Standing Ovation: Reading Response #3 "Digital Nation"

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Reading Response #3 "Digital Nation"

Technology today is changing society; it has developed new ways not only in our academics but in communication and the way we think. Rachel Dretzin has noticed these changes and in the production of her PBS documentary “Digital Nation” she along with co-host Douglas Rushkoff, strive to determine what these changes mean for future generations. In this documentary, Dretzin emphasizes how technology creates a range of opportunities that were never possible for past generations and though they do have positive outputs it is not without negative affects. One example she uses to convey this point is technology in education. One school she investigates was almost shut down; the kids weren’t meeting academic standards and were getting in fights daily. After the principle brought in laptops for every student to use for their work their attendance went up along with their reading and math scores. Other schools have noticed opposite affects with technology. Students in technical school who thought they were excellent at multitasking were examined in a study and what doctors discovered was they were actually some of the worst at multitasking. Dretzin investigates these changes not only in education but also, video games, communication and military advancement and in each category she discovers similar issues. Whether one embraces it or fights it, humanity is changing, the main point is that individuals need to be aware of the consequences of these changes.

This documentary has really helped me understand just how complex the changes are that technology has promoted. I realize now that the changes are not just in the United States but world wide, they are not just in young kids but in society as a whole and that these changes have the potential to be both beneficial and destructive. As I reflect on the affects technology has had on me, I have realized I have become both dependant and despising of it. Dependence is a very strong word and I hate that I’d have to be dependant on anything least of all technology but I am, I use it in almost everything I do; internet alone I use for various types of communication, watching a TV show I missed earlier in the week, finding an answer to a random question I had, to even the school work I’m doing at this very moment. Although technology is a big part of my life I dislike the use of it. When growing up and out at a restaurant if a phone went off during dinner it was considered very impolite and the person the phone belonged to would get a dirty look from surrounding people, nowadays a ringing phone it not just ordinary, it is to be expected. When I am visiting my cousin that I only get to see maybe twice a year she is constantly on her phone I am never able to have her full attention but in today’s world that is not considered rude. There have been instances where a friend’s boyfriend would rather play “Call of Duty” then hangout with her but she’s ok with it because “he’s a guy and that is what guys do these days”. The list could go on but the main point is that I feel people are forgetting respect. Change is unavoidable for society, people will have technology in their lives regardless but how we change with this technology is a choice that individuals do have and it is those choices will determine the success of future generations.

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Welcome

Welcome to our Eng 100 Blog “Standing Ovation”! The title of this blog refers to the audience of active readers we are creating by sharing our academic writing for Eng 100 with a larger group of students, instructors, academics, and just about anybody who chooses to follow our blog! When you write and post your reader responses here (and, later, as you write your essays for the course), I encourage you to use this audience to conceptualize who you are writing for and, most important, how to communicate your ideas so that this group of academic readers and writers can easily follow your line of thinking. Think about it this way: What do you need to explain and articulate in order for the other bloggers to understand your response to the essays we’ve read in class? What does your audience need to know about those essays and the authors who wrote them? And how can you show your readers, in writing, which ideas you add to these “conversations” that take place in the texts we study?
As students of Eng 100, you will use this blog to begin conversations with other academic writers on campus (students and instructors alike). We become active readers of each other’s writing when we comment on posts here. And, best of all, we are using this space to share ideas! I encourage you to use this blog to further think through the topics and writing strategies you will be introduced to this quarter. As always, be sure to give credit to those people whose ideas you borrow for your own thinking and writing (you should do this in the blog by commenting on their post, but you will also be required to cite what you borrow from your peers/instructors if and when it winds up in your essays. More details on that later).
Finally, keep in mind that writing to and for this audience is a good way to prepare for the panel of readers (faculty at WCC) who will be reading and assessing your writing portfolio at the end of the quarter. I hope that as a large group of active readers, we can better prepare each other for this experience. But, in the meantime, let’s have fun with it!