Response to Technology in College Classrooms & Identity Chapter

Summary 1:


Questioning Assumptions About Students' Expectations for Technology in College Classrooms by Sarah Lohnes and Charles Kinzer is an article about how technology fits into the lives of various college students. Their first assumption was that it would play a big role in the classroom due to the significant role it plays in the social & domestic lives of many students. However, in a study done in 2005 on nine liberal arts college students, they were proved wrong. Eight out of the nine students rejected the act of bringing a laptop along to class, saying it is a distraction rather than an aid. The one student who favored the idea felt that it gave him the flexibility to multitask and obtain the most from his learning experience. Whether nine students were enough to serve as the demographic, I'm not sure, but by the end of the study, the researchers' previous ideas and assumptions changed greatly.

What Surprised Me!
Nothing in this article really surprised me. If anything, I agreed completely with the eight students against bringing a laptop to class. To me it's a hassle and a BIG distraction, even at home.

Summary 2:

Born Digital by Palfrey & Gasser 

• Chap.1: Identities

This chapter talked about the similarities and differences between identities from the olden days and now, the 21st century. Back in the 19th century, a teenage girl living in a small village could successfully change her identity by moving to another village and creating a new one for herself. Now, with the internet and all the social networking sites available, people have almost no privacy and definitely no ability to move to another city and create a new identity. The chapter also touched on the benefits and risks of putting yourself online. Some benefits were that you could gain many social skills and interactions & play with different identities until you find your niche. On the other hand, someone may use the information against you; a company refusing to hire you because of a racy photo, a creeper stalking you in your neighborhood, or even identity theft.

What Surprised Me!
One part that really surprised me was the high school male who said "Facebook is like a white, preppy Myspace." I was taken aback by his statement because last time I checked, EVERYONE was on facebook and it has been this way since the book was published in 08. I can understand the preppiness but the white part? I don't understand..

Ponder This..
"Do you think it's fair for companies and schools to use your facebook as a determining factor for hiring and admittance?