Picasa Tip

 

Cloudware technology is a great concept. Being able to use a program without downloading it to your computer makes things a whole lot easier. With cloudware technology, people are able to create a document online, save it, then pick back up where they left off on a totally different computer without having to carry around a flash drive that they may lose in transit. But, while it may be a great idea, there are some drawbacks. For instance, last week the Google Chrome program on my computer was down. Normally this would not be an issue because I could have used Internet Explorer instead, but the online programs that I needed to use for my homework needed to be done from Google Chrome. This is because Internet Explorer could not support use of the program. If this had been a downloaded program like Microsoft Office, I would not have had any issue getting the work done without the use of the internet. Thankfully, my teacher was able to figure out the issue and get it back running. But, what about the people who have no one to ask about their computer issues? This experience opened my eyes about the setbacks of using internet based programs. They are very convenient, but as soon as you have no way of gaining access to an internet connection you are out of luck and must find another source. Rather than never downloading programs again because of the easy access to online programs, people should always have another plan in case they are put in a situation like I was.

Digital Natives being Digitally Dependent

In today’s society, technology is as much as a part of everyday life as walking and talking. When people leave their smart phones, iPads, iPods or computers at home it can ruin their whole day. Some people are so dependent on their electronic devices that they cannot function without them. Its almost like how chain smokers need a cigarette break all day. They get nervous when they cannot get to their device. Karlesse Clayton, a 19 year old college student, recently took a study abroad trip to Spain. During her trip, because it cost so much to take a phone out of the country all of the students left their phones on airplane mode. Every time they stopped somewhere, the students would check to see if there was wifi in the building so that they could email, or get on Facebook and Twitter. Karlesse said that when the students were not able to get on the internet for longer than a day it drastically changed their moods. On some occasions, instead of going out at night with the rest of the group, some of the students chose to stay in and be on the internet. One girl even went as far as to hold up the group every time she got internet claiming that she was so homesick that she needed to talk to her mom and boyfriend. This happened on day four of the two week trip. As you can imagine, Karlesse expressed that by day 10, students were so “technology sick” that they no longer wanted to go on the group activities even though they had paid so much money in advance to see all these places. Some found refuge by getting close to the other students that they barely knew while others were visibly irritated because they could not get on the internet and talk to people back home in the United States. During the trip back home, the students were so happy to make it to Atlanta, where the layover was, that they didn’t even bother to grab something to eat after having a ten hour flight and another five hour flight to look forward to. These students were so worried about their devices that they were barely able to enjoy their experience on their trip.

While teaching may be one of the most important professions, I do not plan to ever be a teacher for many reasons. In all my years of going to school I have encountered more teachers that were unhappy than teachers that actually like their jobs. To me, teachers are babysitters that have to deal with disrespect on a daily basis with little compensation for their time and energy. Parents are not teaching their kids that they need to respect authority. Back when I was in elementary school, the most teachers had to deal with was students passing notes. Now students have iPads, iPods, cell phones and other electronic devices that keep them from paying attention in class. I have a two year old cousin that knows how to unlock her iPad, download apps (the free ones only), and get on Netflix and watch a movie. She also has many educational apps that teach her to talk, count, and do sign language. I can only imagine how bored she will be when it is time for her to go to school where she does not have the comfort of her iPad and has to actually open a book, read, and write. This scares me. I know that if she was able to catch on that fast that there are other kids out there that will have the same problem focusing that she does because of the technology that they have been exposed to. I do not want to become a teacher because I do not have the mental capacity or patience to try to reteach kids that grow up knowing only technology.