Week 9/10 - Blog tasks

Without giving references to articles or websites, write five blog entries which creatively describe the digital technologically imbricated world (or not) of:
a) The oldest digital native you know.
The oldest digital native i know is my mother. She has been able to learn how to use the internet by using it to research holidays and buying things online a well as using email. Email is important to her for work, so it was compulsary she learnt how to use it. However surfing the web she learnt rather quickly and she still seems to be well adapt to most things available online, but it is obvious she does not know the boundaries on the internet and she can often get confused, or lost. Therefore, although this make make her more of an immigrant, i beleive she is comfortable on the internet and can do most things available to her.

b) The youngest digital immigrant you know.
The youngest digital immigrant i know would be my sister. She only really uses the internet for facebook, and she doesn't even understand most of the applications on that. Her web surfing abilities are very limited, as she cannot shop online, or know what websites are the best for what she's looking for. Nvertheless i do not think she is totally inept to use the internet, she does get by, and although she may be confused, she does manage to find what she is looking for most of the time.

c) A person known to you (could be you, but you don't need to admit it!) who most threatens the notion of native/immigrant in digital culture.
My Uncle, who, thinking about it, should have been the oldest digital native i know, as he is very accomplished when using the internet and most modern technological equipment available in the current climate of the digital age. He has really enjoyed following the growth of the digital era, and his skills have developed and changed with it. He has been responsible for teaching my how family how to use a computer and the internet, showing his extended and polished skills when it comes to anything 'new'. He gets all the gadgets as soon as they are available and just teaches himslef how to use them, proving how he loves the progression of technology.

d) Describe the daily frustrations of a fictional neo-luddite at university now in the UK.
A neo-luddite is a sort of political movement, who are against the progression of technology and the digital age that is occuring today. Their main points against the changes to our world include: dehumanisation, increase in government control, health problems, cruelty to animals and nuclear war. Some of these risks are quite 'out there' but health risks and government control are important to be aware of, as no one is doing as much exercise as they use to (couch potato culture) and the government is able to influence the internet, thus influencing public opinion.

A neo-luddite at university would really struggle, because the internet is constantly used to: communicate, share files, post information and complete work. It shows how important the internet is when at university, most of us would struggle to cope without it. Therefore it is evident that a neo luddite would probably end up pulling their hair out if they attended a university in the UK.

e) Describe the experience of a fictional technophile student in 2020.
A technophile is the opposite of a neo-luddite, and has many similar characteristics to my uncle i mentioned earlier. A technophile is someone who is very excited and supportive of the new age developing digital age, managing to adapt to change and learn all the new applications quickly and succinctly, enjoying it at the same time.

In 2020, with the expected web 3.0 plan, i imagine a technophile would be in their element, taking advantage of all the possible features available to them when working at university.

www.wikipedia.co.uk

Week 9/10 - Q5&6

What is the 'semantic web'? How does it differ from web 3.0?

The semantic web is an extra feature to the world wide web, which is used to define a web search allowing to satisfy all the users requests. The semantic web is very technological and very clever, as it works by providing information that is understood by computers, so it takes some of the hardwork away from humans when searching and sharing information on the internet.

Web 3.0 is the internet design and plan people in the Silicon valley are working on for 2020. It is similar to the semantic web, as its main feature will be doing most of the work for users, making website suggestions when writing an email. It will be able to understand what users are writing and the main theme of the email, making suggestions for articles on the same subject. Nova Spivach is the evangalist for the next phase development, and she actually names web 3.0 and the semantic web as the same thing.

http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/the_web/article2726190.ece

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.

Task 1 - email and email lists

Email stands for electronic mail and it is similar in structure to a letter, however in a digital form. It is the basis of internet communication as it is fast, flexible and reliable. It is a method of creating the message and transmitting it through networks to other email addresses, or just simply storing the text based message. Networks provide gateways to other computer systems allowing mail to be sent anywhere around the world. Most email systems use text editor to compose messages, although others are available this is the most popular.

When messages are sent, often the computer automatically notifies the user if online, otherwise they are stored in electronic mailboxes where they can be read, stored, forwarded to others or simply deleted.

Email is very easy to use, as it is just a case of setting up an account with an email server, such as MSN or AOL, then getting other peoples address to contact them, by just clicking on 'NEW', typing a message, entering the address, then clicking 'SEND'.

I still use email for contacting people who do not have instant mailing, such a MSN Messenger or Facebook, and also for sending large files, like assignments or pictures to other computers, or to other people.

Email lists are mainly used for business usage, providing people with extensive mailing lists. Mailing lists make it possible to send a message to one email address, for automatic redistribution to a large number of individuals' addresses. The typical uses of this are discussions within groups and businesses with a common interest, and also the distribution of information about activities, events and other services.