Wednesday, January 28, 2009

"Virtual Students, Digital Classroom"

Postman conveys a good point on how society basically treats technology (computers and the television) like a god. He believes that we should not rely so much on technology, but on what our schools have to offer. People such as Dr. Ravich, who envision children and adults being able to learn what is needed through their TV, believe that technology is the best tool for learning. What confuses me here is that I have never knew a person who turned on their t.v. for the sole reason of a teaching lesson, instead they watch it to relax and have a good time. There are too many distractions the televising offers, that it would be very difficult to just watch and learn. Hugh McIntosh was another person who believes that technology is the key to studying subjects. He believes in an age where students can teleconference research scientists, create their own physics labs, and design life forms with computer simulation. Also, he believes that technology can be an effective way to replace teachers. it seems so unreal to be able to contact a research scientist just to get help on a homework question. I would think that the research scientist has more important things to do. I think the key concept that these two people are missing is motivation. What makes Dr. Ravich and McIntosh think that children and adults will want learn biology or physics by themselves? Where is the motivation to learn? If I was given the option between learning on my TV or watching it, I would probably choose to watch it. It may or may not be just me, but I would rather learn through a teacher who has a great passion for what is being taught, then by a technology that is teaching because it was told to.
It seems as if Ravich and McIntosh are trying to find an easier and more effective way for children and adults to learn without having to attend school. I believe school is the most important and effective way to learn. When attending school there is the feeling of motivation to learn unlike learning through the television. Instead of learning by one's self, school offers a great way to interact with others who share the same interests and aspirations. People are able to work in teams, answer each others questions and feel proud of accomplishing their goals. Learning through technology just seems so dry to me and I would rather learn with others than on my own.
That being said, I strongly agree with Postman that our society should rely less on technology and to "not put our hopes on it". Technology is never perfect and what would happen if a glitch or virus suddenly occurred? Our main source of learning would be defective and we would of started to realize that we should have kept the most trusting teaching method, our schools.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

"On Keeping a Journal"

Didion brings up a whole new way to write in a journal. She is able to show readers that journal entries do not have to conform to the "typical" journal entry of writing about one's day, instead she is able to reach out and reveal what a journal entry could be. It is very creative how she jots down what is going on around her, such as conversations and random facts, and is able to use them to recall meaningful events.
What shocked me the most about Didion is that she was a gifted writer at the age of 5. I was very impressed to read that she was able to write such an exotic and ironic story about a woman who found herself in the Artic, almost freezing to death, then later dying in the Sahara Desert from a heat stroke, at such and early age!! When I was five I remember being so proud of a drawing I did because my mom liked it so much that she framed it and hung it in my bedroom. Although my art work(... finger paintings :)... ) was framed it does not compare to writing a story such as Didion's.
I noticed that Didion's usage of the phrase "how it felt to me" reveals a certian way of how she writes in her notebook. She uses notes such as a recipie for sauerkraut to remind her of the first time she made it and "felt safe" being with company, listening to the rain and Atlantic. Even though that particular event may not have had much excitement , it was an important memory for her and the best way for her to remember how she felt was to write the recipe down in her journal.
When Didion recommended to use a notebook to "keep in touch" with ourselves I did not fully understand what she meant. Then she pointed out that she started to loose touch with who she was when she was 17 and 23 and wishes she was able to feel what it was like again. I now realize the meaning of keeping in touch. Not only is it important to write down important occurences, but also to write how we felt when they occured. Writing down feelings brings a whole different way to remembering; not only do you remember what happend, but you also remember how you felt during the occurence. This can actually make a person feel as if the occurence was happening at the moment thus making it possible to never loose touch.
Reading this article by Didion made me to start thinking about starting up a journal. It would be wonderful to have precious memories and feelings stored in a place that I can look back to if I ever start to loose touch. Maybe instead of writing I can put pictures to remind me.