Peter C. is an education student hoping to become a teacher
Being a member of the dreaded Generation Y, there is a deeply ingrained yet horribly wrong assumption that every young individual is well versed in technology and its proper use. The belief is that youth today are so immersed in technology that it becomes as natural as it is to speak a language. Such a mastery surely would produce responsible and informed users of the powerful World Wide Web!
This is like assuming all English speakers should be able to write Shakespeare.
The fact is, despite an overwhelming percentage of technology usage spent on the internet, relatively few actually take the time to explore the foundations and makeup of such a magnificently flawed contraption.
Most of the internet users today use it to browse for pictures, videos, on social networking sites, play games, and search for porn.
Of all the computer users I know, myself included, not a single one read any End User Licensing Agreements on systems or applications that are so integral to their daily lives like iTunes, Internet Explorer, or Facebook. Instead, we spend that time virtual farming.
Generation Y is becoming horribly technologically illiterate precisely because they are so immersed in technologies that already exist. Does anybody at any point stop and truly wonder about the air that surrounds us? That so naturally is inhaled every minute of our existence? How many people actually pause their daily routines to think, "F*cking magnets, how do they work?"
As teachers, it becomes our primary concern to not impart knowledge, but to foster a spirit of inquiry and the skill set to explore one's thoughts and curiosities, and construct a reasonable and defensible knowledge base that is at all times under the scrutiny of critical thinking skills.
Cyberbullying is not at all a divisive issue, politicians and educators universally condemn such actions... but what solutions have been proposed? Harsher punishment? Raised awareness? Generic responses that offer no real actions like "become educated" on the issue?
In our mob mentality we take up the very weapons that we have cursed at to strike an enemy that is no longer there - vigilantism in the quest for justice often become tainted with the blood of the demons he set out to slay. What is needed is not necessarily an immediate solution - but an actual discussion... with our parents as well as our children - we need to talk about taking ownership of one's actions, and the burden of responsibility for harnessing such a wonderful yet powerful tool as the internet.
This website was created for Educ 501 Socio-Cultural Theories of Learning Winter 2012. UC.
All copyrighted materials belong to their copyright owners.
All materials referenced are used under the FAIR USE Act.
This is like assuming all English speakers should be able to write Shakespeare.
The fact is, despite an overwhelming percentage of technology usage spent on the internet, relatively few actually take the time to explore the foundations and makeup of such a magnificently flawed contraption.
Most of the internet users today use it to browse for pictures, videos, on social networking sites, play games, and search for porn.
Of all the computer users I know, myself included, not a single one read any End User Licensing Agreements on systems or applications that are so integral to their daily lives like iTunes, Internet Explorer, or Facebook. Instead, we spend that time virtual farming.
Generation Y is becoming horribly technologically illiterate precisely because they are so immersed in technologies that already exist. Does anybody at any point stop and truly wonder about the air that surrounds us? That so naturally is inhaled every minute of our existence? How many people actually pause their daily routines to think, "F*cking magnets, how do they work?"
As teachers, it becomes our primary concern to not impart knowledge, but to foster a spirit of inquiry and the skill set to explore one's thoughts and curiosities, and construct a reasonable and defensible knowledge base that is at all times under the scrutiny of critical thinking skills.
Cyberbullying is not at all a divisive issue, politicians and educators universally condemn such actions... but what solutions have been proposed? Harsher punishment? Raised awareness? Generic responses that offer no real actions like "become educated" on the issue?
In our mob mentality we take up the very weapons that we have cursed at to strike an enemy that is no longer there - vigilantism in the quest for justice often become tainted with the blood of the demons he set out to slay. What is needed is not necessarily an immediate solution - but an actual discussion... with our parents as well as our children - we need to talk about taking ownership of one's actions, and the burden of responsibility for harnessing such a wonderful yet powerful tool as the internet.
This website was created for Educ 501 Socio-Cultural Theories of Learning Winter 2012. UC.
All copyrighted materials belong to their copyright owners.
All materials referenced are used under the FAIR USE Act.