Turkle and Wesch comparison

     In Turkle's piece, done in 2012, she discusses the idea of people being connected but alone at the same time.  People have devices on them constantly. They can present themselves as they want to be with statuses, and filters.  Facebook friends are substitute for real connections that can only be done with face to face conversations.  People can now put there attention where they want to be, they are always heard, and are never alone.

    In Wesch's piece "Crisis of Significance" written in 2008, the author discusses how students are struggling to make meaning and find the importance in their education.  Grades are more important than meaningful and important exploration of the world around them that we live in and co-create.  Creativity is not as valued.  He seems to see that the classroom environment is essential for shifting the mindset, with teachers as the managers, and not just giving information.  Devices are welcome hear as it can help students to connect with answers to the questions they have.  For him this has made the world more interconnected and global.  Students can figure out that they are significant to the future of the world.  

    I think that these two authors are talking about human connection. Turkle sees the technology as a negative.  People are losing the connections to each other that are meaningful.  Wesch would argue that people are in fact more connected.  Students can get answers to questions they have with a quick google search.  They can talk to people across the world and unite on causes they find important.  Information is shared and discussed freely.

    I am curious as to what both of these authors would say about a post covid world.  Turkle talked a lot about how people were uncomfortable with being alone and needed to learn how to live in solitude.  March 2020 forced us into our homes and into "solitude".  Devices with Zoom, social media etc. gave us the chance to communicate with people outside our bubbles.  I know that if I did not have these things quarantine would have been a lot harder. Were those connections any less meaningful?  With Wesch, we have seen youth and young adults unite for causes with hashtags, like #blacklivesmatter, and now with the Roe vs. Wade.  People were able to connect across the globe to protest and fight for social change.  This could be proving the interconnectedness and global society we are now living in.  The technology allowed for this to happen in a way it would not have before.

Mike Wesch Learning from Baby George

   This ted talk was a very interesting one.  Mike Wesch talks about what learning means. In college the one size fits all lecture halls, and dumping of information is not the true learning.  I think of the classes I was forced to take as a undergrad that I did not have a interest in. He shows baby George and how he keeps trying to make the step.  Each time he doesn't succeed he laughs. We should be designing projects/activities that are relevant to students and give all students opportunities to demonstrate their strengths.  Grades/scores should not be the focus. In the class we talked about standardized testing and how that does not show what are students can do.  They dislike it and do not see the benefit to them (and teachers don't neither).  Instead of an F, there should be a not yet.  Learning is collective and people can help each other reach the top where ever that maybe.  

    He acts on these beliefs by getting to know his students.  Taking them to lunch, and learning about their lives.  He asks how he can build on the lives the student's are leading.  The boy that slept in class would be looked at negatively, especially when it was due to gaming.  Mike Wesch was able to see that he threw himself into projects, and worked well in groups, and was designing complex games using his creativity.  So many of our students have strengths in so many places and those strengths can be stifled if it is not the norm.  I see my IEP kids often struggle with confidence in their school work, but really like games, or building, or playing a sport.  It is important for me to find out how to leverage that in my teaching and make the learning worth it to the students.

Prensky and Boyd Blog

     In Marc Prensky's research, he talks about the idea that youth are growing up as digital natives.  They were born with technology.  Because of this youth have particular characteristics when using technology, like they work at twitch speed, process multiple things parallel to each other, are used to random access on websites, look at graphics first and are socially connected online.  This is in contrast to digital immigrants who did not grow up with technology as it is now, but were exposed to it at some point, and use it.  They work at a conventional speed, process things linearly, look step by step, and stand alone.  

    In Dana Boyd's "It's Complicated", she talks about digital natives being not accurate.  Teens may know how to use the latest devises, but do not necessarily know how to make the most of their online experiences.  They may not know how to critically examine what they consume.  They may not know how to recognize bias, and what news is accurate.  Youth have to be taught to engage with technology effectively and meaningfully. She talks about the fear of the generational divide, that the youth might get technology more that adults, which can scare older generations.  The digital native also ignores the inequality that exists with technology.  Lower income students do not have the technology access that middle/upper class students have.  

    In looking at both Prensky and Boyd's positions I find myself aligning more with Boyd's.  Growing up in the 90's I don't really feel like I fit in either the native or immigrant boxes.  The internet came out in the mid 90's and social media with Myspace in the early high school years all brought me in technology.  Boyd talked about how teens don't know how to critically examine what they see online, and I can see that.  When doing research students will go for the first thing that comes up.  Also they see a video/or article and take its word for it.  I also see the inequality.  In the pandemic there were a number of students who lacked Wi-Fi/internet access at home.  We didn't send home chromebooks until that time.  I have noticed other districts in higher income areas have sent devices home before covid.  Many kids didn't automatically know how to navigate google classroom/zoom/slides etc.  Experiencing and being taught media literacy skills needs to be taught in schools so students can be lifelong learners.

Introducing Me

 My name is Melissa and I am currently a special education teacher in Providence.  I currently am working with the wonderful world of middle school.  I finished the year at Nathanael Greene but am going to be starting at West Broadway in the fall.  My summer is just starting as we have been in school until today (June 24).  I am looking forward to some time on the beach and sleeping later. In my spare time I enjoy playing with my dog, catching up on TV, reading, and spending time with friends.  I also enjoy cooking for fun.