Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Last Sources


 
 
 
My second to last source is an article written in the New York Times by Tamar Lewin. Throughout The article Lewin explains that colleges across the country are beginning to adopt MOOC’s or massive open online courses.  These courses are free and offer an online experience to students, although as of now no college credit will be obtained. It is explained that these courses as of now cover math, engineering, and computer science. I choose to use this article because it directly relates to me, as I am taking an online college course. I found this article by searching for a newspaper article that dealt with technologies impact on education specifically. I think this article will help me because it is another example of how technology is ultimately improving society. Without the ability to take an online class many of us would not be able to attend college so with the evolution of computers and the internet, this is now a possibility. Also liked the fact that the classes that the students are taking don’t actually count towards any college credit, but there are still hundreds of people signing up for these classes. It shows that people still have a drive to learn things and all they need is a way to access the knowledge.

My last source is a Magazine article written by Jennifer L. Deleo. I chose this article because the author presents both sides of the story and also covers multiple subjects. She explains the positives and negatives to communication, computing, dining, entertainment, and travel.  Specifically when it comes to communication the author describes the freedom we now have from traditional communication. She presents text messaging and E-mail as an easier and faster way to get messages to people hundreds of miles away. Deleo describes the negative aspects of evolving technology as a tool that has made our society more impersonal. She says that because there is less motivation for human interaction and more of a focus on quick and easy messaging people are forgetting how to spell and write in complete sentences. I think this last source ties my theme up very well because it covers a wide area of topics I will be more informed on different views. Also because the author provides positives and negatives instead of having one view per topic I now have two.

 

 

Deleo, Jennifer. “How Tech Has changed our Lives” PC Magazine 28 Oct. 2008:

Lewin, Tamar, “Universities Reshaping Education On the Web.” New York Times 17 July. 2012 late ed.:A12

Wednesday, November 7, 2012


 My 3rd and 4th Sources
 
 
The third source I am using is an internet article by Alyson Krueger titled “6 Ways Technology is Improving Health Care”. I wanted to use the angle of health care because I think it gives my research question another view which might not normally be included. The article is Krueger’s list of why technology is important to health care. Her first two points are about how advancements in technology enabled healthcare information to reach a wider spectrum of people. She uses the internet and social networking as examples to how data is now spread. The next two points talk about improved treatments and patient care. She explains that as technology has evolved so has medical treatment, this makes it faster and less painful than for patients overall. Patient care has improved because everything is now becoming consolidated electronically. This helps people and doctors access information seamlessly, which allows them to keep large amounts of data available and ready. The last two points are that doctors are now more accessible and that they are better able to predict medical trends. She explains that doctors are able to use text messaging, video conferencing, and email to better get in contact with patients. Lastly technology can help predict medical trends; Krueger says that this new technology will help medical officials to respond to outbreaks quicker.

My Next Source is another internet article this time coming from Matt December. This article unlike my first 3 sources is more of a personal experience. December writes about a teacher Janet Austin who teaches special education at her local elementary school. Austin explains that her students began using ipads to see the impact technology would have at the grade-school level. The process took nine weeks and Austin said that she experienced results within her controlled group. She noticed that a student that once had issues with spelling began to improve with the help of an app. Austin also noticed that there was also a spike in her student’s enthusiasm towards learning. Austin is quoted as saying that one student “was so determined that during those nine weeks she would come in during her recesses and before school to practice her words on her own”. I chose to include this source in my essay because it gives a personal look at how technology is improving education. I think that technology and education are intertwined and education would not be where it is today if not for the improvements of technology.

 

 

Alyson Krueger. “ 6 Ways Technology is improving Health Care.” Business Insider (2010): Web. 5 Nov.2012

Matt December. “Technology Makes a Difference in Student Achievement”. Source Newspaper (2012): Web. 7 Nov.2012

 

 

Sunday, November 4, 2012

My Two Sources


 
 
My first Source is a book written by Nicholas Carr called The Dumbest Generation: How the digital Age stupefies Americans and Jeopardizes Our Future. The book starts off by explaining the way the brain works. It is stated that our brains record and adapt to new experiences both negative and positive. He goes on to say that the internet is changing the way we think and the way we process information. According to Carr the internet is weakening the traditional tools that we use. Also technology is changing how we use memory, emotion, and intelligence. I chose to use this source because I think it is a good way to contrast my own beliefs on this topic. It seems to me that by including opposing views I will be able to look at all the sides of an argument and thus better round my argument. Carr also explains that the more we get use to technology the more accustomed we become to it and its bad habits. For example how texting has ruined the English Language for young Americans who no longer know how to spell.

 

My second source is an Article by Lisa Miller in The Washington Post titled: The religious authorities and pundits are wrong: Technology is good for religion. In the article Miller talks about a point in which I hadn’t considered and that is the religious side. She explains that contrary to many religious people beliefs; technology actually compliments religion. She says that we can us apps to get closer to our respective religions. By using these apps it helps people who might not be able to attend services like mass or church. Religious leaders believe that physical contact is best when talking about religion. Miller counters this argument by saying that technology gives us an opportunity to progress our religious beliefs and therefore cannot be condemned. The Reason I chose to include this source is because not only does the author go along with my belief that technology helps us more than it hurts; it also gives a unique view on a highly debatable topic. I had never thought about how technology affects religion. This allows me to open my mind and look at other areas that are affected by technology

 

 

Carr, Nicholas. The Dumbest Generation: How The Digital Age Stupefies Young Americans and Jeopardizes our Future. New York. Penguin, 2008. Print

Miller, Lisa. The Religious Authorities and Pundits are Wrong. Washington Post June 1 2012. Digital.