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In 2017 it is common for most people to come into contact with a digital device in their everyday life. People of the 21st century now rely on devices such as laptops, mobiles, and televisions day to day and have because autonomous to it.  Always wanting the most up to date and fastest model of these devices it makes you really think of what are the ethical issues that surround these changes.

There are many concerns around these technologies whether it be social issues where people are so attached to their phones that without this device it may cause anxiety and even have sleeping issues due to being addicted to scrolling through their phone or the constant dependence on our mobile phones to solve all our problems rather than thinking for ourselves. (B.Wuensch, 2015)

Another issue surrounding the changes of technology is online bullying. People especially youths are now anonymous online and can create fake personas to torment others online. It is easier for others to bully somebody online as it is only a click of the button, there is no confrontation which makes the culprit feel like there is no wrong done. Bullying is not ethical and the victim often feels helpless and like there is no escape. With the changes in technology, it makes this faceless crime easier. (R.Vitelli, 2016)

There have been many positive impacts within technology but with the constant development, we have become so involved with the technologies that we have started to isolate ourselves, rather than living in the present moment we are sitting on our phones. These digital devices which were created to bring us together are now isolating us. (B.Wuensch, 2015)

APA referencing and link:

Wuensch, Brianna (2015) 10 ways technology has negatively affected society. Retrieved https://www.theodysseyonline.com/10-ways-technology-negatively-affected-society

Vitelli, Romeo (2015) Does technology make bullying easier? Retrieved https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/media-spotlight/201604/does-technology-make-bullying-easier

Do digital natives exist?

A digital native can be simply defined as someone who is unfamiliar with periods of time without digital technology, such as computers and the Internet.  Revision of articles written by individuals, such as American writer and public speaker, Marc Prensky, establishes this understanding of the theory of who and what digital natives are, as well as ‘digital immigrants’ who adapted the age of digital technology later in their lives (Prensky, 2001).

Whilst there are individuals who do not believe in the idea of digital natives, I personally believe that the concept of ‘digital natives’ has a lot of evidence constructed by theorists like Prensky, who attempt to understand the changes that may need to be undertaken to be able to adapt education to the needs of newer generations (Gu, Zhu & Guo, 2011).

But what evidence has persuaded me enough to encourage me to agree with these scholars?  The idea that there are individuals who find it difficult to relate and understand those who are technology savvy lead me to believe that this concept of digital natives is in fact true, and it can often seem as though these individuals have a different sense of communication and language to older generations.  The way in which digital natives learn and receive information, as well as their preferences of digital media, is proven different to digital immigrants (Vercic & Vercic, 2013).  However, although all digital natives are classified under the same term, those from different time periods are in fact quite different to each other.  For instance, a digital native from 2001, when compared to a 2016 digital native, have both had different experiences with digital technology and therefore are more adapted to the form of media more prevalent within their own age. Finally, modifications made in schools, such as introduction of tablets in learning, demonstrates the differences in development between different digital natives, in which individuals have been allowed to flourish in a more modern sense.

Reference List:

Vercic, A T., & Vercic D. (2013). Digital natives and social media. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0363811113001215?via%3Dihub

Gu, X., Zhu, Y., & Guo, X. (2013). Meeting the “Digital Natives”: Understanding the Accepting of Technology in Classrooms. Retrieved from http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0363811113001215?via%3Dihub

Hello and welcome to the 3rd blog post of today’s topic. Today’s topic is: How changes in technology impact on the way humans communicate, and the ethical issues that surround these changes. 

In today’s modern society where we live in the 20th century, most of our work gets done through using modern technologies such as laptops, tablets, phones and even perhaps on computers based on the Internet. With the use of new technologies, it can somehow have many effects on our live. One example of this would be the ways we communicate to our friends and families. One of the ways that technologies has effected on our daily lives are:

-      The use of websites: using websites are one of the ways people can connect nowadays. Nearly the whole world population uses websites to connect with others and to read articles online. Going to websites, one of the ethical issues that surround this is that it prevents people from going out and seeing someone via face-to-face. With the existence of the new technologies, it makes us and everyone else’s lives easier. This is because of all the information we need is easier to find and access instead of having to wait amount of weeks for the newspapers to be published. Everything nowadays is based using online.

 -      The use of Phones: I think using phones allows people and everyone’s lives easier. Using phones is also another way to communicate with people on phone rather than seeing someone in person and talking with each other. One ethical issue behind this is that it can prevent people from communicating with each other. Using phones allows us to interact with our family members and friends and it is way to use speech language. The good side to using a phone is that it saves time and it is much easier to find and connect with others.  

-      Social networking: One of another ways that people use to connect and communicate with each other is through the use of social networks. Nowadays, in the young generation as high as age 18 and above should at least have 1 social network account. Whether it is Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Snapchat, Google etc. Dating back in the centuries, a lot of communication was evolved through using different types of communication. That being said, it was also by far simple and intimate until later in the years, technology has changed the way how we connect, communicate, find love, search results (WiseLife, 2015).  

 The next part that will be mentioned is the ethical issues that these changes. What does ethics really mean when we talk about technology. Ethics is about rules and regulations, it is about values, doing bit of research, it also have moral principles that you can apply to, as well as ethical practices and rules of conduct. (Personal communication, September 1, 2017). The ethical thinking is based on The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (Personal communication, September 1, 2017). There are some of the ethical issues that can be noted are:

-      Moral choices by the individuals in relation to their community

-      Rules of governing members of a profession

-      Standards of acceptable behaviour (Bayers, 2013) 

Copyright and Intellectual Property: In this area, some confusions were made majority of the time by many people. This has been caused in regards to copyright and intellectual property rights. It is also how they apply to electronic files within new technologies. (Bayers, 2013)

The next ethical issue that can be found is Fair Use: What does Fair Use mean? According to the dictionary, it means ‘(in US copyright law) the doctrine that brief excerpts of copyright material may, under certain circumstances, be quoted verbatim for purposes such as criticism, news reporting, teaching, and research, without the need for permission from or payment to the copyright holder: whether or not six seconds of the song in a user-generated video constitutes fair use is something for a court to decide.’ In fair simple words, Fair Use is a critical to protect the intellectual property. In this ethical issue, it includes individual uses of copyrighted works and the development of new speech technologies. One of the issue in Fair Use is that one may make fair use of the copyrighted work without asking permission from the copyright holder. This is determined through using the copyrighted work which is within fair use depends upon four fair use factors. (Bayers, 2013).

 The 3rd ethical issue is privacy policies, what is privacy policies?

-      it is a statement or a legal document that disclose some or all of the ways a party gathers, uses, discloses, and manages a customer or client’s data.

Such as laws, policies and technological design, which is increasingly structuring people’s relationships whether it’s through social institutions or individual privacy that faces new threats and as well as opportunities. (Bayers, 2013). In addition to the idea of Privacy Policies, it is included with Electronic bulletin Board, OoVoo and Pocket.

 There may be many more ethical issues that considered but as mentioned above are the most critical things that has happened in reality when it comes to technology.

  References:

WiseLife. (2015, March 15). The Evolution of Modern Technology [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oKQ03sr6ryo

Darryl Jelley (2015, March 8).PROVIZORCA How New Technology Changes the Way We Communicate [Video file]. Retrieved from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrAHhyIoXck

Cathie Bayers. (2015, August 21). Legal and Ethical Issues and Modern Technologies [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbAXOmuqgew

 Statement of Academic Honesty and screenshot

All work contained in this blog is my own except for where it is applicable and appropriate referenced. This includes ideas, opinion and images. 

Could I live without Digital and Communication Technologies?

In this week’s blog post I will be discussing the week 1 driving question, about whether or not I believe I could live without Digital and Communication Technologies. Throughout the lecture and tutorial for week 1, we mainly had an introduction to the course, learnt about what the assignments will be, and what is expected of us as students in completing the course. However, in the tutorial we were asked to ponder the question “could you live without digital and communication technologies?”

Before I start saying more on the topic, I feel like it would be useful to specify what “digital and communication technologies” really means. My tutorial class defined it as multiple things, the ones that stood out being; a way to communicate with people from all around the world, an online community, and pieces of technology that are used in our day to day lives.

During this class we learnt about the phrase “Digital Natives” (Prensky, 2001) and what it means. Prensky defines it as people, especially students, who have “spent their entire lives surrounded by and using computers, videogames, digital music players, video cams, cell phones, and all other toys and tools of the digital age” (2001). Most of the class realised that we would fall into this category, myself included. I know personally, that although I have always done lots of sport and had younger sisters to play with for most of my life, my family has always had a TV, a phone and even one of those huge box-like computers that my sisters and I could never quite figure out. Although most people were certain that they would be able to live without digital and communication technologies, the more we discussed it and thought about it, the more we realised how often we really use technology in our day to day lives. This realisation has made me think about whether or not I would actually be able to live without digital and communication technologies if, in fact, I have never known a world without it. And although I would like to think that I would be able to survive easily, the reality is, I would not.

Until next time,

Brigette

References:

I personally could not live without technology. There is not a day that goes by in which I have not used or relied on digital and communication technologies.  There have been various advancements with technology, which has evolved and become part of my everyday life. It’s changed the way I think, eat, sleep, communicate, study, shop, play and behave (Stojanvoc, Zlatko 2017).

Mobiles have become a necessity and I couldn’t live without my iphone. My iphone may be one device but it has multiple functions and features that make it so addictive. I can communicate by a voice call, video call, message, send and receive emails, pay bills, play music, games, videos, use it as a torch, calculator, alarms and the list goes on.

Dr Katherine McKnight states Communication has evolved due to technology, which has impacted “today’s world which is all about Blogging, Facebook, and Twitter”. The Internet has created platforms where I can interact and communicate with my family and friends. My family and I love group chat on Messenger. This has aloud family in Melbourne and Italy to communicate and share important events in our lives with each other.

Digital and Communication Technologies have also developed in how I learn and study. Back in 2006 finishing high school, communication and learning was face-to-face and I was left with a mountain of textbooks, papers and written assessments. Fast-forward to 2018, I’m now at uni and I’m loving the development of digital and communication technologies and don’t want to go back. The advancements are phenomenal. There are now “interactive textbooks, web-based sites that include assessments, additional materials and videos”. (McKnight, 2013). Interactive textbooks and web-based sites have improved the accessibility of content and resources.

Digital and Technology Communications is a big part of my life and has helped widen communication barriers with the use of mobile phones and the internet which allows for successful studying and learning. I couldn’t and don’t want to live without it.

References

Stojanov, Z. and Stojanov, Z. (2018). ‘The 6 Main Ways Technology Impacts Your Daily Life’. TechCo. Available at: <https://tech.co/6-main-ways-technology-impacts-daily-life-2017-02> [Accessed 13 Sep. 2018].

Blog post number 3! Throughout this post I will be discussing how technology has changed and the impact it has on people, both good and bad.

Since the first huge computer, to the newest Apple iPhone, technology has been constantly changing around us, and will continue to do so. The great thing about technology is that it is always able to be changed and improved, the only limit is our imagination. Humans use technology for many things nowadays, usually as a way to make things easier and less physically demanding. Cooking can be made easier by the use of an oven, a microwave, a blender. Cleaning can be made easier by using vacuums, or even better, robot vacuums that you don’t even need to physically move yourself!

Welcome to my second blog post! This week’s question is “Do I really need to become a reflective practitioner?” Through this week we spoke about how and why we should become reflective practitioners. In the lecture we were told about the four levels of reflection; habitual action, understanding, reflection, and critical reflection (D. Kember, J. McKay, K. Sinclair, F. Kam Yuet Wong, 2008).

To be a reflective practitioner you must follow the process of reflective thinking. It involves self-awareness (the what), critical analysis (why, how, what if), synthesis (what is the significance for you, how does it change your ideas or give new insights), and evaluation (what does it mean for your future practice, what was learnt).

Initially, my opinion of this topic was that everyone should do this, however doing it to the extent that we were being told was a bit excessive. As I learnt more about this topic however, I realised that in order to get the best results, especially when I get to teach children in a classroom, I must be able to be a reflective practitioner and follow the steps we were taught in the lecture. By using these skills I will be able to address any problems that arise, before they become a bigger problem than they should be.

There are many ways to do reflective thinking, some of my personal favourites include: blogging, tweeting, mind maps, evaluations, and sometimes even drawing if I can’t find the words to describe something.

That’s all for this week, see you next time for some blogging fun!

References:

IMAGE by Flickr.com

Technology has widely impacted in the ways in which humans communicate today. Technology has opened up another world, ‘the Internet’ and with it we are all now able to communicate faster to one another. With the extraordinary development of technology we are now able to make voice calls, video calls, emails, messages, communicate on blogs, social pages such as Facebook and even share images.

Vijay Sharma (2017) highlights that with the technology, it has changed the way we go about our daily lives. He explains that “30 years ago people would have time for friends and families”, and due to the expansion of technology today we have become “busier than ever”. This is all because of the constant access and distractions from communication technologies through the Internet. Most people now are constantly checking emails, sharing what they eating for dinner, chatting up a new date for the evening, updating where they are, what they are wearing and catching up on friend’s events. We all seemed to be more detached from what is happening around us and concentration has moved to our technology devices.

Due to all these forms of sharing and communicating, major ethical issues have arisen, surrounding how we communicate with others and how we treat and respect each other’s online presence. The different communication technologies have exposed users to cyber bulling, aggressive language, images that may be confronting, verbal intimidation and online harassment. It is very important that what you write and communicate online is not harmful to anyone in anyway.

On a more positive note, if everyone is respectful, communication technologies have been a great success in that it has given people the opportunity to connect with others that may not have been possible without it.  Be kind online...

Reference: