Interactivity #1 Technology as Autobiography

    

Olivia can be compared to a lot of the youth found in urban districts. She doesn’t have complete access to many of the technologies that some more fortunate children may take for granted. When it comes to teaching I know that I will be dealing with students who have little or no access to some of the technological programs and devices out there. In Olivia’s case she found outside sources to provide her with different technologies. Instead of being shown these technologies she learned about all of these devices and programs on her own and taught herself as well as others how to use them. Olivia describes technology as a major part of her life and she can’t imagine life with out it. It is important to know that technology can be a vital and important part of a student’s life. As a teacher I would like to provide as much access and knowledge I can about these different programs as well as promote further exploration in the technological world. Technology is constantly changing and it’s important for me as a teacher to keep up with what kids are using so that I can better relate my lessons to them.

The 3 technologies that have the most impact on my life right now would be my iPhone, Facebook, and Instagram. Since I got the iPhone I feel as though I barely use my laptop computer. Everything I need is at my fingertips and can fit right in my pocket. I can send emails, look up information on the web, call, text, and facetime. Mostly everything I can do on my computer I can do on my iPhone. I barely use my digital camera now that I think of it. The pictures and videos my iPhone takes are so good that I do not really have a use for my digital camera anymore. My facebook and instagram accounts are something I don’t think I could live without at the moment. Through facebook I am able to stay in touch with people who live far away such as my family, or my friends who live in different cities and countries. I am able to follow groups that hold my interests, I am able to find out about different events going on, and I can also find out more about people I know little about.  Through instagram I am able to take pictures and edit them with different filters and effects and post them. Its almost like a picture diary. People follow and are able to view your posts, and you can follow people and do the same. It has become a recent addiction of mine. I am constantly on the look out for interesting things around me that I can post on my instagram.

The kids in both videos use technology as a part of their everyday life. Like Olivia I use a social networking account on the regular. I think we both use it for similar reasons; to talk to and follow our friends and to express ourselves. Like the others in the second video I depend a lot of my computer, my ipod, and my phone. They are tools that I use multiple times a day, every day. I use my computer to research things that I know little about, and I am constantly experimenting with the endless amount of different programs that are so easily accessable to us. My instagram and facebook, although I enjoy using these programs, tend to distract me at times. While writing this post I probably looked at my instagram twice already. I think that facebook and instagram are excellent social networking programs, but at times I feel as though they may detour my attention from things that may be more informative and educational.