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In The Future of Thinking, Cathy N. Davidson and David Theo Goldberg question the typical learning practices that we've grown accustomed to today. Before delving into the chapter I planned on writing about, I read a bit of the books introduction and overview, titled The Future of Learning Institutions in a Digital Age. One particular line that stuck me was "How do laptops change the way we learn? And how should they change the way we teach?"(2). Their main focus here was to discuss how technology, and our sources of information has changed drastically, but that our education system hasn't.

This article looks at other articles and gets into some of the social aspects of video games that are being talked about, as well as the effects of the video game industry on everyone. This article also looks at some writers that talk about why more and more people celebrate gaming because of the displays of powerful combination of entertainment, competition, and technology. While on the other hand the other writers talk about the social and moral aspects that they think are important. However, according to Michael Jindra, the author of this article, she thinks that all of them writers that she used agree that video games are a phenomenon that will have social implications. I personally think that we are bettering video games because we are moving more and more to a social way of gaming.

In the article Myspace, Facebook promote Literacy, Debra Lau Whelan talks about how social networking sites can help you gain more than just friends. Social networking sites offer e-safety, "Staying safe, keeping personal information safe, protecting yourself and your belongings, making sure that we don't participate in bullying or other antisocial behavior, and helping out other people who might be affected by these issues, is a key part of digital citizenship." Responsibility becomes a central role on these sites because their safety is at risk. Kids are able to control childish behaviors or prevent themselves from making rash decisions by using safe tactics on the internet. These sites broaden horizons for the users, letting them talk to people they may not have talked to otherwise, creating a variety and diverse web culture, driving away from cliques on school playgrounds. "Collaboration, discovery, and becoming a team player are all encouraged because these sites promote working, thinking, and acting together." Social networking sites allow users to create groups online to help find other people with the same interest as you. This allows communication on a topic that many people all over the world share a common interest in. Diversity brings new ideas and helps these users see things in a different point of view. These teens are not trapped in just with their classroom but they can't interact with people all over the world. Teens messing around on the computer on social networking sites is not just leisure time wasted, "Being able to quickly adapt to new technologies, services, and environments is already regarded as a highly valuable skill by employers, and can facilitate both formal and informal learning," Computer skills are adapted from using these sites, making it easier for teens to perform computer tasks in the future at work. This article gave me a new outlook on Facebook and social networking sites. I always thought that these sites w

The Future of Thinking, Cathy Davidson argues our world is no longer taking learning seriously. Teachers are teaching so that students are passing tests. She argues the No Child Left behind Act leaves old forms of learning behind. How is it improving the way children are learning if the focus of learning is changing?

In the chapter "Civic Identities, Online Technologies: From Designing Civics Curriculum to Supporting Civic Experiences" from Marina Umaschi Bers book, Civic Life Online: Learning How Digital Media Can Engage Youth, the author claims that online games, such as Zora, help our youth engage in community and civics. Zora allows it's players to create their own individual avatar, with physical, mental, and emotional traits that the players choose. Bers argues that Zora is a great way for children to think about their identity and civic life by making choices that will show them how to acquire certain sills and attitudes to become good citizens. Like many other researchers, Bers agrees that it is easiest to learn by doing, and games like Zora are helping to improve the youths social awareness. This chapter describes engagement in society not only by voting and being political, but by forming communities and volunteering.

In "Civic Identities, Online Technologies: From Designing Civics Curriculum to Supporting Civic Experiences" by Marina Umaschi Bers, Bers discusses a scenario that is being used all across the country. Zora is a three dimensional multiuser environment that students use to think about identity and civic life. Students make avatars and are in charge of everything going on in the city or summer camp. This came to life after identity construction environments (ICEs) were found that creative things to do on the computer make children learn better. The students work mostly with different civic identities like police, Jewish people, etc. along with real life, controversial community related issues which the students try to solve. Many of the tools used in Zora can then beused in real life and the moral values can be used both on the computer and in real life. Zora is different than traditional learning because "Children are put in the role of producers, instead of consumers, of information, knowledge, and habits of mind."

This article starts with talking about how students want to think outside of class. It states that they are scared sometimes of being judged on what they say or how they say it. Chat rooms or Backchannels is what they call them can help these students. In the article it shows some graphs about how the students used these chat rooms that were set up and how often they used them. according to the graphs as school seemed to continue, the students seemed to go in less. This article was great to understand the difference between in a classroom learning, and the way the web can teach the students and they can open up more and feel more safe in it. They don't want to learn between four walls all the time is stated in the article, and i think this is a great way to look at learning. broaden their horizons, because they all ready are and want to know that it is ok.

This entire article was about online chat rooms and how we can incorporate chat channels into schooling for collaboration, explanations, and discussion about topics in class. It talked about many of the good things and the bad things about chatting online and how we should be able to use chatting in school. The word backchannel is used for anything going on in the background while a teacher is lecturing or presenting. This idea of backchannel is talked about throughout the article. It explains what backchannel is, how we need to change schooling to work with it, what problems it creates, what things it works well with, why kids are using it so much, and how it could be used positively for classrooms.

In Dara N. Byrn's article, The Future of (the) "Race": Identity, Discourse, and the Rise of Computer - mediated Public Spheres, Byrn argues that social networking on - line encourages the act of racism. The use of social networking increases racial and cultural discrimination, even though everyone seems to think that there are no racial or cultural boundaries when communicating with others on line. It is important to realize that social networking sites, such as AsianAvenue, BlackPlanet, and MiGente, can create racial boundaries for the young people who use them.

Professors at Harvard university discuss their opinion on whether they think laptops in the classroom is a better learning utility or if it is just distracting the student and others in the classroom.

In Technology a Key Tool in Writing Instruction the author, Maya Prabhu, explains how a report done by the National Writing Project and College Board shows that "teachers play a critical role in driving the use of technology, to teach writing." For this report nine teachers, who were selected for various reasons, were observed by a writer for a day and then interviewed. Results showed that the use of such things like blogs, podcasts, and other software can actually increase students' engagement and improve their writing and thinking skills in all grade levels and in all subjects. These results help fuel the argument that more teaching needs to be done with technology in this new digital age. The NWP and College Board claims that there are ". . . three things [that need to] be done to meet the challenges of teaching and learning in the digital age at all levels of education." A child cannot learn or be impacted by technology if they do not have access, so therefore it is suggested that a child have one-on-one interactions with a computer or some time type of similar technology.

In the video, "Evolving Technology", created by cre8tivem, on January 07, 2009, he brings up many facts about technology that many have never even thought of. It questions your knowledge and makes you wonder about things that you didn't even know were issues or existed. It makes you realize just how fast we are evolving. (It's a good video to get you brainstorming and think about different issues you would like to do a research and has many interesting facts that are useful.)

This chapter was about a topic that I have actually thought about which is being able to tell the "good guy" apart from the "bag guy" and what makes them that way. The fact that there are video games in which you can choose to play as the bad or good character in the story changes the way you play it and how you are perceived, Also as you choose which character to play, in the game alone even if you are the bad guy you are still the good character. In the real world people make out the world to seem black and white, your either the good guy or the bad guy. Who determines what is to be considered bad and good and just because a person makes a bad choice does not make them a bad person. The world is filled with millions of examples of cultural models and rule they way people think and perceive different things making a model of what we should all consider to be good and if we do something otherwise then it is the wrong (or bad) thing to do. Video games can teach the player that there is more meaning to to being the bad or good character and that a gray area exists.

In the video, Ken Robinson says Schools kill Creativity, the speaker, Ken Robinson, talks about how not only the United States, but education systems all around the world, hinder children's creativity because that won't get them anywhere in life. He brings up this notion of creativity in schools being the most important thing, and programs like music, dance, and theatre are on the bottom of the totem pole where Math and English are perceived as the core subjects in schools. He challenges that notion. Why are Math and English at the top? The point of this video is to make people re-think creativity in school and the fact that education will not have a future if we keep dismissing the use of creativity in schools.

Examples of educational efforts thinking about the idea of play

For those of you who are thinking about theories of "play" and how they relate to technology, this is really interesting: "A professor at USC shares video from a recent meeting that brought together artists, educators, researchers, and technology experts to discuss "tinkering" for learning in the digital age."

Good information about do students or teens even know what Bullying is and what do they think about it on the Internet. Group of students are interviewed about bullying.

talks about different kinds of knowledge that kids in out schools have today.

In about the 30 second mark it shows that unknown people gaming online can come together on Call of Duty Black Ops and mess around as a group while having fun. All it takes is one person to instigate a behavior, to start a chain reaction of communication online. It just goes to show that even when you are gaming by yourself at home, that you can have a conversation with someone that you might not have even known. An Example of this behavior of talking to person online during gaming takes place during the two minute and five second mark. I am going to use this video to show that even when you think you are networking, that you could be. In today's world the ways of communication have opened up significantly. It has opened to the point where I can be in California and game with family in Texas.

I liked this one because it was different than all the others flash mobs it was more of a statement, they make tons of indivduals one by one take there pants off. I think they do it for the reaction of others.

Most people probably feel that Twitter is nothing but a waste of time, and does nothing positive for the individuals using it. After reading this article, I must say Twitter is darn good invention, that has a postive effect and outcome for the individuals who partake in the action.