Warburton Blog Post #8

The future can be a concept that is absolutely mind boggling to think about.  Almost everyone at some point in their lives thinks about what the distant future will be like and how different it will be from the present day.  In the essay, The Machine Stops, EM Forester describes a future that humans live underground in cells and rely on a machine to supply them with all needs because the surface of the earth is said to be uninhabitable.  Eventually the machine ends up crashing and destroying everyone who lives underground.  The only ones to survive are the people who live on the surface of the earth and they must make sure that this never happens again.  George Orwell’s novel, 1984 offers a projection of the future where the world is divided into three nations and a mysterious figure known as “Big Brother” watches every move people make.  If people do not believe whole heartedly in Big Brother then they are arrested by a force known as the Thought Police and are mind washed.  The Thought Police monitor everything through large screens.  These two projections of the future are similar in that they both show man losing his ability to provide for himself and needing something else to help sustain existence.  Both of these stories portray a bleak view of the future and show a world where man is not as well off as he is today.  I personally believe that these accounts of the future are very pessimistic and that the real future will have many aspects of today’s life enfused with the new and latest technology that has yet to be discovered.

Warburton Creative Proposal

For the creative element of my project I plan to create a poster to share with the class.  My topic is education and I generally believe that education is an area the will see dramatically in the future.  I believe education will become a more online structured process in the future.  I also feel that it will also be more interactive and more engaging than the lecture style method of teaching used today.  For my poster I will illustrate the changes that the education system will undergo in the future and allow the class to guess and think about it before reveal my conclusions.  I will do this through the use of an interactive poster that has flaps that open to reveal what the future of education holds for the different areas of learning.   I will not reveal my answers to the class until they have thought about the topic and made meaningful guesses.

Warburton Blog post #7

Personal privacy is being able to be alone and work without the presence of anyone else.  It is being able to keep work and tasks unknown to others.  Similarly digital privacy is the ability to uses the internet and its resources without everyone knowing.  Personal privacy is defiantly more easily available because all a person needs to do is shut a door and they now have a sense of privacy.  Digital privacy on the other hand is almost nonexistent because anything that you do online could be potentially viewed by anyone.  From social network sites such as Facebook to online banking, there is a risk your information could be viewed by others.  I personally do not share too much information on Facebook.  I only share very generic thinks such as favorite books and interests but nothing that I wouldn’t want everyone to see.  I know that the best way to keep things private is to not put them online at all because once they are online they are very difficult if not impossible to completely remove.  I have my Facebook privacy settings set to show to my friends only but I know there are ways around that for people who are more technologically advanced.  My philosophy is that “they can’t find what is not there” and for the most part it is a very effective strategy.  I Googled my full name and did not get anything on the web search so I then tried an image search and found my current profile picture in a thumbnail sized version.  Overall I am not surprised that I didn’t get more results because my online presence has not been existent until late in high school.   I am just now using Facebook on a regular basis and starting to become digitally active.

in-class writing 9

The audience of this article is any person who uses Facebook social networking site.  The author directs this at users by telling them what Facebook does with the information they put on their profiles.  The author talks about how Facebook uses this information like merchandise to sell to third parties such as companies and governmental agencies.  The article cites one website that the reader has no background information as to the credibility of the site and how reliable the information.  The author doesn’t refute the other the other point of view as much as he pushes his position on the reader.  The author uses rhetorical appeals such as logos by making the reader feel as if there is something logically wrong with the current social network policies.  He also uses people’s natural fears to his advantage by in insinuating that individual privacy has been violated.  This source as it stands now, would not be an acceptable reference in a position paper because there is little background facts and statistics that prove the author’s point indefinitely.  As the reader I have no idea what the author’s credibility is and how accurate his writings are.  However the reader can assume that if the author had any honors or awards that he would make them known in the article.  The article seems current and is comprehensive despite its unknown credibility status.

In-Class Writing 8

My Top Five Movies/Books

1)      Pirates of the Caribbean.

2)      Of Mice and Men

3)      The Adventures of Huck Finn

4)      Titanic

5)      October Sky

Group’s Top Five + Bibliography

1)      Harry Potter (1^st Movie)

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Dir. Chris Columbus. Perf. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson. Warner Bros., 2001. Film.

2)      Toy Story

 Story. Dir. John Lasseter. Perf. Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, Annie Potts. Disney*Pixar, 1995. Film.

3)      Lion King

The Lion King. Dir. Rob Minkoff. Perf. Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones. Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment, 1994. Film.

4)      Pirates of the Caribbean (1^st movie)

Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (Two-Disc Collector's Edition). Dir. Gore Verbinski. Perf. Johnny Depp, Geoffrey Rush, Orlando Bloom. Walt Disney Video, 2003. Film.

5)      Forrest Gump

Forrest Gump. Dir. Robert Zemeckis. Perf. Tom Hanks, Robin Wright Penn, Gary Sinise. Paramount Pictures, 1994. Film.

In-class writing 7

Glen Beck makes his case that video games are harming our society.  He states that the Grand Theft Auto video game allows players to do vulgar acts.  He then makes reference to the fact that it is not natural human instinct to kill; saying that in WW1 soldiers would not naturally shoot opposing forces.

He says that the video games of today do the same thing as combat simulators of the early twentieth century.  He makes it known that he is staunchly against the juvenile use of such games.

I see Glen Beck’s point of view when he is talking about the violence of new video games.  Some video games go over the top with the amount of inappropriate and violent acts.  They do not positively benefit children’s development.  However I believe that the way Beck delivers his information seems a bit extreme although his intentions are good.

In-class writing 6

I personally know very little about digital music and music piracy.  I have never downloaded music that was not from iTunes or a CD disk.  I know that iTunes can be very costly if it is used to purchase many songs but I don’t download many songs so it doesn’t bother me.  People have many different on the topic of music piracy.  Some believe that music is a form of art and that it should be free to the public while others believe that it is a profit making entity.  I read The Age of Music Piracy is Officially Over article by Paul Boutin.  In this article Boutin talks about how he believes that the age of digital piracy is over because the record industry is beginning to crack down harder on the illegally downloaded music.

In-class writing 5

            The person here is trying to sell themselves as what appears to be a normal teenage college student.  It is obvious that he is interested in automotive technologies and cars because of the interests that are noted.  There are no photos besides the profile picture which leads the viewer to believe that he is not as technologically adept as others in his generation.  There is an ad for Goodyear tires on the profile which talks about how Goodyear is supporting our troops overseas.  This ad appeals to the viewer’s sense of patriotism and connects Goodyear with being patriotic.  The only image on the ad is a picture of a Goodyear racing tire and wheel which goes for a simpler approach yet still draws the attention of the viewer.  This ad is targeting race fans because it uses the image of the tire which is commonly associated with racing.  This ad appears on this page because of the interests having to do with racing and automobiles.  Overall these ads are well suited for this profile because they fit with the overall theme of the page.

Warburton Blog Post 5

Christine Rosen’s journal article, Virtual Friendship and the New Narcissism, is a well written analysis of the new technological aspect of friendship that has grown astronomically in the past few years.  The main point Rosen is trying to convey in this essay is that the social friendships we are making today are not as meaningful as pre-digital age friendships, and can also be damaging to social skills.  This article comes from The New Atlantis, which is a conservative journal that focuses on relevant and new technology.  The intended audience for this article was most likely the elderly and less technology experienced generation due to the fact that it points out the negatives of the social networks such as its creation of a more self-centered generation of young people.  The arguments in this essay are all opinion based, however they have facts to back them but there is nothing to prove beyond doubt that the arguments presented are the absolute truth.  Rosen appears to be a credible writer because she keeps her focus on the topic and does not stray off on ideological rants which would be unprofessional and unlike a credible author.  Rosen uses specific instances to prove her points; she referenced a 2006 Dateline special about the easiness of predators to contact children to show that these social network sites are not as safe as we think.  She uses several other specific instances to prove her point that social network sites are primarily detrimental to the social skills of young people who use them.  Rosen thoroughly addresses all negative aspects of these sites but she does not consider the positives of the same sites and what roles they play in keeping friendships alive.  Overall I agree with Rosen in that too much of these sites can be socially harmful but I also believe that in when used in moderation these sites are not harmful to their users.

Warburton Blog post 4

            I chose to view the new commercial put out by the Chevrolet Motor Company.  In this ad the narrator takes you through a very brief history of the company while images of their most iconic cars are shown.  The ad then moves to the present day and proceeds to show all the new innovations and technologies that are offered.  It video has a nostalgic feel to it because you originally see black and white clips of old assembly lines.  This ad draws the attention of the viewer because the voice of the narrator it very calm and makes the audience stop to listen what is being said.  The commercial appeals to the audience’s sense of national pride because it stresses throughout that the cars truly embody the American spirit.  The ad also appeals to the idea of freedom that comes from driving on the open road.  The ad is designed to appeal to all types of people because it shows how the company is using efficient technology as well as developing higher performance engines.  It appeals to anyone who enjoys cars and the history behind them.  The ad assumes you have heard of Chevrolet before and that you as the viewer are familiar with some of the more iconic cars that they have produced in the past.  The viewers see older photographs and associate that with simpler, more care free times which is then associated with the company.  This ad can be viewed on television but can also be found on YouTube.  The different mediums also show that Chevrolet is trying to get this ad to as many people as possible from all age groups.

Link to ad:

http://www.youtube.com/chevrolet?x=us_showcase_874&feature=pv&seo=goo_|_2010_Chevy_Retention_YouTube_|_IMG_Chevy_Make_YouTube_PV_|_Chevrolet_|_chevy

In-Class Writing #4

The Virginia Tech homepage is a very well planned and appealing website.  It incorporates the schools colors with links to different departments and activities.  The website draws the viewer’s attention to the center window in the middle of the page which has the latest news about events involving Virginia Tech.  The website has a search bar at the top which allows the user to easily navigate the through the site.  To the right of the search bar is a small memorial ribbon, commemorating the April 16^th tragedy.  It shows at the bottom of the page a small map of the world with all Virginia Tech highlighted and descriptions of academics and student life also at the bottom to the right.

Warburton Blog post 3

I chose the word Chevrolet to plug into Google because I am a collector car enthusiast and Chevrolet happens to be my favorite car maker.  When I pressed the search button the first result I got was a link to the official Chevy website which had a list of the new 2012 cars and the history of the company over its 100 years in business.  The second link on Google’s list was a list of all the 2011 models that Chevy currently offers and their specifications such as gas mileage, horse power, and consumer reviews.  The third website in my search browser was a tab that showed the Chevrolet dealership in Blacksburg.  I then had my roommate Google “Chevrolet” in his computer and his results were identical to the ones I received.  I was personally not surprised that his results were the same as mine because of the large size of the company you can almost always be certain the first website that appears is the company’s official website.  We are also both living in the same area which explains why we both received results for car dealerships in the town of Blacksburg.  I personally believe that Google and other sites use personalized search technology but I find it hard to believe that it is gone to the extent Eli Pariser claims it to be.  There is no doubt that search engine technology used today can locate your geography and your interests based on your previous searches.  However I find it difficult to believe that Google would completely filter out prevalent information such as the BP oil spill from your search window.  I think the individualized search is a good thing as it is used today because it does not think for you but it simply suggests sites you may like.  This personalized technology can be trouble if it becomes too prevalent and is used to block cites from view completely because this is essentially censorship.  If the internet becomes any more personalized than it is today it will have a negative effect on research and the internet as a whole because it will limit the information that is available to each internet user and affect those individuals’ findings.  I believe that the personalized internet searches are a helpful tool but should not replace the functioning of the human mind.

In Class Writing 3

The man and woman in the poster look as if they have just finished working for the day on a manual labor job.  They both are dressed similarly wearing work clothes of the post-World War II era.  The purpose of this poster is to commend women for stepping up to fill the jobs left vacant when the men went to fight in the war.  It plays on the stereotype that women are unequal to men.  Although it seems obvious to us today that these stereotypes were unfair but at the time this view was acceptable.  The creator of this ad was most likely the United States Government who is targeting all American citizens as their audience to let it be known that women were a large part of our World War II victory.  This ad uses ethos to appeal to the viewer’s sense of moral justice and equality.  It uses pathos to make the audience feel a sense of pride in their nation’s people.  It also uses logos to make the reader ponder what the logical way to see how greatly women contributed to our victory.

Warburton Blog Post #3

           The ideal school experience for today’s digital natives in my opinion would be one that uses a balance of technological and traditional approaches to learning.  I believe that this balance is necessary because I have experienced both learning styles by themselves and through those experiences have come to discover that both need to be present in order to maximize learning potential.  My ideal school setting would be one in which the teachers are both well educated in their subject and the digital technology being used at the time, as well as the benefits of traditional learning techniques.  In my schools I would have SOL tests to hold the teacher accountable for the teaching of the material.  I have had teachers in the past that taught a class that there was no SOL test, which gave my one particular teacher the idea that she did not have to teach us as thoroughly as she otherwise would have had to do.  I was astonished at the laziness of this particular teacher and was frustrated that there was no way to show the school board what was not being taught.  The SOL tests would serve as a test not only for the student but for the teachers as well.  Digital technology would be a key part of the learning process in my ideal school because I believe that if we do not keep up with the times we will be left in the past.  This is essentially how Virginia Heffernan describes the need to restructure our teaching methods.  I personally would not go to the extent that she goes to in her argument because I believe that there is value in the traditional pen and paper methods as well.  I have been in classes where the instructor wanted to be so technologically up to date that they issued netbook computers to the class for the school year.  This idea seemed logical in theory but as the year progressed the people in my class began to use them for computer games during class rather than note taking.  In my ideal school I would not issue out netbooks but instead use these laptops only when necessary because technology is useful only when it is not abused.  I believe that there are good sides to both learning methods we must find the balance that is most effective which would truly produce my ideal school.

in-class writing #2 Warburton

Nick’s essay’s structure was lacking definite shape and I traditional form.  It consisted of a brief intro, two body paragraphs, and no conclusion paragraph.  The essay does not contain a thesis statement either and it seems like a long list of technological devices that the writer has owned.  I think a good thesis for this essay would be “I have used almost every type of digital technology in my life and I feel I am more experienced with technology than others my age”.  I really didn’t like the way the paper was written or structured, it seem as if it had been written in five minutes and the structure in the web site form was hard to follow.  I feel that if he had spent more time on his word choices and wrote it on a traditional word document that the paper would have been much more enjoyable.

Warburton Blog Post #1

1)         The most defining moment in my life when it comes to the use of technology occurred when I was in the third grade at Brownsville Elementary School.  I can still remember vividly my teacher telling us that we would be working on the computers that day, but when the class all lined up to go to the computer lab my teacher told us to sit back down because we were not going to be using those computers.  It was that point when my third grade mind was wondering how we would be using the computers if we were not going to the computer lab.  Just as I and everyone else had reached the peak of our confusion my teacher wheeled this huge gray cart into the room that none of us had ever seen before.  My teacher then opened the side of the cart and pulled out one of thirty brand new laptop computers and told us that these were the computers we would be using today.  We each got to walk up and get a laptop to bring back to our desks.  I had seen laptops before but never actually used one so the experience was completely new for me.  I remember sitting there with the laptop open on my desk following every instruction to click and type that the teacher gave us.  Although it may not seem like a big deal now, it was the highlight of my third grade year.  The whole concept of being able to use the latest technology made me feel very important even if it was only elementary school and it set the stage for an entire academic career of laptop computer use.

2)         My situation is not identical to any of the reading we have done this year but I do see similarities between my experience and the Clive Thompson article.  I believe that my experiences were a part of the technological and literary revolution that he mentioned in his article.  The use of laptop computers is a huge part of our lives in today’s day and age due to the fast pace of the world around us.  Laptops are used heavily now because they are great for the on-the-go lifestyle that many Americans live.  Although I did not know it then, my experience with learning to use the laptops was a large key to my academic success throughout my years of school and in the literacy revolution.

3)         My experiences with technology as well as others from my generation tell me that being digitally literate means you have been exposed to enough of the digital world in your life that interpreting technologies such as computers comes as second nature.  In both my personal account of technology use and others from my peers, the common thread is that we were exposed to digital technology at an early age and that is what I believe is the deciding factor in whether someone is going to be digitally literate or not.  In my opinion a digital native is someone who by circumstance alone, happen to be exposed to the broad use of digital technology all throughout their lives which explains why the adolescent generation now is more digitally literate than previous generations.

4)         My opinion as to what makes an individual digitally literate would be backed by professional reports and statistical data that shows that the generation of young people now is far more technology adept than previous generations.  It can also be seen on a smaller scale in my personal life as well, when my sister and I must show both our parents and grandparents how to use new software and computers.  It is evident to me by looking at the world around me that the world is getting more technologically advanced that each new generation will be forced to keep up with this record setting pace.

In-class writing #1 Warburton

1)  I use an alarm clock to wake up every morning and I also use my cellphone to check the time as I walk to class and to contact my friends and family through both texts and phone calls.  I also use my laptop computer in class and through out my day to check email and to complete assignments like online quizzes.

2)  I define technology as anything or device that uses new and relevant knowledge to make life easier or to allow us to accomplish things we would never have been able to do before.  Technology is the ability to make things such as communication easier.

3)  Technology impacts how we think because we rely on it when we are trying to plan out study patterns.  It has become more common to use a screen instead of a pencil and paper to record thoughts that we have about certain issues that are relevant at the time.

4)  I believe that being digital means that something is there in cyberspace but it must have some form of technology such as a computer to access these things like e-mail and the Internet.

5)  Being a digital native means that you have not lived any part of your life where the heavy use of the Internet and computers was not in effect as it is today.  A digital immigrant is one who was not around the heavy use of technology at some point in their life.  Digital immigrants must learn to use technology much like a person learns a second language.