The Impact of Technology and Ethical Issues

The process of blogging is something which was entirely new to me, even though I was aware of what blogging is prior to undertaking this task. I found it to be quite challenging at first to find the time at the end of a busy week to sit down and respond coherently to a driving question, but I think that was mainly because I wasn’t used to blogging. As the weeks went on I found it easier to write about the driving topics and found myself thinking of what to write about next in advance. Ryan and Grolnick (1986) state that when a student is in control of their environment, they are not only internally motivated to work, but also experience positive feelings of self-worth. I found it very beneficial to be in a professional learning network with my peers who were also undertaking the same blogging task and I have enjoyed seeing the weekly blog posts come through and being able to take inspiration from their posts, to write my own.

An area which I am perpetually improving on as I get older is my time management skills. Hindsight is 20 20 and something which can always be improved is managing my time more effectively to allow for a richer and more in depth discussion each week as some week I had assignments due which I prioritised higher than the blog post. I need to build on utilising more evidence through the blog rather than speaking from an anecdotal perspective.

The rapid advancements in technology have a direct impact in the way humans communicate. In today’s age it has become rare to see a handwritten letter in the mail, rather than a package that you ordered on a digital storefront. A century ago, the handwritten letter was state of the art, and was the most effective way to communicate with other humans who were on the other side of the world, or the other side of the country. Today, communication over the internet with instant messaging is the normal, and it is socially expected that you carry a device which can receive and send an IM.

Especially relevant in 2020’s global pandemic, the way we use technology to communicate has been shifted entirely. Video conferences such as Zoom, Houseparty and Discord have become essential and the new normal way to connect with friends and family. This change meant that in order to sustain contact with other people outside of your own home, you need to have a device which can operate these apps which can pose some issues for people who didn’t rely on or own technology prior to the pandemic, meaning that they were forced to adapt to the current situation and technological requirements. Humans have had to adapt greatly to these changes, to a point where education has almost entirely moved to the online platform which is something we have never seen before.

The internet has captivated the world since its release as it allows people to connect with one another across the world through many different forms such as instant messaging (IM), video conferencing and E-mail. Sites like Facebook require you to input your own personal information into their servers to make an account under your own name, so that you are able to interact with other people who have also done the same. However, most of the internet is not like Facebook at all. Most interactions via the internet are done anonymously, meaning that there is no real way to track who is behind the computer. Through anonymity, the issue of imitation rises. Due to social media sites like Facebook which require your personal information to be used to create an account, that very same information can be stolen and used without your permission on different sites.

The anonymity of the internet and gaming is what makes the internet so unique to any other interactions which we come across in life. Good video games capture players through identity. Players either inherit a strongly formed and appealing character—e.g., Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid (Gee, 2007) or they get to build a character from the ground up, choosing which race and class they wish to choose, in games such as World of Warcraft or RuneScape.  This is a double-edged sword as through anonymity we can escape the stress of reality and become immersed into a digital world under a different name and body, we are now committed to in this new virtual world. Games life Second Life are where this shine as you can literally be anyone you want to be, while keeping your identity secure.

Changes in technology over the past few decades have rapidly changed the way that people connect with one another. We have the ability to instantaneously contact anyone, anywhere in the world. 

With the ability to have our messages sent, delivered and received immediately, our communication is more informal than ever. We use countless abbreviations and emoticons to get our message across, ignoring spelling and grammar rules. We can apply for jobs and rentals on Facebook. We can directly contact our favourite musicians and entertainers via Twitter. 

There is however a worrying aspect of this informality. Communication technologies and the internet have barely any rules or regulations when it comes to the content that can be posted and shared. Ethical issues surrounding ICT and specifically social media are becoming increasingly serious, especially through online scamming, radicalisation, and widespread misinformation.

As money can rapidly and easily change hands online, scammers can rob someone of their life savings in minutes. This can be through the purchase of an item that never arrives, or through someone posing as a company to access a person’s bank details. Australia is slowly acting to stop scammers such as through ticket scalping laws and Scamwatch from the ACCC, but scammers are constantly thinking of new ways to cheat people out of their money. 

Radicalisation is also a large risk. Vulnerable people can be easily targeted online by organisations, as so much of a person’s life is available on the internet for anyone to see. These groups will look for their perfect victim based on the person’s online persona or digital footprint – someone easily exploitable. The internet allows for these radical organisations to recruit people into their ideologies more than ever.

Widespread misinformation is arguably the largest ethical issue we are facing on the internet today. Also known as ‘fake news’, false claims and facts are abundant, as there is a freedom that anyone can say anything online. This misinformation can evoke strong emotions such as anger towards certain individuals or groups, causing dangerous and reckless behaviour. It can also push people to lose trust in their governments, science, and society in general.

Transcript

A digital footprint is the electronic trail of an internet user. This trail formed through creating and accessing data on the internet, by visiting websites, downloading files, online shopping, tweeting, and posting on social media.

Everyone who uses the internet has a digital footprint that can be found and followed. And with the rise of social media, this trail is becoming easier and easier to trace. By simply knowing someone’s full name, you or I would potentially be able to easily find out where this person went to school, their hobbies, political alignment, relationship status, birthday, and workplace. Would you want a stranger to be able to access all this information about you?

On the internet, everything is permanent. Your digital footprint is not just a trail along the sand, but steps that will be embedded in concrete forever. The reason for this permanence is because it is cheaper and easier for companies to store data than to delete it. A few deleted tweets are miniscule compared to the obscene amount of data that is stored in internet servers. It is also costly for companies to sift through and decide what is to be deleted and what to keep. You never know, the deleted data may be needed later as evidence for an investigation or a lawsuit.

Because of this permanence, we need to be extra careful with what we say and do on the internet. An unfavourable online reputation can negatively impact future jobs and relationships. More and more employers are checking up on potential employees on social media, to see if they will be the best fit to represent the company. No one is immune to this, as seen in the case of James Gunn (director of the Guardians of the Galaxy films) who was fired from Disney in 2018 over old, deleted tweets containing distasteful jokes about pedophilia and rape.

So how can we reduce our digital footprint? The easiest thing is to think before you say or do anything online. We all know the grandma rule - if you don’t want her to see it, don’t post it. For the things that you DO post, don’t include personal information. You want to keep your online persona separate from yourself. Check that your privacy settings help you with this as well, so only people you know in person can see what you are up to. You can also go the extra step and install a Virtual Private Network (or VPN) to your browser, ensuring online privacy and anonymity through the encryption of data when surfing the web. 

The most interesting part of blogging was that I got the chance to learn so many new things and see people’s perspectives on my ideas and understandings. By choosing my own Personal Learning Network (PLN) I was motivated to further my research and lurk through other individual’s ideas to educate myself and have an opinion on what they decided to share with the world. Moreover, blogging has been very interesting as I had my own audience that were interested in the topics that I have explored.  

As much as I enjoyed blogging, I was not the best at it and I definitely have some areas that I need to improve, some of which included using more images and learning how to make my blog look appealing. I also think that I need to improve on my formatting for my posts. In my opinion, my research has been the highlight of my blog and it was done well.

The skills and insights that I have gained by doing my blogs will definitely be useful in my future profession, as when I do become a teacher I plan to blog my journey for the pre-service teachers to engage in and contribute in other teacher’s blogs.

The benefits of PLN’s for teachers and pre-service teachers are that it ‘’promotes community building and collaborative learning’’ (Luo, Sickel&Cheng,2017, pp226), it also helps them engage in discussions. To give you an illustration, I personally as a pre-service teacher follow so many teachers on social media, to see what they are teaching and how they are engaging in the community. It also gives me ideas for when I graduate.

The benefits of PLN’s to students and the general community would be that students and parents will get the chance to see what their teachers talk about and how it has an impact on their education.

In the past few decades, technology started influencing our lifestyles and the way we communicate to one another. It has made our lives simple and uncomplicated, however technology also has its dark, negative side.

Technology is very simple and convenient to use, as you have the chance to get instant replies to your messages in just few seconds. As well as having the ability to use your devices to call or facetime your loved ones instantly even if they are on the other side of the world, connecting to them easily. Unlike the time before the mass use of technology, where you would have to write a letter, mail it, and then wait weeks or even months to get a reply. Although technology has made our lives so much easier, there are a few ethical issues that are occurring due to the use of technology.

Technology has transformed our way of learning and teaching in the 21st century, for instance, most of our research and assessments involve using the internet. It has also helped us develop further knowledge, makes teaching easier and enjoyable as it entertains students. There are many benefits to using technology in the classroom as it ‘’assists language learning’’ (Riasati, Allahyar&Tan,2012, p.2), it also assists students with anxiety to work collaboratively with peers.

Figure 1. Children in Classroom. Nytimes. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/13/technology/google-education-chromebooks-schools.html (2017)

Technology in classrooms and other communication platforms are great, but there are some ethical issues that must be considered especially for the younger users. As technology is developing, there are ethical issues that must be taken into consideration, two of them being identity theft and cyber bullying. The technology that we use are is not always safe, as we are one click away from getting our identities stolen which can cause us a lot of trouble.

Technology is not always safe and when given to younger users, some may experience cyberbullying (Wang, Heffernan,2010, p.797). Cyberbullying can be a life threating situation, which may lead to suicide, depression and lack of confidence, which is why when children are given technological devices they must be monitored by adults to minimise and report any risks of cyberbullying.

Overall, technology affects the way we communicate and learn. Technology comes with a lot of benefits such as being able to communicate with others globally, as well as teaching and learning virtually while getting entertained. However, technology is not always safe and can get very dangerous.

Could I live Without Digital and Communication Technologies?

In my generation, I do not think that is possible. This is because in our generation, we grew up while technology was getting developed, and we have been surrounded by it our ‘’whole lives’’(Prensky,2001). Technology is a big part of our society and its users are growing rapidly.

Technology is the new way of communicating and living. Without technology, everything would be delayed. For instance, if we did not have technology, the medical industry would start to struggle as, they use ultrasounds, specific surgery machines, and computers to ensure everything is running smoothly and are still on schedule. Furthermore, technology is used for so many purposes, some include spreading news worldwide and knowing what is happening in other countries.

Throughout these COVID-19 hard times, our main communication, and interactions with each other has been based on digital and communication technologies. Technology has made our lives so much easier as it is our main source of entertainment, it is also the new ‘normal’ way of studying, shopping, and working from home. Without our smartphones, TVs, and computers…etc.., I think many people would struggle to adapt in those hard events, myself included. In fact, as I am documenting this for you, I am also communicating with my family overseas through Snapchat and Facebook. Besides, I am also excitingly waiting for my online purchases to arrive as I was just notified by Australia Post via email, that my packages should be arriving at my doorstep today.

Technology has a massive impact on education, as we have moved from the traditional learning, which included using pen and paper, to learning everything via a computer screen. Libraries have also started shifting their paper usage and are making most of their sources available via a screen. In fact, according to Wenborn, ‘’in 10 or 20 years from now we could see libraries with completely paperless reading areas and touch screen information portals that would assist us in finding the resources we need to complete our assessments’’ (Wenborn,2018).

Anyways, lets get back to the question would I be able to live with digital and communication technologies? I personally would not be able to, as I am constantly checking my social media platforms and chatting with friends, and most importantly, I am very busy shopping online and maximising my daily spending limits, that I check through my online banking app.

References

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1. On the horizon, Vol, 9. Issue: 5, pp.1-6. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1108/10748120110424816

Games are fun, but is there more to them?

Games are not only entertaining, but they are also educational and beneficial to us in so many ways! Games help us understand our emotions and trains our cognitive capabilities; they also challenge our critical thinking. Digital games encourage us to learn while we are overcoming challenges/obstacles as we are getting entertained and having fun.

The use of educational technology has become very popular in the classroom over the years as they serve a purpose in learning and developing our personalities. Digital games’ use of bright-coloured visuals and entertaining audios assist students in learning as it triggers them to pay more attention in class and engage in the subject further. Games are enjoyable and brain stimulating activities, that help with stress as well as improve our attention span. Research shows that ‘’brain regions involved in attention are more efficient in gamers when it comes to sustaining attention for demanding tasks’’(Ahaskar,2017). Besides, gaming trains our brains in developing a long-term memory skill.

Using Subway Surfers as an example, we know the challenge of the game is to run as far as possible and collect coins along the way, while avoiding getting caught by the inspector and the dog. Does this game serve a purpose? Well yes, it does. It challenges the player to make decisions as fast as possible about the direction that would be the safest to run in next, and what they may have to do to get the powers/boosts that are available along the way. The game gets more tense and stressful when the player runs further and collects more coins, making the player focus and make quick decisions to avoid getting hit by a train or getting caught by the inspector and his dog. This technique trains the brain to develop longer attention span and rapid knowledge overall.

Gaming is not just generated fun, it also ‘’connects us with each other and builds relationships’’ (Kafai, Burke,2015). The gaming culture is growing rapidly every day, with so many new games getting released and gaming servers such as “Discord’’ made especially for gamers to communicate with each other globally.

Overall, there is a lot more to gaming than just fun, gaming serves a purpose in our society, such as building new positive relationships and meeting new people, challenging ourselves and mindsets to reach a certain goal and most importantly, gaming teaches us new skills and for some, it helps reduce stress and anxiety.

References

Ahaskar, A. (2017). Play more video games for better health. Mint website, Retrieved from : https://www.livemint.com/Technology/kytrLoAEc99zUPWgzo0EeN/Play-more-video-games-for-better-health.html

Introducing our cute little rat character, Ratthew!

 Ratthew is featured in our new, highly anticipated game: Rat Run!

Suzan Seggerman states that 'fun' is an inadequate description of what video games do in the first place. 'I don't think the word is really right, I don't think a game has to be "fun". It must be engaging. Fun is subjective, and the level of engagement can also be widely dependant on the user. Games of course, are criticised for not being educational and even at times inciting violence in younger consumers however I feel like this is outdated and drawn out excuse to essentially dismiss games as a waste of time or unproductive

As a certified “gamer” from the age of five, I feel like games are so much more than just something to put a few hours into just to waste some time.

When I was young, I remember being constantly asked by my parents to spend less time on the computer, but they had no issue with me sitting around watching TV. To me, sitting down and watching TV is less engaging than playing a game and being socially involved with a community whilst stimulating my mind and macro abilities, fuelling my intrinsic motivation through achieving goal in games which some may find a completely ridiculous concept.

Games helped teach me some gaps I had in education such as internet security and awareness of how the internet works, a basic idea of how technology works and that familiarity with technology from a young age which proved to be extremely useful growing up in the early 2000s as we have seen a drastic increase in the ways technology has become integrated into our lives.

I can honestly say that through toughing out some seriously hard levels, striving to gain experience or to beat my old score, taught me how to persevere and be resilient, and tenacious. Not just in the gaming world, but also in the real world. For example, I can vividly remember playing crash bandicoot for hours on end just to beat the final boss and when I did, I felt like I was on top of the world and could do anything. On the surface, it looked like I was just playing a game but I was working with problem solving and working out this puzzle which was the last level of the game.

I even learnt how to do puzzles such as slider puzzles and sudoku purely through games. And, after working in an office for a year and a half I can confidently say I can type a lot faster than most adults who have been working with technology for 20+ years.

Transcript:

‘Digital and communication technologies’ are essentially tools that allow us to access and send data and information through tech such as computers. So that’s pretty much the entire internet, phones, TVs, games, etc. Even our cars use these, with bluetooth connection and live online maps.

In our modern western world, the use of digital communication technologies are a core aspect of our everyday lives. For instance, to create this post I am using multiple online platforms such as Google Docs and Tumblr, while checking my online education pages, and asking questions to my peers on Facebook. I’m also waiting on my UberEats order and several packages from online shopping, paid for with Paypal. 

Freya

Pre-service teacher. Believes that education is the most important thing in changing the world. Loves a good iced coffee. Plant mum. 

Macaulay

Pre-service teacher. Wears a beanie 24/7. Worships rats. Also a cat guy.

Poleen