Pecha Kucha – Nicole Gross

A Walk Through A Slide: I decided to choose this picture because it shows the reality of anonymous online bullying. This image is from a website called Formspring. I, like most people, have had accounts with Formspring and many other social media websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. They are just addicting to be on.

This picture fit in perfectly with my narrative because throughout the whole narrative, bullying and cyberbullying were the main topics. In this particular picture, cyberbullying is occurring because people are saying mean things such as “you are fat”, “do you try to look ugly or do you always look like that?” and “they would never like you”, which are all hurtful comments. For this slide in my pecha kucha presentation, Kevin Kelly acknowledged how social media would expand beyond what they originally thought. Formspring really took over in 2006-2010. This was not like any other social media website like Facebook or Twitter. This was just anonymous comments from people. I chose Kevin Kelly’s article, We Are the Web because it made me think of the various amounts of social media websites there actually are. When I think social media, I think Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The more social media, the more cyberbullying occurs.

I felt as if this picture fit in perfectly with my slides because it shows a real life example of cyberbullying. I think this picture stood out to most people because of the hurtful comments that people do make and can relate to it, even if it hasn’t happened to them. This picture builds on my argument by giving proof. Anyone can say things like “I hate you” or “go away” but those are different. Cyberbullying has to go a little deeper and has to impact a person. For example, in the picture the second response says, “I try to look pretty but…” which shows it has impacted this person’s confidence. Overall, I’m very glad I found this picture because I think it helped describe and prove our point about how bullying and cyberbullying affect people.

If I were to change one thing, I would have changed the order in which we discussed things. For example, I think Facebook should have been included and the first topic of discussion since it is one of the biggest social media cites with a lot of bullying.

What I learned about my blog topic: My blog topic was future teachers of America. I thought this was a very fitting topic for my group since we are all aspiring to become teachers. I have been learning all about the teaching process throughout my years in college, whether at Rowan or another school. I felt as if this was an easy topic to relate anything to because we are always learning new things.

Each article in the readings, I was able to relate to the topic of teaching. For example, Bolter’s article and the Memex article. Bolter’s article was about the technology in writing so I related it to teaching writing in the classroom multiple ways. For the memex article, I was able to compare how technology helps our writing today and how the memex was used back then. These articles gave me a new perspective on writing and ideas that I didn’t even know were possible. It showed me how we can still get by even with the use of little technology or tons of technology.

For my outside readings, I found it very interesting because there were so many topics I could choose from. My favorite, however, was the Ellen Degeneres blog post. I have been watching The Ellen Show for many years, it is my favorite daytime talk show. Constantly, Ellen and her team have been helping teachers because they understand how difficult it can be. Just the little things can go such a long way. I felt as if this was a great opportunity to give credit to Ellen because some day I hope I get recognized as an outstanding teacher.

Overall, my blog topic was perfect for me. I enjoyed reading these articles whether required or not because they were pertaining to my future. It impacted me in a way that many people won’t understand because of their choice of career. Education is such an important thing that people should not take for granted. Also, I hope as a future educator that people start to see what a different we truly make in student’s lives.

What should we expect for the web in the next decade?

As I was reading “We Are The Web” by Kevin Kelly, I began to think of what the web has become in my generation. When I was younger and in school, we used the computers to play awesome games, like Oregon Trail. The internet was there in 2001, but it seemed like the teachers didn’t know how to use it in their teaching methods because it was all so new to everyone. We had a computer at home that we used to download music, most likely illegally. Music is the basis to me learning about the internet, because I wanted to fill my iPod with awesome music, and burn CD’s for all of my friends. I’m sure we all remember these nostalgic times.

I personally didn’t understand the power of the internet, because I was so young. I never saw this revolutionary change that was coming. If I were a teacher at the time the internet was really taking off, I would be excited to facilitate the computer into my lessons. The internet, and computers, have been an incredible breakthrough for everyone, especially teachers. The teachers are the ones who introduce the computer to the children and in this day and age the teachers are expected to teach the children about how to use a computer. I remember a time when there was a computer class where we, as children, would go and experiment and learn with the computers. My second grade class goes to computer class and they are learning about penguins and creating a Power Point presentation. Now, the children come to school with a little bit of knowledge about computers and the internet. The internet is part of everyone’s life, and it is at everyone’s fingertips at any given time.

“In June of 1994, David Quinn of British Telecom admitted to a conference of software publishers, “I’m not sure how you’d make money out of it”.” This was said about funding the net. WOW! In less than ten years the internet took off. The article states that in 1995, ‘Netscape” stock peaked $75 in the first day of trading. People who were unsure how to make money off of it were proven wrong. In 2005, “the total number of Web pages, including those that are dynamically created upon request and document files available through links, exceeds 600 billion”, according to Kevin Kelly.

To be a part of the generation where the internet really revolutionized is a great thing. My children will never remember a day where smart phones aren’t a thing, and the sound of dial up internet in the middle of the night. A day where the house phone couldn’t be used at the same time as the internet is gone; my children are not even familiar with a house phone. The internet has changed everything, including the way we learn in school! The computer is a great learning tool for children and teachers both, but sadly it can also be a great distraction for young children who only see the computer at home for game playing. Everyone likes to play games, but the connection between the computer and games can be confusing for very young children.

Memex- a dream for the future.

In 1945, everything was beginning to revolutionize. Technology was growing and so was knowledge. The knowledge had to go somewhere for people to use. A problem was storing and organizing things to be used as needed in the future. “A Memex is a device in which an individual stores all his books, records, and communications, and which is mechanized so that it may be consulted with exceeding speed and flexibility. It is an enlarged intimate supplement to his memory”, Vannevar Bush says in his post “As We May Think” in 1945. Basically the Memex was a database that looked like a desk, and could be used as a desk. The Memex did in 1945, what my 16 gigabyte memory flash drive does for me today. My flash drive can hold and organize thousands of papers.

Basically the Memex would take pictures of things of personal importance that someone wants to save for future use, and save them. Someone could sit down at the Memex desk and be able to gather information that they needed to write whatever it is that they are writing. “A special button transfers him immediately to the first page of the index. Any given book of his library can thus be called up and consulted with far greater facility than if it were taken from a shelf”, in this quote, Vannevar Bush illustrates the ease and convenience of using the Memex. Vannevar Bush also says, “As he has several projection positions, he can leave one item in position while he calls up another.” The last quote seems like it could be the equivalent to myself having multiple windows open, as I do right now, while writing.

It seems as though the Memex was created to help ‘the man’ with his memory, so he doesn’t become ‘bogged down’ while trying to recount thoughts that he once had; this is how Vannevar Bush explains the relevance of the machine, Memex.

“Yet, in the application of science to the needs and desires of man, it would seem to be a singularly unfortunate stage at which to terminate the process, or to lose hope as to the outcome”, says Vannevar Bush. While explaining the machine, he explains that the Memex may eliminate the stage where someone would have to terminate the process because they have forgotten information.

Basically, Vannevar Bush was explaining the internet as it is today. I use google to search almost anything that I have forgotten, and this was his dream for the future.

–Lisa Kilroy