Thompson Reading Response

A computer/man hybrid? I mean, I'm not not opposed.

Clive Thompson's Smarter Than You Think is a good representation of the type of attitude you can have about the collaboration of computer-based technology and man. I really want to watch Transformers now just to hear an epic speech from Optimus Prime about man and bot working together towards a better, more advanced world.

(See 3:45 for the relevant part!)

Through some quick research, I did find that Thompson is a known blogger, which totally makes the writing of the text make a lot more sense. It stood out to me because it was quick and ultimately felt more accessible than most of the other texts we've read this semester. Admittedly, I was happy with its light language and speedy topic dumps. However, after reading it fully (well... skimmed fully) I was surprised that Thompson decided to not go into fewer topics deeper. For example, the image of the centaur is not interrogated critically enough, in my opinion. Thompson does a good job at recognizing that the machine/man hybridization of the future raises issues of dependence and moral reasoning, but he really leaves these topics unexamined beyond just discussing it.

I do think though, that Thompson's optimism is part of what sets this reading apart from others we've interacted with this semester, but it also leaves a lot of these opportunities to really discuss and critique thoroughly wide open for interpretation. I think that in his attempt to argue for the positive he sold himself short by not including different stories that represent the complexities of the larger picture. He really only examined success stories focusing on non-profits or smaller scaled endeavors. I do, though, really appreciate the blunt discussion of not fearing this technology/man collaboration. He's open about this from the first few pages using young chess players as a metaphor to discuss the more forward-thinking attitudes of future generations.

 

Pariser Reading Response

This idea of the interwebz taking over our minds is not a new one but it is one that still freaks me out! Eli Pariser's text The Filter Bumble offers a unique study and look into the ways personal data algorithms shape our technology experience. Because this blog post is late, I did actually have the opportunity to read Clive Thompson's Smarter Than You Think before responding to Pariser. This rule defining order of events actually worked out in my favor this time - by allowing me to compare. However, this post is not meant to work as a compare and contrast between both authors (I still have another post to write) but it did help in my own experience reading for tone and opinions through that tone. It's interesting that the order of the reading started with one of the most paranoid and cynical texts we've read followed by the most positive thinking of our experiences with technology.

In the topic of personalized data, yeah it pisses me off when all I do is look at one pair of shoes one time and for weeks that damn pair of shoes pops up at every opportunity in any online space. Do advertisers not realize that that just makes me want to buy them less?

Apart from my impulsive shopping habits, I have to discuss the recent campaign by Facebook looking to hire journalists to help rebuild their reputation after the Fake News scandal. 

In November 2016, Facebook and Google both pledged to stop advertising income for 'fake news.' In April 2018, Mark Zuckerburg was called in front of Congress to answer questions about many issues concerning his platform - the fakers being one of them. As a result, in July Facebook announced algorithm changes designed to boost content from friends, family, and groups. The company, realizing it had a reputation problem, launched an ad campaign reassuring users that they would be protected from, "spam, clickbait, fake news, and data misuse" (WIRED, w.p.). I couldn't help but notice that jobs are being created based on the existence of fake news and data misuse. Any campaign launched by Facebook creates jobs - even the recent call for young reporters from the platform calls for rebranding. It's fascinating to look at the PR moves that these sites are taking to address these changes. A Facebook spokesperson said, "We're working on how we more effectively identify and differentiate news and news sources across our platform. For instance, we recently announced the Archive of Ads with Political Content, where we'll build separate treatments for both news and non-news content" (WIRED, w.p.). 

I think it's interesting that Mark Zuckerburg was called in front of Congress but this idea of data misuse, we know, is not new. I think the immediacy of Facebook's content with its members is part of what pushed Zuckerburg at the center of our targets. I never found on the press release what qualifies data misuse but I'm certain it goes back to the use of personalized information - advertisements and clickbait designed to fit the person - it's part of what made Zuckerburg a freakin' billionaire after all. I can just imagine Pariser watching the news like, "Yep, what I say?!" 

 

CPE Working Draft

Hello, fellow group members! If I haven't talked to you yet in class - I plan on creating an education podcast (for educators) discussing the problems teachers face in terms of technology use in classroom spaces. I began this process by looking deeply into reports and theory about educational policies and really, where did we go wrong and what are we doing right? The issue with my wide range of research is that there really is no answer to the problem - it's about everything from the culture of the education community, policy changes, funding, training, unrealistic expectations, and no follow through, just to name a few. Because educational theory is so exciting for people (cough, cough) I thought a good way to humanize the voices and experiences of the people who do the work daily is that they're heard alongside the conversation that they're often left out of. My goal for this podcast is to emulate some sort of RadioLab experience. If you haven't listened to RadioLab, I highly encourage you to do so. They're particularly interesting in the realm of podcasts because of their use of storytelling and sound. Below is an example of their style - this video is really long but even in the first couple of minutes you should get the idea.

Using RadioLab as my inspiration as I create my first podcast, I want to incorporate some element of storytelling and sounds to help circulate the conversation around its various topics. To be honest, my script is a little up in the air, because I'm learning that sound editing takes a lot more time then I thought so I'm hoping the final product will be about 5 minutes long. I'm scheduled to get my interviews recorded this weekend so a lot of what I say will circulate around where the conversation goes in those interviews.

 For now, here's the work-in-progress, which includes some content about the actual topics of the conversation I plan on having, the people involved, as well as some of the sounds I hope to incorporate/morph together in the editing process. Wish me luck!

 

(I'm currently working on breaking some of these audio clips a part--don't worry I won't use the entire thing). 

School Sounds

Tech Sounds

Marker on the whiteboard

Made In America

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Ethan Dickens TEDtalk about technology use

Why Technology won't fix Education TEDtalk

Why Technology will fix Education TEDtalk

Ken Robinson

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Technology Trends

THE FUTURE

Sal Khan from Khan Academy 

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Singapore Seems to Solve the Problem

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ENDING SONG BECAUSE IT'S AWESOME AND WORKS

SmartBoards
-Have We Fixed the Problem or Made It Worse? 

What's Happening Now? / What's the Cost of these new technologies?
-Mr. Rossi and Mrs. Warn at Bozeman High School has agreed to speak with me about their relationship with technology in the classroom. (Scheduled hopefully Friday!)

(The Children's Museum of Bozeman (partnership with schools around Bozeman)
-Kendall (a project coordinator for the museum) shares his thoughts  (Interview scheduled hopefully Saturday!)
    -working with the schools
    -3D Printing in the classroom
    -Teaching Coding

-Sound clips from my own education classmates (what do they have to say?)

-My 11-year-old Nephew, Lewis, will hopefully be making an audio appearance
     -His school is super involved with Robotics and Coding Competitions (What are the students' thoughts?)