21st Century School Teacher

A comprehensive directory with a small explanation of each site beside each logo. It is a very handy overview of what is available in social and business networking.

http://www.scribd.com/doc/1036413/Web2Directory

Well, not really... But I am spending a lot more time on the computer than ever before.  I just finished working on a fun animoto video that I might use to introduce a presentation on web 2.0--or not... It was fun to make it though--

A recent blog post by George Siemens leaves me thinking... give me a break.  I couldn't leave a comment on his blog, so I'll recreate his post and leave my opinions as well...

Siemens says...   (does that make anyone else chuckle?)  "...why the Google generation isn’t as smart as it thinks Statements like this cause me some    despair about how ideas that may have a remote scientific basis get projected into hype-speak in main stream media: why the Google generation isn’t as smart as it thinks: "...chronic, long-term distraction is as dangerous as cigarette smoking....They might have stress-related diseases, even irreversible brain damage." It is rather obvious that information abundance and multitasking are contributing to our collective anxiety. We start jonesing after only a few minutes of broken contact with email, mobile phone, or internet (ok, you might not, but I do). Weak, often shallow social, connections don't result in deep understanding. At least not in themselves. I'm not satisfied, however, with the tone of this article. What is the solution? Stop the information flow? No new software? Hardware? Um, ok, that won't happen. The road we are on does not yet suggest suitable off ramps. The primary options left are about adapting ourselves or our tools. Realistically, do people expect that the solution to the problem is as simple as focusing more and becoming less distracted? It's a good article of complaint. And it's easy to complain. Suggesting solutions and future directions is where the hard thinking occurs." (July 23rd)

After reading the article S Here are my comments...
To Bryan Appleyard’s article, I say, give me a break! Technology… a dehumanizing agent? Please…  Bibliophobic teens?  Come on…  Teens still read (i.e. heard of Harry  Potter?)…and memorize poems, too.  How many poems does Appleyard have memorized? Probably less than the students in my 7th grade class… Google is making us stupid?  Groan…  The internet multiplies distractions a thousand fold from T.V?    All internet connections are threadbare?  Now that’s plain stupid…  The only skills that really matter are the capability to discriminate and make judgments?  Wow!   

I say that distraction is nothing new—its vehicle may be changing, but it is human nature to seek distraction once in awhile...

Recently posted, cultural anthropologist Michael Wesch brought his Web 2.0 wisdom to the University of Manitoba on June 17... His presentation is a must see...  Some innovations remain vested in a culture... Others transcend culture... and a few transform the way that we live...  Technology is not only transparent of culture, it is a catalyst for global change.