The Digital Divide

Learning to think in a digital world

This reading is was quite interesting.  It tells of how the youths of society used to read constantly and that was their choice for “learning.”  Now with the technology here in society and with computers and every other source, reading is taking a back seat.  More and more youths are using their “Googled universes” instead of the written word.  Socrates believed in examining life instead of examining words.  Children are absorbing more from the internet than searching for information on their own in thoughts or reading.  We are wondering if society will alter because of his.  This article basically says that children need to read before taking in the digital mode.  If this doesn’t happen, intellect could be altered and the next generation may not possess the comprehensive learning that past generations have had.  I believe that this is very supportive.  Using all of the brain is important.  Reading uses all parts of the brain where the digital mode uses only part.    

The Internet

Television was such an invention until the internet came about.  Everyone had to learn this new computer language to access things on the internet.  Television made you zone out compared to the internet, where you have to engage in what you are doing to make it work.  Emails and blogging usage has risen within the past two years.  Eight million people have online diaries or weblog.  People now use the internet to talk about their own personal lives.  The internet is a source of information compared to the television.  Television was the main medium to find out things going on in life.  The internet is gaining momentum and surpassing the television on getting information out there.  The internet is the first place people go to to find out things.  Software games, chatting, all of these things can be done right on your computer.  But, all things have a price Social connections are becoming less and less because you withdrawal from the public eye since you are always on the computer.  You can still connect to others but social skills are lacking.  This is definitely something that is a concern and I believe in the fact that the internet is a wonderful tool, but that that the next generation will not have the social skills to interact face to face with others.

Learning theory video games, and popular culture

The mind is like a blank slate.  It stores things mentally and allows us to “think outside of the box.”  Video games are like simulated actions and our brain uses these experiences like a tool.  It is cognitive science.  With imagining things, humans understand things better.  You want things to make sense, so you use simulations of other activities to make you understand things.  Video games are visual and a player has to manipulate things in the game.  These manipulations form experiences that the user can use in his or her own lives.  They say that the mind works like a video game.  I really do not agree with this totally.  I think the hand eye coordination is great with video games.  The reality is that there isn’t any reality to the game.  Many compare these games to real life and are obsessed with video games.  I feel that real life is just that…real life.  Make believe does not pay the bills and “killing” other team mates or planning certain paths in a game is destructive to society.

Usability of websites for teenagers.Teens use the internet constantly.  They use it for school resources, health issues that they are embarrassed to talk about and even checking out sports.  Studies were done on teens to see what sites were used and what the internet was used for.  Many think that teens are pros at using the internet.  This is wrong.  Due to the lack of reading skills, research strategies and patience levels, teens are not as adept at using the web as we think.  Teens go for cool looking graphics that catch their eye and they do not like to read a lot on the internet sites.  Studies show they do not like small font sizes, which goes hand in hand with seniors not liking the small font size either.  Teens did like games online or online quizzes.  Those interactive features gave teenagers their way of expressing themselves.  The study that was done on teens showed that they spend five to ten hours per week on the web.  After reading this article, it was no surprise to me that teens felt the way they did with this research done on them.  Very common sense in that they do not like to read and that they would rather do things online than have to write things out or take quizzes in person on a piece of paper.