Technology becoming the new way of learning?

So I've recently noticed a lot ads on TV for colleges, but not only that but also online learning. There are some colleges that are becoming more online class focus but towards the audience of working older adults, maybe even some young adults who because of situations may not be able to get to a college. I believe is good but also bad at the same time. Depending on the situation this can be a blessing for most people and a better way to juggle their busy schedules with family or even work. For other's they could be lazy and stay at home while being on their computers "in class" but really can be surfing the web on Facebook, shopping, YouTubing, basically not "in class at all". So while I do agree with the advantages of the online colleges, I still do have my disagreements with it as well.

Bullying

I believe the action we should do is more keeping watch on what they are doing. When they come to the right age let them know about things like this and bullying. Things they could do to avoid a situation like Amanda's. Just basically helping them to be more acknowledgeable of the internet and social sites, and how when you post something even though you delete it never really is gone. It's up thee forever you can't take it back. There are people out there who would take what you post or a picture of you and use it against you. For the "bullies" if parents were to watch them more closely then they could stop them when they see them about to do something wrong. Or they could teach them what they are about to do could have a huge impact on the other person and on them. For some situations I believe that punishment is the right approach. But only for very serious scenarios something that is just a small fight or "drama" I don't believe should be to serious of a punishment but still something to get the two parties to stop and get over it.

Catfish

Back on the topic that we were talking about in class, with teens and people having it easy now to communicate with each other. I remember that there is a show called “Catfish” on MTV, where people meet online and then begin dating even though they have never met in real life. The only thing they know about each other is what they tell each other and what they see online. Once they get on the show they helped them meet. Sometimes it’s the person they have been talking to this whole time, and sometimes it’s a completely different person who was just conning them or just leading them on. But there are cases where it’s a different person but they had good intentions, like wanting a friend, wanting to talk to somebody, or just wanting them to like them and soon reveal who they are but they still want to be with them regardless. What I’m getting at in this post is that technology has made it so easy for people to fall for what they read and see then what is actually in front of them. Anyone can pass off as the perfect guy or girl online. They can be whoever they want online and in most cases can get away with it. But that is also why there is Skype and other webcam chats like Oovoo. On there, there is no way you can hide who you are unless you just use the instant message. But just goes to show that the internet can be either a safe haven or a trap.  

Privacy? What Privacy?

Based on the discussion that we had today on privacy with social networks. I think it's amazing how technology now makes it's easy for other people to do research on people whenever they want. It's kind of both good and bad in a sense. If you think about it, it's good because for like employers for example it would be good to know who it is that they are hiring. Or for someone who started dating someone from a dating site. If I was them I would do research on that person. Find out what kind of person they are, what they do, are they who they say they are. Things like that to keep yourself safe. But on the other hand it does kind of suck to know that random people can go through your private privacy and learn and this stuff about you and feel like they know who you are already, just based on the information they found on you. For all they know someone could have taken your picture and made a profile pretending to be you and began posting ridiculous statuses and making Photoshop images of you doing things that you would never do. Personally I have two Facebook accounts one for family and friends and the other is for my fandoms and talking to other people with the same interest. At least this way when I go in for a job interview, the employer won't see the other profile and instead just see the profile with family and friends. There are a number of positives and negatives to the internet with privacy so there's no real answer I can give on it being a problem or not, just kind of stuck in the middle.

Facebook Spreading the Word

So I'm pretty sure that everyone or at least most of us are aware of Facebook and how nearly a month ago now. They placed under the gender section of the profiles with transgender. To be honest I learned about this from my friends on Facebook because I have a few friends who are transgender. I was actually quite happy to hear about this and to see Facebook sending a message to other's that they are accepting of people's choices in their sexuality and how they feel about themselves. But also on the side I believe that Facebook did this to become more popular and get higher ratings.

Google takeover!

After the conversation we had in class on Friday on Google. I do believe that Google has a grip on people's everyday life on the internet. Personally when I want to find something out and completely forget the website that I was suppose to go to for the topic. I just go to google and type in some keywords to help me find the site. I also use it for finding sites to watch TV shows, music, art inspiration, nearby events going on for fun. I can go on forever but I'm pretty sure you get the idea. I believe if Google was ever to be taken down and stop working some people would find it hard to function because Google just has that strong of a grip on consumers online. For me I would just start using Bing. I use it sometimes because some of my friends say it's an alternative for if Google doesn't find the results that you are looking for. But still I may freak out if it did stop working this site is the number one search engine that I use in my daily life.

Thought's on Megan Reardon's Interview

 

So after reading the interview for Megan Reardon, I had come to see that I and she had a bit of a similarity when it came to first making blogs. Before I took this class a lot of my friends on Facebook had a blog on Tumblr for their artwork or characters they used for stories. I also wanted to make a blog for my art as well kind of the same way that Megan wanted to make a blog for her crafts. Though I must say that I failed at making a blog. Mostly because I had never used Tumblr before, and that it was very confusing to understand. For Megan she mentions that she mostly made a blog for her crafts and for keeping notes so that she could come back to use them as reference for later. Which I guess can be understandable. But further along she talks about how she doesn't really use her blog as much anymore and about the troubles of people with their comments. Speaking from experience I understand how that would be but mostly on Facebook. I don't know if I have a right to say this because, I've never blogged before. But to me it doesn't really seem like Megan is much of a blogger either. Compared to how I've seen my friends blog and even some YouTube bloggers. It just seemed that she used the site for herself and help keep track of daily task more than the life blogs or more creative blogs that I generally see.