Me, Myself, and I

Just feeling bold.

 I now turn towards myself for observation. I've kept a close eye on how technology comes to play in my average school day. When I'm getting ready in the morning, my iPod comes on during my primping period; I'm getting dressed and heading out the door. On this average day my iPod will also act as my radio while driving to school. During classes I try to refrain from using my phone because I don't want my teacher to think I'm disrespectful. However, it can seem as if your phone is calling to you during a dragging lecture. I've actually used my phone before to look up information relevant to the class, but that is rare. Disregarding texting and calling, a lot of my phone use has to deal with looking up information. I have a very random and racing mind that comes up with many questions for which I want the answer. So naturally, I have become best friends with Google search. It's there at my every whim to answer questions within seconds. It's funny most of these questions aren't important and won't change my life, but because I know they'll be answered in a snap I continue finding random questions. Also right after I wake up, I check the weather update on my phone to decide on what to wear. I would rather not end up wearing a sweater in ninety degree weather.

Throughout my school day I use the computers and Blackboard to complete all of my homework. To be honest, I do not think any aspect of my homework can be done without a computer. That is how technologically dependent society has become. When I was observing my daily routines I even used an app on my phone called Richnote to type all of my data down.

Technology is very prevalent in my daily life, but there is one thing I refuse to do. I am a huge advocate for not texting while driving. I have seen some gruesome truths because of those few seconds of error and I would not want to suffer those consequences. Technology is helpful, but people must learn not to abuse it.

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College Students In Their Natural Habitat

After observing students all day I have come to a conclusion. They are completely addicted to technology! You probably could not pry a cell

phone away from the students on the AWC campus. It is as if they have a primal instinct to check their phones for messages every second.

Today I saw a quite ridiculous scene. I looked all around my math class and every student had their cell phone laying out. The crazy thing is that within a ten minute time period no one picked up their phone or even used it. It was pretty bizarre because why even have the cell phone out in the first place? During the same period I could hear the little voom-vooms of a vibrating text message constantly buzzing.



This image is from guardian.co.uk

  The courtyard and grassy areas, I think, see the most technology use on campus. Students that are walking alone are almost always listening to music or tapping away at their phones. It is more likely that larger groups walking together won't be using any devices to disconnect themselves from others.
I believe headphones and music players see the most action with the student athletes. There is not one minute I do not see an athlete with headphones,or the popular Beats by Dr. Dre, not connected to their skull. That must be a requirement to play sports at AWC: must always listen to music. Athletes will even disconnect themselves in the cafeteria. Even with all of their peers around them they will not release the headphones. I'm sure an argument could be made that they are being held hostage. I love listening to my music, but I think I enjoy people a lot more.
After all of this observation I understand why older generations cannot connect to us: we only relate to our cell phones and computers! Maybe there should be a class on how to wind down from all of that technology use and get back to the basics of entertainment like books and actually conversing with other humans.

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A Teacher On Technology

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This image is from talesfroma4thand5thgradeteacher.blogspot.com

Today I decided to interview my Precalculus professor Weicheng "Anson" Xuan on the insertion of technology in the classroom. I think he is a wonderful instructor and always tries to keep his class interesting for his students. I believe his class is the most technologically advanced above all my courses at AWC. Every day we take our notes and learn chapters from a SMART board. Professor Xuan insists that all-around, technology is beneficial. "You save time....and you save resources." For example he explains nowadays students and teachers alike do not even need to use pencils or paper. "A student can understand what you are talking about on Blackboard, or on the computer." Professor Xuan also admits, "Of course there are some side effects." He lists the problems of people playing on iPods or cell phones while he is instructing. It worries him when his students cannot concentrate on what is going on in class. My professor reveals that he knows when his sneaky pupils are secretly hiding their music players in their pockets. So all be warned because Professor Xuan will catch you!
His idea on how technology can aid teachings in the classroom involves a system already in use. Just like the University of Arizona, Professor Xuan would like to have iPads administered to all students across the AWC campus. He believes this new method will make things run smoother in the classroom. "After we learn the formula, they can do the homework [in class]." This would definitely help with learning and executing the problems. Students would not have to wait till they got home or to their dorms to forget what they had just learned. My professor believes the iPads would help reinforce the lesson back to the students. "If they do not know how to do it, I can explain it and give them more examples." Professor Xuan hopes one day Arizona Western College can administer iPads to its students to excel their learning. Overall my professor believes that technology can be distracting in a classroom, but its positives are stronger than the negatives.

Seeing the Good in Technology

This image is from toromail.azwestern.edu

Yesterday I had the pleasure of interviewing a fellow college student about their view on technology. Matt is an Engineering major in his first year at Arizona Western College. He strongly believes technology exists to help the greater good.

In Matt's daily life, technology best serves him for educational purposes. His homework and assignments are in the online database Blackboard. Blackboard allows students to check any information about their classes and to also turn in work.

When asked about the specific times he used technology, Matt could not decide. "It becomes so prevalent nowadays, that I think we use it a lot of times without realizing it."

Matt feels strongly that technology can greatly aid the lives of college students. "Lots of professors that I've had will write out their notes on the Smart Board, and then they'll post those notes online so we have the professor's work that we learned in class available to us. We can communicate with other students on the Internet...we can look at what we need to do on Blackboard. Lots of colleges nowadays have iPads they can give to students...all of their curriculum is based on that iPad. They don't even need textbooks."

His idea for helping technology advance the college scene would take place in the classroom. "I think it would be cool if all lectures were recorded. If you missed a class, or if you fall asleep during class...it'd be like you were there[in class] again. You could still learn if you weren't there."

When faced with the question on why others might see technology as negative or overbearing, Matt gave a sophisticated and analytical answer. "Technology itself isn't the problem...I think of it as a tool." Matt uses a hammer as an example. "A hammer in itself isn't bad, but if you use it wrong and accidentally hit your thumb...then you can see it as bad." "It's what people do with it, that can make it a negative thing. If they use it wrong, it can become their life and that's when it becomes a negative thing."

Even though I might be a little old-fashioned I believe Matt created an excellent argument for the benefits of technology and how it could enhance our world for the future.

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"Is Technology Causing Me to Lose as Much as I Gain?"

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This question for me is complicated. In my first post I realized how much technology affects my life. The thing is...I know the repercussions of letting technology dominate your life. People become cold robots that do not remember how to interact with other humans. Research from an earlier project proves that a social disconnection between college students is already present. Technology can only widen the gap that has been already created with crazy schedules, school work and jobs. As a kid, technology was not as present as it obviously is today. I still remember that hanging out with friends was actually going outside and playing, not getting on Facebook together. Technology is getting tricky in today's society. You are completely surrounded by it even if that is not what you want. Millions of people are even hooked to their cell phones and social media networks. All I would say is that technology needs to give people's social lives a break. Technology is very helpful indeed, but mostly for the business world. When conducting business across the world technological devices such as smart phones and Skype seem appropriate. Meetings can be held with people from eight different countries if need be. That is the aspect where technology truly does its best work. Honestly, I could give up quick Google searches and Netflix to be physically closer connected to the community around me. Technology is making amazing advances every day but we must not forget what is truly important in this world. Being more efficient cannot surpass true human connection.

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Hello World!

Hi, my name is Brianna :) I guess you can say I'm pretty much a dual student right now. I'm currently completing college courses in my senior year of high school. It's a pretty strange situation and feeling but I love the new atmosphere of college. Being that I am in school, I use technology every second. My Math course is practically all online and in English we use it pretty heavily. In my daily life I use about four devices of technology religiously. I have my cell phone, my computer, my iPod and...I guess I could choose the television. My cell phone obviously keeps me connected with everything I need. It itself is a mini computer with video players and the internet. It helps me communicate through text messaging and emails. My computer is extra important right now since I have to use it to complete my school work. Right now in life, my iPod is my life saver. I listen to music everyday and it helps with everything. If I'm mad I listen to music, or if I'm sad, happy etc. If my iPod died today I would probably mourn! That might sound silly but that's just how much it's in my daily life. I never realized how often I used technology till now. On most days I'll think of a question, and if no one can answer it I use Google. I think I literally Google anything! It's a bit funny but I'm addicted. Technology helps with every aspect of my life right now and it's a bit surreal. I wonder what would happen to the world if the Internet crashed? People and major corporations would go bezerk. I know I could never get my random questions answered. Well I guess technology is pretty important in life.