In this documentary called "Growing up online" directed by Rachel Dretzin and John Maggio, the documentary follows the lives of students and deaths of some who have secret lives online. At the beginning of the film they start off by showing students who use technology in their everyday lives. There are students throwing a party and gaming, there are other students on Youtube looking up the latest songs, then they go to a 13 year old boy who is using Myspace next to the 13 year old's brother whose 7 also on a computer playing ClubPenguin. This all takes place in Morris County, New Jersey where 90% of students are online. They go on to show videos of teenagers lives online. Most of the videos are of kids expressing themselves,complaining about adults, or to connect with other teens. One of the teens interviewed, Greg, says "The internet is like a currency; if you don't use it then you're at a loss". To these teens that attend Chatham High School with Greg make it seem like technology is the only way of life. Teachers are trying to keep up with technology so they don't lose students. They use LCD projectors, smart boards, computers instead of desks, podcasting teachers broadcast their lessons so that kids can revisit those later. They realize that students won't listen to a teacher with a monotone voice and a piece of chalk so they've had to evolve to this world of newer technology. Steve Maher a social studies teacher at Greg's school says "We almost have to be entertainers; if you look at the advertising world and the media world that they (students) live in they consume so much media. We have to cut through that cloud of information around them, cut through that media and capture their attention." It next takes us to the next chapter of students who use the internet for self expression. They go from a girl named Sarah who has online relationships and uses the internet to further her anorexia skills to another girl named Jessica who uses the internet to portray her second identity: Autumn Edows. Jessica was made fun of as a kid so she turned to the internet as an escape to a different world. Then it goes to the next chapter of online predators. Evan Skinners is a mother who is very afraid for her childrens lives online. She thinks that her kids are going to be stalked, raped, kidnapped. In this chapter it goes to the parents point of view and what they are feeling is lack of control over their kids' lives online. Parents are blaming the internet for bad behavior in their children. I think what they really need to start worrying about is how they are raising their kids.
My life has been slightly affected by the internet. Recently though, it has been forced on me by teachers. What some kids/adults don't realize is there are some kids that don't want anything to do with the internet. For instance in this english class I have used my computer more than I have in the last 6 months. There are still people out there who don't waste their time and health on a stupid thing made of plastic. The real world is better than a virtual one.
Welcome!
Welcome to our Eng 100 Blog “Conversations Beyond the Classroom”! The title of this blog refers to the community of active readers & collaborative learners we are creating by sharing our academic writing for Eng 100 with each other + 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! We 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. We 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! I am really excited see how far we can take this together!
--Mary Hammerbeck, Instructor of Eng 100
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! We 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. We 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! I am really excited see how far we can take this together!
--Mary Hammerbeck, Instructor of Eng 100
No comments:
Post a Comment