Week 8 - Disagreements with journal aricles

Journal 1 - My main disagreement with journal one, is the fact that it is quite a short article, without much evidence of their own gathered by Bayne and Ross. It seems as though they have relied on previous articles to gain the information to prove their point and come to a conclusion, which is not neccesarily a wrong thing to do, however it is my only issue i had with it. It is also two years old, and i believe teaching methods and techniques have developed since then, therefore, maybe they would look at the issue from a different angle if they were to do it today. As well as this i am unsure if i agree that everyone needs to be at the same level, when it comes to dealing with computers, the interent and technology as a whole, because most adults do not even need to use it, although they will be at a disadvantage to most in the future.

Journal 2 - To an extent, i do understand what Livingstone is saying; that people should cope with the new media progression, as it is rapid and it will soon be impossible to catch up with it. However i believe that most people don't have a choice but to develop with new technology, as it occurs and knowledge increases quite naturally, because it is such a major influence in everyones day to day lives. As well as this i think that the changing media scene does effect the economy and politics etc. because of the new techniques and new ideas that enhance peoples lives and choices.


Journal 3 - This article has gone to a lot of trouble to actually gain its own qualitative data to prove the hypothesis, that girls attitudes and language is different and more risky when talking online compared with talking face to face with someone. Although the article is three years old, i do believe that the article makes a very good point, and is still relevant with todays society, as girls are still getting into difficult situations when talking on chat rooms, as they don't know who the other person is. Overall i think it is a very good article, and i do not really have any disagreements, as it is detailed, proven and succint.


Journal 4 - I do think that Prensky makes a good point in this article, however i do not believe that game based learning will ever take over classroom learning. This is because, although e - learning does have its advantages, it is not possible to be sociable enough, active or as productive, because of the limitations working on a computer has.


Journal 5 - Again, Prensky does highlight an issue that could come about in the future. Nevertheless i disagree with the fact that it is something that needs to be addressed, as i do not think it will be much of a problem, that younger generations will be able to gain more information through new media technology.

Week 8 - Journal 2 abstract

In this article Livingstone takes a look at how the new media scene is developing and what it is doing to influence society. She states that as long as media is gradually progressing and changing, people should not find it difficult to cope, as new media culture is not actually new! What Livingstone means by this, is that it is not as though society has been suddenly bombarded with loads of new forms of media and incredulous internet expansion, but it has been a slow progression, allowing everyone to develop their skill around it. Although it is quick and constant change, it does not change society, or the economy but challenges it.

Week 7 - Distance learning in China

The information for this post has been collected from an online article by Zhao Yuhui and i will be analysing and discussing some of the main ideas developed throughout the article, 'China: Its Distance Higher-Education System'.

I find it intriguing that China developed distance learning, using televisions, in the early 1960's and then introduced television universities (TVU's). To me, this seems very early, and i believe the Chinese educational system took a risk in creating these learning facilities. Nevertheless it seems as though the learning technique works as the article provides evidence of the amount of students that have gained degrees from them, " During the period from 1960 to 1966, more than 8,000 students graduated from the Beijing Television University and over 50,000 students finished single-course studies through its teaching programmes." Therefore it has been successful and obviously worked in the early years of its introduction.

"The enrolment of these radio and television universities over the last eight years has totalled 1,291,833, and 590,941 students have graduated. The number of registered students in 1986 was 604,437 constituting one-third of the country's higher-education institute students." This shows that only less than half of the students who enrolled in these TVU's graduated, which is a very low percentage, proving that many students obviously find it difficult to connect with a screen or monitor, i think i would definately struggle to keep engaged and focused. It is also the fact that these TVU's are taking up one third of the countries educational system, which is too much, considering not everyone can connect with the process. However there is the point that Yuhui makes, stating that these universities needed fewer funds, and so more money could be used for staff training and other resources.

The TVU's educational system consists of five levels "corresponding to the organization of China's system of national and regional governments". It just shows the seriousness and amount of work that has gone into creating and sustaining this method of learning. The five levels succinctly define the terms and methods of learning that must be done and the guides for teaching them. I believe this outlines the positive future the Chinese educational board believe this method of teaching has.

The fact that technology is always developing and the new media scene is now occuring, it is apparent that this teaching method must be expanding and increasing its opportunities. This is proven through the increase in graduates and the amount of courses available, "Enrolled all-subject students have totalled over 1 million, and all-subject graduates have amounted to more than 500,000.","By 1990, about sixty new types of multi-media course will be developed." It is astounding the speed of the growth of TVU's and the standards are always improving as well.

Therefore, it is evident that the method of TVU's dived in at the deep end far too early, and many students suffered because of this, however this growth of resources and technology available, i think it is a great idea and has been very successful, and will only get better.

http://www1.worldbank.org/disted/Technology/broadcast/tv-02.html

Week 2

Qb) According to Lister et al., some commentators stress the ‘newness’ of new media, but others (such as Kevin Robins) can be seen to be saying that nothing fundamental has changed, because new media technology is another product of capitalism, and therefore will fit into and serve a pre-existing capitalist society and culture, rather than transform it in any fundamental sense. Any thoughts? Can we critique this position?

There is a valid point put across in Lister et al., arguing against new media, saying that it is a product of Capitalsim because the government and others around media do have a massive influence on what goes on. However it is apparent that, although we do live in a capitalist society, i believe new media would have developed exactly the same if it were a different circumstance. i also believe it has transformed culture, just as much as the telephone has, as it is constant change, constant improvements and constant communication within the culture of new media, such as blogging! No one can control what we say on our blogs (to an extent), therefore how can it be a product of capitalism?

Task 2a - How might our views on new media depend on our previous knowledge, values and attitudes, and even ideologies?

The New Media scene is just a result of the rise and evolution of technology and the internet. There are so many options and opportunities available within media, as the subject is so vast, it is only expected for a 'new media' to be constantly developing.

I believe that i have grown up with all aspects of new media around me, and i have developed my skills to be compatable with the ever changing technological world. Beginning with games consoles, then computers, mobile phones, the internet, mp3's, podcasting and many more to come in the future; that i am sure of. Therefore new media has developed to fullfill our needs and our expectations, we need to learn and have better and newer forms of entertainment to keep us inspired.