Technology and Writing/Education

A lot of people make a big fuss about texting/chatting online and how it affects kids and their ability to write. Some people say all this technology is making them dumb and killing their ability to write formally. They text all day and it shows when they sit down to write their assignments for school. Some teachers allow some words in rough drafts but require the students to clean it up before they turn in the final paper. I think it's great that the kids are getting so much practice writing. I think they're all a bit obsessive about it but at the middle school and young high school age they're all obsessive about something, at least it's not guns or something awful. If our education system will stick to teaching the correct rules and spelling then I don't see why the students won't learn it. As long as teachers are clear about what is formal writing and what needs to stay on your phone then kids will learn and understand. They're not dumb. They switch their speech back and forth depending on who they're talking to and I feel that writing is the same. They know when and where to use which style of writing.
If it does effect the students it will be their attention-span and access to information. We can expect more out of students because they can find the answers to almost any question we ask them. We need to stress individual thinking rather than copy and paste education. We also may have to change our lesson plans from an hour to 15 min. A lot of time is wasted at school. If home schoolers are doing about 2 hours of work a day and coming out with the same knowledge then why is everyone else at school or 8 hours? Students can be pushed to do so much more if we raise our expectations and give them access to internet and technology.
I am more and more aware of how much and how many people are attached to electronic devices. It's insane. When I look at people when I'm driving they're all talking on the phone or listening to music. When I'm at school everyone is typing away on their laptops. At work people sit in front of computers... it's every where. I keep getting flash backs from the movie Wall-E. The scene where the people are riding around in their hover chairs with a three paneled screen in their face. They order food from the screen, talk to their friends, sleep, move, everything on the screens from their chairs. They can't even walk anymore from years of being in the hovering chairs. They don't even realize they're passing people or know where they are. The man was shocked when Wall-E bumped into him and broke his screen. It was like he was finally awake, just seeing where he had been all these years. I wouldn't doubt if that is where are lives are heading. Surrounded by so much technology that we forget what reality is.

Blogging about blogging

So blogging about blogging is a little strange but let's see how it goes. I never thought it was a big deal but apparently a lot of people do it. The article we read for class today made me realize that the big popular blog sites may have been started by average people. I don't know what the benefits of having a huge following is unless you can get those people to take action for a good cause but there are huge followings. Some say it's a great way to socialize. But on the other side the more followers you have he less time you can spend with each one. The article also mentioned that one blogger's blog got so popular that she disabled the comment option on her blog. There was no way to read all the comments she was getting.
There are definitely changing mindsets on the whole thing. I feel like I'm in the middle. Stuck between the old farts who couldn't find and read a blog even if they wanted to and the kids who are addicted to blogging. I've always wanted to start one but never thought talking about my interest or daily life was interesting enough to post for the world to read. If a lady commenting on Project Runway can get thousands of followers then may be someone will find me interesting too. If they do then what's the point? What is the purpose of blogging? Will it make me feel better to expose my feelings to the whole world rather than just writing in a diary like a normal person. Will having thousands of followers make me feel better about myself? Why blog?
May be I'll meet someone or someones, start a group and change the world. Probably not. I don't know if I care enough about anything to commit and organize something like that. May be someone will share a link or information with me so I can join up with a group who is saving the world. I don't know. May be everyone needs to have their string thrown into the world wide web and this blog is mine (although I think facebook is a little more connected than this at the moment). That's kind of a cool idea. I think I'll end with that.

Immigration Article

I found an article on Time.com about immigration, an issue that is important and interesting to me. Half my family are recent immigrants and the other half are second or third generation citizens. Not everyone has taken the road to citizenship and some of my relatives are resident aliens. I tend to get emotionally involved when I read or hear articles about the immigration issue. I was shocked when I heard about the Arizona law that allows officers to demand proof of residency from all suspicious people. As far as I knew an immigrant can’t be stereotyped or profiled because they all look different. We’re in America!
This particular article is explaining why the bipartisan bill hasn’t been followed through. The author, Jay Newton-Small, is placing the blame squarely on the Republicans. His argument is well supported with details of the actions of the senators and the president. There is also an urgency to pass this new bill. Newton-Smalls uses pictures and links to more photos and videos to expose the reader to what the front lines of illegal immigration look like. There are pictures of Mexicans being arrested, searched, stuffed in car trunks, climbing fences, in jail cells, in prison clothes and crossing the desert. Majority of Americans support the government taking action to limit or at least control immigration. Anyone can see that 11 million people living and working here illegally is a problem. People are on both extremes on the issue. They are rioting and demonstrating. Grant amnesty or kick everyone out? The bill is supposed to be a compromise between the two, if it ever gets passed.

Just Checking

This is my new blog spot. I'll hopefully get a lot of use out of this blog this year. I set it up for my class but it was on my to do list anyway.