status in the digital hierarchy. "Where is it all leading? Only one thing seems clear: changes propelled by the digital world are just beginning. Indeed, one of the markers between the natives and the immigrants — it’s not simply a question of age — is the intuitive acceptance of rapid digital change." Woods, 2006.


http://www.blogscholar.com/content/view/72/0/ - This was my main reference

http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/article683193.ece

http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-6450_7-5622055-1.html

Week 7: The Future of E-Learning in India by Megha Banduni.

http://www.expresscomputeronline.com/20051114/market03.shtml Blogger does not seem to create this as a hyperlink so you will have to type it in to view the website.

This website discusses the use and development (because it is still a developing nation) of e-learning within India.

Here are a few points i jotted down whilst reading this article:

• Adoption of e-learning has been slow.
• E-learning was worth 6 billion dollars in 2003, by 2005 India would only be receiving 7 to 9 million dollars. So the market for e-learning is small.
• "e-learning permits the delivery of knowledge and information to learners at an accelerated pace, opening up new vistas of knowledge transfer."
• The reason for the slow intake of e-learning is that India's market is not substantial enough.
• E-learning is most successful in the corporate sector because it helps to develop and infuse the employees.
• Cheaper than building Universities.
• Very positive of what e-learning can do for the nation as a whole, however there is a lack of course content and lack of English-language content.
• Does not beat classroom teaching but reaches the masses.
• This article sees the corporate sector as more important for this e-learning boom.
• Maybe this is the way forward, giving people a job and then developing their skills whilst working. This helps educate the masses and also stimulates the economy.
  

Week 7: Education during a Health Emergency – Is eLearning a Solution?

This post is on an article on the internet about elearning within Zambia, Africa. Is it a solution?
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The closure of schools has a negative effect on students that could be taking exams and is unfair to the students that attend schools that have been closed compared to the students that can still attend theirs.

The government should be prepared for out breaks such as cholera or disaster such as floods. So Elearning would seem to be a suitable solution for these disasters. However, in a developing country such as Zambia the financing for a suitable elearning environment would be hard to come across because this means there would have to be the supplement of suitable conditions (new buildings) and half decent technology.

The article states that every rainy season there is an outbreak or a disaster, so i raise the question, WHY HAVE THE GOVERNMENT NOT UTILISED RADIOS OR TELEVISION SETS TO EDUCATE THE STUDENTS??? Prof Thomson Sinkala seems to have the answer (apologizing for my sarcassim) "in such a situation, technology-enhanced learning would come in handy." That is sort of a no brainer. Are these the words of a concerned man? he already has his education.

Brain box Sinkala came up with another amazing quote, ""Pupils would not have to miss their lessons as they would access their teachers’ lessons through either an Internet cafe or from home or any convenient place arranged for that matter". This is a third world or developing country he is talking about. Not everyone has the internet at home or access to an internet cafe! And how is an internet cafe a suitable learning environment for young students!!!

He also goes onto state that if they were taught online by using elearning then they would be able to learn about cholera and how to prevent it, but surely they should of been taught this anyway! Is he blaming the citizens for the cholera outbreaks?

"Homework for submission on return." How are they supposed to do the homework if they have not been taught what it is about, unless elearning is provided.

Downloading would be a great idea, because kids are fascinated by technology so why not abuse this obssession in a good way. Although there is a certain expense that comes which technology such as ipods etc. this expense maybe to high for certain families and not so for others. so why not use the radio which is cheap and present in most homes including the more rural areas of the country.

Ict remains still remains low within Zambian education. this is not good for a developing country when the rest of the developed world has a huge emphasis on technology within their societies.

It was shocking to read by the side of the main article that primary education can be attended by choice. and that 2.8 million attend primary school but then only 136,000 go through to secondary education and then only 2 percent goto university.

Week 7: China: Its Distance Higher Education System

This post is about China's higher education through distance learning. These are a few things that i found from the article by Zhao Yuhui:

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=60274016268&h=u_f6s&u=pcjWf

• Media is used for distance learning within China.
• It was one of the first countries to use radio and tv for higher education.
• The first TVU (television university) was set up in Beijing.
• 1960-1966 8,000 people graduated from the Beijing TVU.
• 50,000 graduated with single studies through teaching programmes, these students were needed for development in industrial and agricultural industries.
• this however was interrupted by the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).
• After this revolution, the Socialist Modernization Project was introduced which included the modernization of industry, agriculture, national defence and science and technology, so these TVU's were needed to educate the masses quickly and efficiently.
• At this stage China's primary and secondary education was at a higher level than most developing countries.
• Although enrollment into higher education was limited, in 1975 it was less than 2 percent of the populous.
• This could of been put down to a persons geographical location, in other words, they may be to rural for distance learning to affect their lives.
• In 1978 CRTVU's (Central Radio and Television Universities) were founded, this was due to the fact they needed to teach mass amounts of people rapidly.
• PTVU's (Provincial Radio and Television Universities) were also founded in order to teach the people of more rural areas, Provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions.
• These CRTVU's and PTVU's had specific and more general courses
• 1,291,833 enrolled but only 590,941 graduated.
• In 1981 there was the introduction of the sixth five year plan. "There will be considerable expansion of higher education through radio, television, correspondence and eveing courses. students taking these courses will number 1.5 million by 1985".
• In 1986, these courses began to be trabsmitted by satellite every night at 4.50pm till 11pm.

• There are five levels of distance learning within China:

1. CRTVU highest level, direct leadership of the state education commission
2. PTVU second level ran by the provincial governments
3. Branch schools third level
4. Work stations fourth level - these are to do with industries.
5. Teaching and Learning classes are the last level.

• TVU- multi-media with television, radio and printed materials.
• Use of lecturers as presenters to ensure a high standard of education is given.
• However, face to face is needed for both students and lecturers because presenters/lecturers cannot answer students questions directly or immediately and there is no immediate feed back for the presenters so that they can change their approach or change something on the course.
• The World Bank Project was introduced in order to create 85 study centers, these were for remote areas so that there could be equal resources for rural and more developed parts of the country.
• These courses are very independent and is on the students to do the learning.
• There was a Drop-out rate of 31 percent.
• The courses have to be more flexible and open so that the ones who have graduated can help the economically deprieved areas of the country.
• And vocational education needs to be improved.

These courses are a great way to educate a developing country, especially when the populatin of that counrty is around 1.29 billion, which is around a fifth of the worlds population. However, their needs to be improvemnets in the interactivity of the course because students cannot discuss their views with their peers and lecturers. So will this processs of distance learning ever be as good as conventional universities???