Blog Assignment #6

1. The Networked Student
Under this concept, a student will be prepared to use networking as a resource for information. The student will research topics and share the findings with others. The student will still need a teacher guidance, just in a different fashion. The teacher will show the student how to build these networks. The student would not be able to begin on his or her intellectual journey without a start line. The teacher will also be needed to assist throughout the process as well. The student will need help navigating through the sea of resources and differentiation between the reliable ones and the hogwash. Also, the teacher will be able to keep the student on track and heading in the correct direction. The student will know if he or she has gone far enough without a teacher pushing him or her to keep going. The teacher will also be needed to regulate what the student is doing. If the student isn't being as proficient as he or she  needs to be, it would help to have a teacher to show him or her what still needs to be done. Even though the subject base will not be completely coming from the teacher, the networked student will still need a teacher to get the most of the course being pursued.
2. A 7th Grader's Personal Learning Environment
I think that the concept behind this student's PLE (or PLN) is freeing. The way in which it works allows a student the freedom to take an assignment and venture in any direction the students desires. The traditional learning style limits the information available for a student to that which can be found in a particular textbook assigned the student. This information may be outdated by the time that the textbook is made available for the student. Students of this sort of PLE is allowed to research a topic from various resources. A student can research the subject as a broad topic or as a specific topic. A student can ensure the data is up to date by utilizing various resources. These can include sites, articles, and experts. This particular student was able to contact an expert on the topic and get the expert to make corrects to the student's information. Not only does this PLE alter how a student gets information on a subject. It also allows a student to access assignment schedules, collaborate with others, and complete assignments all in one place. A student can access all this at anytime, from anywhere. The assignments can all be done without a pencil and paper. The student can keep all work done together in one place for future reference. The student can also make his or her work available for others to reference.While working on an assignment, a student can work at his or her own pace. The instructor can monitor a student's productivity along the way to ensure the work is being done. This student is able to go online and see exactly what is to be done that day. If this student misses school, he or she can still access this information and keep up with the rest of the class. This student is allowed the freedom of not only working at a personally comfortable pace but also, in some instances, choosing what to do next. If a student is given a list of assignments, he or she can prioritize the assignments as he or she wants to. This student could do these assignments in any order desired as long as the student respects the individual due dates of the assignments. I personally feel that the description of the PLE of this students correlates with any description I might give of my own. I too have free access to my network and freedom the prioritizes my assignments. I have constant access to my network. My assignments are together in one place where others may access them. The assignments are directed by the instructor. But I, and my fellow students, are able to take them as far as we want or limit them to particular boundaries. The only obvious difference offered is that I am in college while this student is in the 7th grade.
3. The Machine is Changing Us
This video basically breaks down the psychological progression of generations not just as it pertains to education but as it is seen collectively in society. The video explains that the narcissism and self-interest is a product of our technology and its abuse. It also explains the relevance of the psychology of this new generation. People develop ideas of social norms and cultural outlines through assimilation. The most prevalent idea of assimilation is through learning these things through interpreting our interactions with others. For example, if one recognizes that people walk away when addressed in a certain matter, one will alter how they address others. Now, assimilation is built off of third-party relationships and non-temporal interactions. As opposed to talking to a person face-to-face, in which the conversation is temporal, people connect via facebook messages and texts. In a real life situation, we can not edit what we say or do. With the way interactions are made today, scripts are heard as opposed to true words straight from the minds of people. When people can go over what they said numerous times and edit or resay what they said before it is ever heard, the human effect of interacting and conversing with others is lost. When people begin to feel only comfortable connecting with others through technology, are they really connecting.
I am taking Life Sci II this term with about 20 other people. We meet three times a week and talk before the beginning of each class. Although we have been meeting like this for over a month, we know nothing about eachother for the most part. I only talk to the five guys who sit around me during each class. They do the same. When one of these guys (who always takes his notes via his labtop) accidentally deleted all of his notes the day before our online quiz, his only option to retrieve the information was to contact his fellow classmates. The following is a copy of the mass email he sent to all of the student of the Life Sci II course using the email contact given on the ecompanion site.
"Ben needs help. im looking for the people i sit around so if you dont recognize who this is, the pepsi guy, then please disregard this email. if you do recognize me, Ben the pepsi guy, then please help me out my computer deleted my recordings in class when i tried to upload them. if you could please give me a call at (cell number removed) and help me fill in the blanks of my ch34 notes.
thanks, 
Ben the pepsi guy"

So why did he have to say "pepsi guy"? The people who sit around him only know him as "pepsi guy" because he drinks pepsi during every class. When I first read the email, I did not recognize the email the message was sent from or the name Ben. I only recognized "pepsi guy." Those in the class who don't sit around him would not have recognized anything in the email. When I called to help him replace his notes, he did not recognize my number or my name. He addressed me as "jersey girl" because those around me address me as such do to the way I talk. After the whole ordeal was over, I realized how awkward the entire situation was. He did not feel comfortable coming up to us in person. He could not email only those who sat around him, because he could not recognize any of the names corresponding to the email addresses.  And even when we talked on the phone, we continued to ignore the fact the the other had a name and continued to address the other by their adopted Life Sci II nickname.

If human interactions have brought us to this level in 2010, how will people interact 20 years from know? Forget knowing their classmates' names, will they ever see their class mates in person? And as a teacher, will we ever meet our students?