Be open-minded

     The example, given in the beginning of the video, is a great one to explain how huge the influence the Internet poses to this world.  Nevertheless, I am surprised that the Brazilian is the third big population that uses Twitter.  I was shocked about the phenomenon that the world is actually not as global as we thought.  However, when I looked at myself, I suddenly realize that I am one among the people who concern the domestic news only.  The media should take responsibility for the result.

     Living in this high-tech society, people cannot live without the media.  The information we receive every day is mostly from them.  Thus, when they become less global, it shrinks our horizon toward the world as well.  For developing and underdeveloped countries, the media power is relatively weak compare to developed countries.  The world is still dominated by developed countries nowadays.

     With the help of Foko Club, students learn to use the Internet and blog and can then pose their own feeling and opinion of news in their country, Madagarscar.  Once it was published on the Internet, it has a great chance that more people will see, and have a better idea about this country.

     Yeeyan, a Chinese group with 150,000 volunteers, is doing an amazing and huge job.  They translate English articles to Chinese, so that people who are able to read Chinese can understand the articles, even if they don't know English.  This helps them to see the outside world.
I appreciate what these two groups do for this world.  Thanks to the invention of the Internet, we should be more open-minded.  It's time to broaden our horizon!

A Teacher Is...

     A teacher is like surveillance camera today.

       As the technology is developing in an amazing speed nowadays, the students are able to gain knowledge from various aspects, such as through the Internet, TV programs, etc.  However, in this info-exploded society, students may not know what is right and correct, and will probably take whatever they have seen.  The teacher then plays a crucial role to keep a watchful eye on his/her students.  George Siemens states in his article: New information is continually being acquired. The ability to draw distinctions between important and unimportant information is vital.  It is the educators’ responsibility to oversee the behavior of the students, and to teach them what is true and false on the Internet.  Besides, the students should be taught how to tell what is important and unimportant information among  overwhelmed data.

     Moreover, Siemens, G. stresses, “Learning (defined as actionable knowledge) can reside outside of ourselves (within an organization or a database), is focused on connecting specialized information sets, and the connections that enable us to learn more are more important than our current state of knowing.”  It truly easy and convenient to gain knowledge now.  With just one click, we can acquire whatever we want to learn and know.  Thus, some people may be fooled around with the fake information, which is posted on the Internet.  For me, the tool should be just the assistant instead of the commander.  It is us who use the tool, instead of being used by the tool.  How to use the tool properly to make it a helpful material for us is insignificant.

     The rise of community websites, for example, Facebook, Twitter, My Space, and so on, has led a dramatically change on the way people communicate.  He also explains in the video, “The software is a tool allows individual to form communication with each other,” and “Our learning today is one of the forming network with each other.”  Since the communication involves in more technology now than before, we should pay attention to this specific communicate way.  It can interfere in a either good or bad way.  That is why the teacher has to supervise his/her students all the time to make sure they are not distracted from the regular route.

What Do You Say?

     Think about this: Does the technology really make your life simpler and easier?

     This question keeps popping out of my mind after reading  the article---Simple (Blog: TeachPaperless).  I found this article interesting, and I ponder a while after reading it.

     We cannot deny that the technology does make our life more convenient and effective in some ways.  Nevertheless, it also brings some troubles such as being hacked, attacked by virus, receiving endless spam, and so on.  The water that bears the boat is the same that swallows it up.

     The general students, who are usually too young to judge what is right or wrong, are the generation of technology.  Most of them are able to use the high-tech devices, for example, the cell phones and computers, without being taught.  Thus, they cannot live without them after they grow up.  Exposing to overloaded information on the Internet may cause some problems to teenagers, who lack the ability to make proper judgment.  It is normal that they take whatever they saw on the Internet serious, even the piece of information is false and wrong.  In this way, the technology seems to become an obstacle.

     Besides, it has become a trend that we are using technology as assist in teaching nowadays.  It helps us most of the time; however, it brings some disadvantages as well. 

     It is true that the technology does us a great help, but it has some drawback.  In my humble opinion, I believe that the factor that the technology makes our life simple or complex is decided by how we make use of it.

Don't Be Afraid, Teachers!

    

     After reading the Chapter 1 of Brave New Digital Classroom by Robert J. Blake, I was surprised by one of the myths, Technology Will Replace Teachers, about technology and SLA (Second Language Acquisition).

     Some teachers are afraid of being replaced by high-tech tools such as the use of the Internet.  They fear the school or institution might downsize the number of employees if it starts using technology in teaching considerably. 

     In my humble opinion, I do not regard the use of technology in teaching pose a threat to teachers.  On the contrary, it can be a great help.  As it has also written in this book, there are three main technological platforms to assist SLA: the web, CD-ROM, and net-work based communication.  Each platform provides different methods to help students to lead an effective and successful language learning process.  The technology has adopted widely in teaching nowadays. 

     Although the computer is considered as smart as human beings, they can never replace the human.  To me, one of the most important aspects in teaching and learning is the teacher-student interaction.  It is true that computer programs are able to respond to some certain questions and make people feel there is “interaction” between it and themselves.  However, the so recognized interaction is all about mouse clicking and keyboard typing.  If the program is not well-constructed, which is impossible for the complicated formation of language, culture, and history, it cannot answer some specific language questions.  Since we are mortals, who possess the ability of thinking and feeling, we are able to “interact” with others, and to deal with elaborate questions, which intervene with “humanities” issues.  Thus, the teacher will never be substituted.

      “Everyone seems to forget to answer the questions of who will teach those distance learning courses, write the curriculum, and train students to work with in this format.” This sentence best described the simplest reason that why the teachers do not have to be afraid of being replaced.  Even if it is true, the teachers cannot be satisfied with the current situation for it is more globalized and technology-using widespread in this modern society and teaching circumstance.  “The technology will not replace teachers in the future, but rather teachers who use technology will probably replace teachers who do not” (Clifford 1987, 13).