the media and our attention spans

One of the things I found interesting in the article is the explanation of how Sesame Street came to be. It came from the Lyndon Johnson presidency(maybe my favorite president). I think it's interesting that teachers began to blame Sesmae Street for kids misbehaving badly in their classrooms. However, a quote at towards the end of the article made me think about it a different way. It says: "It makes sense that the teachers whose role was threatened by the television version of education would fear this powerful rival." (594) Perhaps teachers just felt threatened by this new program since the article mentions that there has been no evidence to support there claims. At first, it would be easy to assume that teachers should be able to tell if there is a change in their students. However, it may have been them just jumping to conclusions.

The article doesn't really say if televsion shortens a person's attention span. It does have a quote from a well-known movie director who began his career in television. Sydney Pollock explains: "In television, you are always fighting for the viewer's attention." (592) However, that may just be because of the form of telesvion. There are commercial breaks and most programs are only half-an-hour long. I used to think that there was no question that television shortens a person's attention span but it does teach kids a lot of things so I'm not sure which is more important. This article also mentions that there is no evidence to support the idea that televsion shortens a person's attention span so my conclusions may have been hasty and unfounded.

cyberspace

I think it's really strange and weird that people wil use the Internet to make up stories about their lives. The lady who made up the girl who had Lukemia must have had a brain disorder of some kind. Even if, she was just a pathological liar I think that its sill a brain disorder. I just think it's strange that she let it go that far. She even let people mourn her death like she was a real person. This makes it easy for someone to lose trust in cyberspace. It makes you question what is real and whether that person you have been talking to is even the person you think you are talking to. This makes cyberspace a scary place for some people.

The article concentrates on the people who were victims of this lady's hoax. It shows how some people really have no choice but to believe the people they encounter in cyberspace. It makes a person accountable for believing the lies he or she is told.

nomadic power and cultural resistance

One of the things I got from the article is the fact that many people thought that technology would help inmcrease the freedom people have. It has actually taken an opposite turn. Corporations are teh ones who seem to benefit the most from the advances in technology. Our country is democratic but we live in a country that is based on capitalism. This makes it difficult for people to use technology to their advantage since the people who have money are the ones that are in charge of the decisions. This means that big corporations are benefiting the most. It was believed that since we live in a democratic country technoplogy woudl help people advance their lives more. All it has really done, according to the article is allowed corporations to use technology to make more money.

The article also asks what the purpose is of the new technology in media that is being created. Should we to use this new technology as a way to create a virtual world that lies outside our everyday lives? Or should the new technology be used only to report things that are tangible? This is an intersting question since it seems to serve both functions. I am not sure which is more important, escapism or realism.

According to the article, the Interent is creating Nomadic power among people. This means that no one has any real claim to power in cyberspace and power can be gained by virtually anyone. This is causing a panic in some people who are worried that power will fall into the wrong hands.

teachers and students

http://redtape.msnbc.com


I read an artcile that talked about the INternet and how teachers and students are getting mixed up in Facebook. It had one story about a teacher who was fired for posting a deragoatory remark about her students on her Facebook page. It does remind me of the artciel I recentlyu read about how some employers use Facebook to hire or fire employees. I think if a teacher gest drunk and posts pictures on her Facebook page she should get a warning. Its; almost like they are expecting teachers ot be operfect people when they are just like everyone else. Some like to get drunk and some don't. It's becoming common sense not to post these types of pictures but some people still think that their Facebook pages are private. I think a teacher should get warned and told that it doesn't present a good image for the students. I'm sure they would stop.

I don't think teachers and students should ever interact on Facebook. I think it's okay through a school website where everyone can see what you are doing but not privately. The article even talks about how throughout the world teacher shave engaged in behavior they don't want other people to know about. However, I think this goes back to the fact that teachers are just ordinary people. Thee are some who like to get drunk and some who don't. There are those that are pedophiles and those that are not.

Knowledge isn't power

I really enjoyed reading this article. I was surprised to learn that is was first printed in 1986. It has some ideas that are ahead of it's time. It helps put to rest many myths that are associated with computer technology. For example, it mentions that most people think that having computers will level teh playing field more. However, this may not be the case. According to the article, since computers will take important jobs away from people it may leave only mediocre jobs such as janitor available for people. This will actually lengthen the gap between the wealthy and poor.

The article also debunks the myth that computer technology will help make smarter people. However, this isn't the case. The article exlpains that the only way for this to occur is that people actually know how to and are able to use the technology. Many people can't because they are unable to read. Langdon Winner explains that these computer enthusiasts (as he puts it) should be concentrating in making sure public libraries have the necessary tools to help educate people. Winner states: "While it is true that systems of computation and communications, intelligently structured and wisely applied, might help a society raise its standards of literacy, education, and general knowledgeability, to look at those instruments first while ignoring how to enlighten and invigorate a human mind is pure foolishness. "(593)

Winner also thinks that knowledge isn't power. winner says that some people may have teh knowledge but don't have the means to act on that knowledge. This debunks the idea that knowledge is power. Winner thinks that knowledge is power only if it can be directly applied. For example, if I got a job because of all the computer software programs I know this is a way that knowledge would be power.

question 2

I learned what avatar means. I knew it was the images we choose that represent our profile pages but I wasn't sure exactly what it meant. According to the article, an avatar is what a god was called whenever they visited earth.

I thought it was interesting that we choose our avatars according to what our ethnic and/or culture is. For example, many people from the western world used avatars that illustrate what beauty is in the Western world. Similarily, gender also play a role in what avatars people choose. Most women will pick avatars that are associated with femininity and men will choose avatars that refelct masculinity.

A cyborg manifesto

I always thought of a cyborg as being a robot but Haraway gives the correct defintion. A cyborg is actually both robot and human at the same time. This is similar in how people and animals are the same thing. I never looked at a cyborg like that. She explains how women are being oppressed and that looking at the problem as a women's problem is not the right thing to do. She wants women to be treated equally. This will only be achieved if men begin to look at women differently.

The cyborg idea is a result of the dualism in people. For example, mind/body. This makes Haraway wonder why women get put into one category if they are obviously more than that. She feels that the oppression will only end once men realize that all women are not the same