http://courseblogs.atlhub.net/baylor_nms_s10 Spring, 2010 at Baylor University Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:51:22 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://jacquelynduke.blogspot.com/2010/05/after-class.html http://jacquelynduke.blogspot.com/2010/05/after-class.html#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 19:40:00 +0000 Jacq. http://courseblogs.atlhub.net/baylor_nms_s10/?guid=3c15f7b847171dac40408297618654ad
One of the most interesting (and challenging) aspects of the semester were the readings, which provided us glimpses into the mindsets of the visionaries and creators of today’s technology. It was both enlightening and inspiring to realize I’m directly benefiting from the manifestations of some of those early ideas. To see what worked and what didn’t. To realize that today’s generation is actively building the next new media – and what we may see as crazy-bold or just plain crazy just may be the next ‘new’ medium that a few short years from now that will leave people wondering how they ever lived without ‘it’. Recognizing that so much of what I take for granted in my life was very recently birthed out of the daydreams of those who don’t simply ‘wish’ that a technology existed but actually devote the brain power to make it so – that’s pretty cool! Makes me feel more connected to, rather than feeling affronted by, the explosion of new media now accelerating rapidly around me.

And finally, I’ve learned that if I really want to stay connected with my own students (today’s dreamers and doers) then like it or not, I’ve got to engage them from their own perspective. I cannot effectively teach them new ideas, take them to new levels of thinking/learning if I don’t first relate to them where they are now. And their world is highly immersed in new media. A perfect example, so poignantly revealed after two weeks of seminar on the subject, is the world of video games. I was unaware of just how influential video games are in the lives of today’s teens and young adults. Not that I feel I have to become an expert at Halo, but I do feel I need to understand the culture of video games. So much of what I do is ‘tag’ material with hooks to which students can attach and relate material (to help them better learn and process). Knowing about video gaming gives me one more type of hook – a fresh, highly relevant hook at that. To further drive this point home, I’ll refer to a blog earlier this semester by Anne Bowery in which she described a wonderful dialogue that occurred between her and a former student when she mentioned “Leroy Jenkins” in a previous posting – a whole new world of thoughts and discussion! I have yet to use the phrase in class, but can’t wait to see the looks on the faces of my students when I casually refer to him in relation to some point I’m making. How fun! It’s all the little insights I gleaned from this semester’s discussions that I carry with me into my future classes. And that’s what teaching, to me, is all about: taking the ideas of those before me and around me and melding them together with my own style to be a better facilitator of learning.

And heck, now that I’ve created this blog site, maybe I’ll even check in now and then with my own random musings…

]]> http://jacquelynduke.blogspot.com/feeds/534942561582236082/comments/default 0 http://jacquelynduke.blogspot.com/2010/05/after-class.html http://jacquelynduke.blogspot.com/2010/05/after-class.html#comments Wed, 12 May 2010 19:40:00 +0000 Jacq.
One of the most interesting (and challenging) aspects of the semester were the readings, which provided us glimpses into the mindsets of the visionaries and creators of today’s technology. It was both enlightening and inspiring to realize I’m directly benefiting from the manifestations of some of those early ideas. To see what worked and what didn’t. To realize that today’s generation is actively building the next new media – and what we may see as crazy-bold or just plain crazy just may be the next ‘new’ medium that a few short years from now that will leave people wondering how they ever lived without ‘it’. Recognizing that so much of what I take for granted in my life was very recently birthed out of the daydreams of those who don’t simply ‘wish’ that a technology existed but actually devote the brain power to make it so – that’s pretty cool! Makes me feel more connected to, rather than feeling affronted by, the explosion of new media now accelerating rapidly around me.

And finally, I’ve learned that if I really want to stay connected with my own students (today’s dreamers and doers) then like it or not, I’ve got to engage them from their own perspective. I cannot effectively teach them new ideas, take them to new levels of thinking/learning if I don’t first relate to them where they are now. And their world is highly immersed in new media. A perfect example, so poignantly revealed after two weeks of seminar on the subject, is the world of video games. I was unaware of just how influential video games are in the lives of today’s teens and young adults. Not that I feel I have to become an expert at Halo, but I do feel I need to understand the culture of video games. So much of what I do is ‘tag’ material with hooks to which students can attach and relate material (to help them better learn and process). Knowing about video gaming gives me one more type of hook – a fresh, highly relevant hook at that. To further drive this point home, I’ll refer to a blog earlier this semester by Anne Bowery in which she described a wonderful dialogue that occurred between her and a former student when she mentioned “Leroy Jenkins” in a previous posting – a whole new world of thoughts and discussion! I have yet to use the phrase in class, but can’t wait to see the looks on the faces of my students when I casually refer to him in relation to some point I’m making. How fun! It’s all the little insights I gleaned from this semester’s discussions that I carry with me into my future classes. And that’s what teaching, to me, is all about: taking the ideas of those before me and around me and melding them together with my own style to be a better facilitator of learning.

And heck, now that I’ve created this blog site, maybe I’ll even check in now and then with my own random musings…

]]> http://jacquelynduke.blogspot.com/feeds/534942561582236082/comments/default 0 http://megankj.blogspot.com/2010/04/passionate-about-technology-lessons.html http://megankj.blogspot.com/2010/04/passionate-about-technology-lessons.html#comments Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:02:00 +0000 Megan Johnson
But seeing the joy on her face as she discussed her project was the largest success I could ever ask for as a teacher - to give a student a platform in which they can engage in something they are passionate about. It reminded me that technology is something that most students really, really connect with and are often passionate about. Certainly not all students are, but I have to remember as a professor that new media is such an integral part of my students' worlds. Thus, as the professor, I must walk a fine line between engaging them in that passion and also challenging them to step outside of their own comfort zones. And that's just it - isn't it? New media is meant to push the bounds of what we already do! That's why it's sometimes received with such skepticism.

As we draw to a close on our New Media seminar, I am reminded that the important thing is that we are passionate about what we do and open to learning new things when it comes to technology. There are aspects about technology that I learned about this semester that fascinated me and others that underwhelmed me, but the point is that we are open to learning about these things, trying some of them out, and ultimately attempting to become better teachers in the process.

]]> http://megankj.blogspot.com/feeds/8220003588812348623/comments/default 0 http://jacquelynduke.blogspot.com/2010/04/what-if-twitter-came-first.html http://jacquelynduke.blogspot.com/2010/04/what-if-twitter-came-first.html#comments Mon, 19 Apr 2010 20:29:00 +0000 Jacq. http://courseblogs.atlhub.net/baylor_nms_s10/?guid=19d124db34b4d30b59063126f4caf8f1 Next let’s envision classroom instruction from our topsy-turvy perspective. If we suddenly replaced all A/V equipment on campus with old fashioned chalk boards, how many articles would soon find their way to publication hailing a leap forward to a new bare-bones, simplistic way of teaching? More likely, we’d discuss all the challenges the new technology would present from our current method. How about replacing all computers with books? What a wonderful invention, no! Or, what an archaic method of educating our students (no more videos, no youtube, no fast searching by relevant terms)? Instead, drive to your nearest library, possibly have to put in an interlibrary loan and wait one to seven weeks for delivery. Return to pick up the book. Turn page by page, having to ‘fill in’ visual content from simple text. Spend long hours reading lengthy descriptions of scenes that could be displayed instantly in a video – hours that could be spent interacting with other humans. You get the picture. We fret over replacing our trusty books with high-flutin’ computers, but would we feel any better about the reverse? I just don’t think so.
Why? I think it’s because we fear change. Each new technology represents a new way of doing things, with unknown pitfalls, learning curves, and unforeseen difficulties. It’s human nature to become anxious about the unknown. Part of what makes us “human” separate from other species is our ability to manipulate nature to better suit us rather than relying on nature. Yet, that very quality sets us up for rapidly changing environments (not such a good thing from an evolutionary perspective) – one that requires rapid adaptation (if not at a purely evolutionary level at least on an intellectual and emotional level). That’s been our dilemma from the start, reaching all the way back to our earliest ancestors 200K years ago. But what’s the alternative? Take a look at our close relatives Homo neanderthalensis. Even though Neanderthals survived for a much longer time than Homo sapiens has thus far been on this planet, studies of their technology show they were not so good at adapting. Their tools and abilities remained virtually unchanged from their earliest known existence 600K years ago right up until their extinction 20-30K years ago. In fact, it’s been hypothesized that’s exactly why they went extinct. During a time of rapid climate fluctuations, Homo sapiens shows a remarkable resilience to that change through changing technology while Homo neanderthalensis slowly disappears along with his old, antiquated ways of coping. Fear of change may be real, but the alternative isn’t necessarily a better option either!
Fast forward to today, and we live in a time of unprecedented technological advance that has never before existed on Earth. We are “hard wired” to deal with geological-scale changes (100’s to 100K’s of year time scales) and yet, we are dealing with change not on a decadal, not even a yearly, but almost a daily scale. Considering where we started, what we’re adapted to, and what we are now experiencing it’s no wonder we sometimes wish (despite our desires for newer, easier ways of living) that change would slow. Allow us a little more time to adapt to current technology before it goes obsolete. Muddle through the ‘known’ before being hit head-on with increasingly common ‘unknowns’. It’s enough to make me want to end this post, log off and go read a good book or play a game of solitaire or two.

]]> http://jacquelynduke.blogspot.com/feeds/5552493891967842445/comments/default 0 http://jacquelynduke.blogspot.com/2010/04/what-if-twitter-came-first.html http://jacquelynduke.blogspot.com/2010/04/what-if-twitter-came-first.html#comments Mon, 19 Apr 2010 20:29:00 +0000 Jacq. Next let’s envision classroom instruction from our topsy-turvy perspective. If we suddenly replaced all A/V equipment on campus with old fashioned chalk boards, how many articles would soon find their way to publication hailing a leap forward to a new bare-bones, simplistic way of teaching? More likely, we’d discuss all the challenges the new technology would present from our current method. How about replacing all computers with books? What a wonderful invention, no! Or, what an archaic method of educating our students (no more videos, no youtube, no fast searching by relevant terms)? Instead, drive to your nearest library, possibly have to put in an interlibrary loan and wait one to seven weeks for delivery. Return to pick up the book. Turn page by page, having to ‘fill in’ visual content from simple text. Spend long hours reading lengthy descriptions of scenes that could be displayed instantly in a video – hours that could be spent interacting with other humans. You get the picture. We fret over replacing our trusty books with high-flutin’ computers, but would we feel any better about the reverse? I just don’t think so.
Why? I think it’s because we fear change. Each new technology represents a new way of doing things, with unknown pitfalls, learning curves, and unforeseen difficulties. It’s human nature to become anxious about the unknown. Part of what makes us “human” separate from other species is our ability to manipulate nature to better suit us rather than relying on nature. Yet, that very quality sets us up for rapidly changing environments (not such a good thing from an evolutionary perspective) – one that requires rapid adaptation (if not at a purely evolutionary level at least on an intellectual and emotional level). That’s been our dilemma from the start, reaching all the way back to our earliest ancestors 200K years ago. But what’s the alternative? Take a look at our close relatives Homo neanderthalensis. Even though Neanderthals survived for a much longer time than Homo sapiens has thus far been on this planet, studies of their technology show they were not so good at adapting. Their tools and abilities remained virtually unchanged from their earliest known existence 600K years ago right up until their extinction 20-30K years ago. In fact, it’s been hypothesized that’s exactly why they went extinct. During a time of rapid climate fluctuations, Homo sapiens shows a remarkable resilience to that change through changing technology while Homo neanderthalensis slowly disappears along with his old, antiquated ways of coping. Fear of change may be real, but the alternative isn’t necessarily a better option either!
Fast forward to today, and we live in a time of unprecedented technological advance that has never before existed on Earth. We are “hard wired” to deal with geological-scale changes (100’s to 100K’s of year time scales) and yet, we are dealing with change not on a decadal, not even a yearly, but almost a daily scale. Considering where we started, what we’re adapted to, and what we are now experiencing it’s no wonder we sometimes wish (despite our desires for newer, easier ways of living) that change would slow. Allow us a little more time to adapt to current technology before it goes obsolete. Muddle through the ‘known’ before being hit head-on with increasingly common ‘unknowns’. It’s enough to make me want to end this post, log off and go read a good book or play a game of solitaire or two.

]]> http://jacquelynduke.blogspot.com/feeds/5552493891967842445/comments/default 0 http://teachingphilosophyandyoga.blogspot.com/2010/04/technology-and-home.html http://teachingphilosophyandyoga.blogspot.com/2010/04/technology-and-home.html#comments Sat, 17 Apr 2010 12:00:00 +0000 Anne-Marie Schultz
I was talking about the sense of being at home I feel in the yoga community and it struck me that there is a sense in which technology enhances that feeling. I have been travelling to Dallas to do yoga for many years but with the advent of Facebook, I now know significantly more about the non-yoga lives of the people I do yoga with and they know more about me. Also, several people up in Dallas profess to read my blog regularly. All that seems quite positive.

There's a sense in which I'm trying to create a sense of home in the philosophy classroom and I do think the main point of the various educational technologies is to expand that sense of community beyond the classroom or to enhance the sense of community in the classroom. I'm more interested in the in classroom space issue, but I do increasingly see the potential in the out of classroom experience.

At the same time, technology seems to draw us away from home, in that it draws us away from engagement in the present moment, which at root, is the only true home we have. It is tempting to check the email, to text, to answer the cell phone... rather than attending to what is present at hand. of course, technology is present at hand too, so it is part of what is there. but I think technology is an every present vritti machine. It allows full play to the fluctuations of the mind.

Yoga and philosophy, each in their own way, ask for a stilling of certain fluctuations of mind and ask us to cultivate a more single minded focus.

]]> http://teachingphilosophyandyoga.blogspot.com/feeds/7059730779883872267/comments/default 0 http://courseblogs.atlhub.net/gsutherland/2010/04/13/educational-technology-showcase-being-taken-for-a-ride-rough-draft/ http://courseblogs.atlhub.net/gsutherland/2010/04/13/educational-technology-showcase-being-taken-for-a-ride-rough-draft/#comments Tue, 13 Apr 2010 20:10:59 +0000 gsutherland http://courseblogs.atlhub.net/gsutherland/?p=248 [...]]]> http://courseblogs.atlhub.net/gsutherland/2010/04/13/educational-technology-showcase-being-taken-for-a-ride-rough-draft/feed/ 0 http://teachingphilosophyandyoga.blogspot.com/2010/04/adam-urrutias-response-to-my-blog.html http://teachingphilosophyandyoga.blogspot.com/2010/04/adam-urrutias-response-to-my-blog.html#comments Tue, 06 Apr 2010 18:51:00 +0000 Anne-Marie Bowery
He facebooked me this morning with the most amazing set of comments that I'm posting here with his permission. We are probably going to write an article together. How's that for the pedagogical value of technology?

Subject: Leeeeerooooooy Jeeenkinnnnnnns!
I saw that title for your latest blog and thought, "No, there is no way she is talking about what I'm thinking about." But you were! Gave me a good laugh this morning.

I definitely share your concern that video games and technology in general mostly serve to multiply and strengthen the illusions that already enslave us to lives devoid of critical reflection. But since I am a gamer myself, I thought I'd share my own perspective.

I would identify four classes of video games. These correspond to their different foundational offerings:

(1) Amusement. Some games are just designed to amuse you through various objectives. These would be shooters, puzzle games, and games where the objective is to out score your opponent or obtain a higher score against yourself. I think these games are mostly time wasters that distract the mind from serious thought through immediate pleasure and gratification, and contribute toward the development of ADD.
(2) Character development. Games in this category would be like World of Warcraft and EverQuest. The focus is on creating a digital avatar of yourself/alternate personality, and then living through that character in the digital world to become stronger, obtain rare items, complete quests, and partner with other gamers via their own digital avatars. These types of games strike me as the most dangerous, by far. Playing these games and actually completing their objectives requires a tremendous amount of commitment, of time spent planning, searching, and executing. They can continue indefinitely, as long as the gamer wants to continue playing it. To immerse oneself in these games is really to say, "Yes, I like the cave. It's a pretty comfortable place." There can be good things that come from it, however, as when people who interact digitally develop friendships through conversation that they can then develop outside the context of the game. But even this is not a guarantee because it is very possible and perhaps likely that such friendships will be developed only through the digital media, which, in turn, creates the illusion of friendship, intimacy, and forces the person to withdraw further from the real world into the digital world for the sake of these digital friendships and that digital life. It can thus tend to offer only the illusion of community and inhibit gamers from enjoying the real life.
(3) Teamwork. These games would be like Counter-Strike, Left 4 Dead, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. These are usually based on rounds--there is a definite beginning and end to the game (unlike character development games). There is competition, but unlike straight amusement games, this requires teamwork, the planning and execution of moves through conversation. Because these games are temporary and require conversation and teamwork to satisfy objectives, these games seem less susceptible to the criticisms leveled at 1 and 2. There is amusement and there is conversation, but any friendships developed through these media must be further developed outside them because these games end. They are at worst merely temporary caves (unless someone becomes obsessed and keeps starting new games over and over again after prior ones end); at best, they are friendly competitions and exercises of teamwork that are parallel to a tennis match, only in digital form (and without the physical exertion--unless you go really crazy with the keyboard! lol).
(4) Interactive novel. These are games that I think you would find most interesting. These would include mostly single-player role playing games like Final Fantasy series, Persona series, Xenogears, and Chrono Trigger. These games have a beginning and they have an end. The point of these games is to immerse the player into a story where they either play themselves or assume a different personality. The plots of these games can be very sophisticated and many of them explore philosophical themes. One of my favorites is Xenogears. That game is really indebted to Nietzsche, Freud, and Jung for example. Another game I'm playing, Persona 3, is really enjoyable, and my friend who recommended it is convinced that it is ultimately a critique of the Cartesian self. So playing these games can in fact be quite an exercise in critical reflection. Plus they have the elements that go to make up a good story, like heroes, villains, drama, defeat, victory, loss, despair, and romance.

So that's how I would view the video game scene. I think these categories are helpful pedagogically as they can help show the good and bad to look for in games. They are not airtight as some games overlap, but the four emphases, I think, are helpful.

I mostly play 3 and 4. 2 scares me to death--for myself and for the world-- and the one time I tried to play one (of the Star Wars variety), I realized the time commitment involved would be huge and that it would be a very vain pursuit to devote myself to the optimization of my digital character rather than use that time to optimize my actual self. That's my personal experience . I know of one guy who has admitted--and shown signs of--addiction to World of Warcraft. He knows someone who has created marital problems because of his interest in the games. The news will often run stories of type 2 gaming excesses. Very scary stuff indeed. As for 1 type games, minesweeper can be fun, but it it ultimately a time waster.

With 3 type games, I enjoy playing them. I like the teamwork and competition--to me, it really is like sitting down to play the equivalent of a tennis match or flag football. And I have actually developed friendships with some people outside of these games. Unfortunately, those friendships have to remain digitally mediated through instant messages and e-mails because of the physical distance. But nevertheless, we have talked and prayed for one another, and that seems good to me. The danger that I am aware of though is falling into this illusory sense of intimacy, or to over dependence on these friendships So while being able to pray for one another is good, and while it is good to know someone cares for you and is interested in such mundane details as how your day went, the danger is taking these friendships as substitutes for face-to-face friendships. I think I've done a good job of avoiding that temptation, however. In fact, I've hung out with more people this semester and more frequently than I perhaps ever have in my entire life. So at least in my experience, these games have proven worthwhile sources of fun and community that serve to supplement the fun and community I have with friends face-to-face.

4 type games: it is awesome to play these games and view them as interactive novels. Some of them can indeed be very thought provoking. And they are fun. They do not tend to develop friendships, though, as they are mostly 1 player experiences. But if they are approached as fun interactive novels, then they can have a worthwhile place, I think, in our lives.

So those are my thoughts, Anne. I may have covered a lot of what you have been thinking about already or discussed at the technology institute. I thought I could at least use this opportunity to gather my thoughts and share them with you for your own reflection and insight.

I hope everything is going well as the semester draws to a close!

Adam

]]> http://teachingphilosophyandyoga.blogspot.com/feeds/8230750011488782191/comments/default 0 http://teachingphilosophyandyoga.blogspot.com/2010/04/leeroy-jenkins.html http://teachingphilosophyandyoga.blogspot.com/2010/04/leeroy-jenkins.html#comments Tue, 06 Apr 2010 10:50:00 +0000 Anne-Marie Bowery
In someways, participating in the seminar has given me renewed compassion for how students must often feel. They are busy, trying to do too many things, walking from the science building to Morrison, they too often find little to say about the readings when encountering them on their own... so the job of the teacher is to make the classroom a space where there is value added to the pre-work and the post-work.

The extent to which technology can help us do that is an open question to me. In some ways sure, I really like having students do an online journal before class so I can see where they are and I like that it is a mini -private conversation between me and each student. I wouldn't want to have a pre class blog or discussion board. I like the private nature of it. Philosophical reflection has this private component. This semester many of my students haven't kept up with the journals and are asking to make them up and I've told them no, the purpose is to prime the intellectual pump for class, for me and for them and if that exchange doesn't happen before class, then the main purpose is lost. Technology definitely makes this pre-class exchange possible.

I've assigned a blog for the first time this semester (in lieu of four papers tied to small group discussion days). I did not specify when the blog entries need to be done. The large majority of the students have not done anything at all yet with the blogs and there are oh, four weeks left in the semester. Some have and I'm impressed with what have seen of their work in this domain. So I see blogging as possibly having similar post-class value that journaling does for pre class value. I just haven't got the parameters set quite right, or maybe the lack of specificity will turn out okay in the end.

However, what is currently on my mind is how much "New Digital Media" affects the in class situation. I'm not talking about Power Point or Twitter here but the way in which students and to some extent faculty consciousness now resides in a domain that is not real.

Last week and this week, the subject of the technology workshop is gaming. In the interest of full disclosure, I am not a gamer. Truthfully, I have never been much for games of any sort. We played them some in my family of origin but I always found them rather stressful (But that's a blog post in its own right). Even as a teenager, I'd rather just sit and have a conversation with friends than play Pictionary or Trivial Pursuit. I did not play D and D. My step daughter is very active in gaming and it means a lot to her. She also attends Ren faires and Animae conventions so I think I tend to see gaming in this light. The deliberate pursuit of a false reality. It doesn't to me even count as Baudrillard's hyper real because it isn't an accurate map of a now decaying reality. It is more like following the path of non being. Not that it doesn't exist, but as the Goddess tells Parmenides, it is not a productive path. "do you wanna date my avatar? hotter than reality by far...." Maybe so, but the Goddess has it right, not a productive path, that's what I'd say.

Simply put, distinguishing what is meaningful and valuable in this world is hard enough, it is hard enough to find true north and stay the course, why in the world would one invest their limited time and resources in such pursuits?

I was responding to the "all subjects are interesting until ruined for us" claim on a previous post and it is that issue I'd like to revist. Sure all subjects are interesting, but not all subjects are equally worthwhile. When I was first starting to get into yoga, I would go up to Dallas from time to time to study with Ally and Randy. They studied with a woman named Jaya Waters. She talked about the importance of "digging one hole." Not that this teaching is hers alone, but I do want to give credit for the context in which I first heard it. That image has stuck with me in many ways over the years, we have finite amount of energy and if we dig lots of holes none of them are going to be very deep.

So over the years I've gone further down the rabbit hole of yoga. I'm still more diverse in my interests than some. I'm still digging many holes, but there are large segments of public experience I really have no idea about. I gave up fashion magazines ages ago because they depressed me. I watch almost no tv, I don't watch you tube unless someone I know well and who knows me well, sends me a link to watch. For example, Leeroy Jenkins....16 million views on you-tube nothing to me...until last Tuesday.

so the conversation started off with Aristotle, character, plot, good stuff.. but ended up with Halo and World of Warcraft. We had an interesting discussion about the use of computers, I primarily see a computer for work, not that I don't goof off..facebook emailing friends, but I don't really text, I don't really chat or twitter... And when I do facebook or email, generally I should be working, that's what I sit at the computer to do. Blogging is not really work per se, but the blogs I write and keep up with have to do with philosophy or teaching or yoga, so they are definitely not other than what I do. Happily, I love what I do and I see it as what Plato calls "serious play."

At some point, I just put my head down on the desk in despair. Watching these games, wow. We are pretty far in a cave of very pernicious shadows. Or at least that's my take on it. Interestingly, the two grad students in the course displayed obvious enthusiasm for the games and they might have enough intellectual eros to use these shadows in productive ways to teach their students, but I do not nor do I have any interest in doing so.

I'm glad I know what I'm up against, but I really do see it as something I'm up against, a huge obstacle to learning, not something that will lead to the liberation of conscious.

Games are on the docket again today, having ranted in my pre class blog, perhaps I will keep my in class rants to a minimum.
Perhaps.

]]> http://teachingphilosophyandyoga.blogspot.com/feeds/7301861853020409411/comments/default 0 http://megankj.blogspot.com/2010/04/ipads-and-technology-true-love-at-first.html http://megankj.blogspot.com/2010/04/ipads-and-technology-true-love-at-first.html#comments Thu, 01 Apr 2010 17:40:00 +0000 Megan Johnson
This episode reminded me of the day I got my iPhone. Embarrassingly enough, I can totally relate to Phil's feelings about his new piece of technology. You are so mesmerized by its capabilities that it takes you almost completely out of this world and into the technological world of your device. They marvel and amaze us, but are they helping us or distracting us from living our lives? Is it ok that technology has such a hold on us? I do not know. I'm still convinced that the good can outweigh the bad, but I thought this small parody on our obsession with new technological devices was hilarious if not even a little bit enlightening. You should watch it too. Catch it on hulu.com or abc.com.

]]> http://megankj.blogspot.com/feeds/8165404155590884475/comments/default 0