My essay

The internet has acquired many users in its time of existence therefore causing many changes in society’s behavioural patterns and as some might say, has formed many new identities. Mark Prenksy’s article, ‘The Emerging Online Life of the Digital Native: What they do differently because of technology and how they do it,’ and David Weinberger’s article, ‘A New World’ each present a different opinion on contemporary internet users (mainly being adolescents) whilst providing insight in to their personal views. According to statistics “A telephone pole of adolescents between twelve and seventeen found that 93% of adolescents use the internet for social interaction.” (Alvermann 2008:8). The following essay will explore the ideas discussed in the abovementioned articles and determine whether they are an accurate reflection of people who are using the internet today.

Prenksy focuses on the notion that there are two different types of digital people: the natives and the immigrants. Evidently, the natives are seen as the young technology users of today and the immigrant refers to their parents in the days before the internet was around. The article focuses on how the web has changed the social behaviour of people over time and how reliant the natives have become on the web forming a completely separate online life in contrast to the immigrants in their day. Sharing a similar view to Prensky is Johnson as he states “the internet is a place where people can gather, communicate and build interactive worlds. It’s up to users to design scenarios, simulations, as well as meaningful adventures and learning experiences.” (Johnson 2008:29) Prensky’s article is generally seen to be an accurate portrayal of the internet users of today. After viewing the article I personally can clearly relate as I have experienced the native/immigrant concept with my mother. I was appalled at my mother who did not know where to insert a USB flash drive in to the computer or even simply change her sim card from one phone to another. This is seen as ridiculous to people of my age bracket by the Australian Journal of language and literacy which states that “today’s children are born in to a world of digital technology with an order distinctly different from the past.” (Hansford and Adlington 2009:55)

Prensky suggests that a whole new world exists online. For Prensky, “this online life has become an entire strategy for how to live, survive and thrive in the 21st century, where cyberspace is a part of everyday life.” (Prensky 2004:2) The internet has brought about many new opportunities for people allowing them to engage in normal everyday activities in the comfort of their own home. These include different means of communication, sharing, shopping, exchanging, meeting, collecting, evaluating, gaming, learning, searching, reporting, just to name a few. These opportunities have enabled the natives to create an ‘online identity’ or in some cases more than one which allows them to be someone they’re not behind the screen and online. Prensky sees the natives as the power of the future and it is because of them that the web keeps evolving and will continue to whether we like it or not. “And while some Digital Immigrants are afraid of the new technology, and others may question its value, the Natives are never going back, en masse, to the old ways.” (Prensky 2004:13)

While Prensky writes about two different types of people and the web, Weinberger looks at ‘two completely different worlds; one real and the other virtual.’ In his article Weinberger discusses the concepts of space, time, self, and knowledge to do with both worlds. He implies that the web is a space that occupies no actual space, therefore making the web life more accessible and easier to accomplish tasks than it is in everyday life without going anywhere. “For example age invaders, is a novel interactive intergeneration social/physical game which allows the elderly to play with children in the physical space, while parents can participate in the game in real time in the virtual world through the internet.” (Khoo 2008:3) On the net “we get to determine when and how long we will participate, based solely on what suits us.” (Weinberger 2000:4) Time on the web is seen as discontinuous in that we can break off and go back to what we are doing whenever we desire and one can complete many operations in a matter of minutes. On the other hand, time in the real world is continuous and time is pre scheduled for the individual. The notion of self in this piece ties in with Prensky’s idea that the modern day native can create one or more online identities, allowing them to express multiple personalities where as in the real world the individual is only entitled to their real identity. Weinberger concludes that the web expands ones knowledge without them realising. He states that by researching one topic he is able to learn more on this matter based on the findings of others. These are only four examples of how the web differentiates the real world from the virtual world. I can relate to this argument as I shop online and buy clothes from America whilst on facebook and downloading music. I won’t argue that it is much easier to multi task in the virtual world than in the real world due to the available sources.

These points are seen to be positive however it is arguable as to whether or not the web is a good or bad thing for social being. One of the main questions Weinberger bases his studies on is: “Is the web making us more or less social?” With the many examples he provides in the article the question remains unanswered. The way I view it is: The internet makes us more social in the sense of communicating with more people through the identities we create online however it must be mindful that the character people create online may not be the same as the one that is real life. It is seen that people, generally teenagers, feel more comfortable to converse behind the screen rather than face to face as it avoids awkward and shy situations. An article from the journal of Teacher Librarian states: “Our research shows that children and teens are increasingly using telecommunications technologies, including facebook, to avoid difficult face to face conversations.” (Fodman, Munroe 2009:36).

Both articles demonstrate a fairly accurate portrayal of the online world today. It is seen that Prensky’s is more accurate as it goes in to more details in the areas of change and the effects the web has had on society and social behaviour. Weinberger’s article makes some valued points however lacks detail in some areas of effect. The fact is that the internet is changing and will continue to change as both articles state, and along with this change comes change in other areas. It is unpredictable with what the future will hold and how the internet will impact on it, all we know is: it will.

For more information on this topic visit these links:
http://blogs.zdnet.com/ITFacts/?p=10015
http://freireproject.org./blogs/teenage-identity-construction-media-influence-suicide-and-internet-accomplise
http://www4.informatik.tu-muenchen.de/~fleischa/papers/identity99.html
http://www.cariboo.bc.ca/cpj/essay.html
http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman/publications/euricom/examining-euricom.htm


Reference list:
Khoo, E. (2008). Age invaders: social and physical inter-generational mixed reality family entertainment. Virtual Reality, 36(4), p3-16.

Johnson, L. (2009). The potential, the pitfalls, and the promise of multi-user virtual environments: getting a second life. Teacher Librarian, 36(4), p68-72.

Alvermann, D. (2008). Why Bother Theorizing Adolescents’ Online Literacies for Classroom and Practical Research?. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 52(1), p8-19.

Fodeman, D., & Monroe, M. (2009). The impact of Facebook on our students. Teacher Librarian, 36(5), p36-40

Hansford, D., & Adlington, R. (2009). Digital Spaces and young people’s online authoring: Challenges for teachers. Australian Journal of Language & Literacy, 32(1), p55-68.

Shout out to Jules

This is me according to Jules..
I'd say on a scale of 1 - 10 in happiness im about a 15..
Just thought i'd clarify incase you got it mixed up haha

Look out Picasso. . . I'll whoop your butt

As you can see I'm pretttttty good at art!

These are my latest pieces - some as recent as last week!

Haha kidding these are from when i was little, i was a clearly born to shine in the world of art hahaha... Gifted you might say?

( I hoped you sensed the serious sarcasm throughout this whole post)

My Political 2 cents

HEYYY HEYYY!

E-petition:
I was looking on the Australian Wilderness societies page and came upon a petition that I believe is worthwhile. I signed it and you should too. It's a protest against the logging in the Victorian Forrests.

Tell the state government to get VicForests out of our water catchments- The Wilderness Society

Shared via AddThis


You want me to respond to a professional blogger at a major news site.. Ok. This is the blog im responding to..
http://blogs.news.com.au/

I am replying to the post called "Worst thing since Sliced Bread?":
You ask can we be forgiven for unleashing something like Neighbours or Home and Away on to the world. Well.. no, actually we can't be forgiven because there is nothing to be forgiven for! Home and Away is one of my favourite shows and i BET you've never watched full episodes for a week and latched on to the story line. Nope. Didn't think so!

You then go on to pay out a guy about his hair.. I'd like to see what you look like. I doubt you're the perfect guy because if you were then I don't think you'd be hiding behind a computer screen all day. Sorry if that's rude but maybe you should consider how rude you were.


What is Barack Obama up to today you ask?
Well I thought that not only would you like to see what he's up to today... but you can see what he's up to all the time! His twitter updates are posted here. Subscribe to the RSS updates too!!! They RSS updates are now on this blog down the right hand side so you can keep upto date with both Obama and I. Lucky you :)


My representatives:
Local - I live in Mudgeeraba therefore my local representative is Ros Bates Liberal Party
State - Anna Bligh is the Queesnland represtative also from the Liberal Party
Federal - Our Federal Leader is Kevin Rudd otherwise known as K-Rudd or 'krudd'

K-Rudd's adventures (purely for amusement)




Ros Bates' last Parliament speech was on the 8th October 2009 in the Adjournment Debate.
Message to her - I don't think you've done anything wrong and I definately do not believe that you intended to deliberately mislead the audience. You are definately fit for the position.


Clean Feed? No thanks, I don't care for cleanliness.
The Government's plans to censor the internet.

First of all it is a waste of money. Australia has had enough money problems lately, and doing this is just spending another $44 million.

Australians have demonstrated that they do not want it - why make things complicated when they don't need to be and everyone is happy as it is?

It's going to slow the internet access down by approx 30% which will undoubtedly cause an uproar among the public.

These are only a few reason of why I think it is the most stupid idea possible. Go spend $44 million on something worthwhile.


What place does censorship have in democracy?
I think that censorship is impossible when it comes to democracy. If you censor the internet people will find another way to get what they want out there. They've already had a taste of what could be, if you take it away from them, they will find a way to get it back. Just like people still get hold of illicit drugs.

Freeware software experience

This week we were asked to download a freeware software, use it and write about it..
Allllriight then!

I chose to download a software called 'Vuze'
It is basically a software related to bit torrent that allows you to download albums/movies etc.
I went to the website and clicked 'free download', and saved it to my computer.
I then went on http://www.torrentpond.com/ to find the album i wanted.
I then had to create a folder on my computer to save the torrent in.
I opened up the file using the program vuze and it downloaded my album succesfully.
I then put it in to my itunes.

I thought it was a great software to use, my only concerns are:
a) is it a legal one? probably not in one way shape or form
b) how many viruses has my computer got now?

eeeek...

Week 7 Lecture - Open and Closed software

I have come to the conclusion that this subject is making me spend even more time on the computer.. like I don't spend enough time on here already. First of all - this blog requires me to come on here weekly. Second of all - Jasons lectures. Jason's lectures just show us even more cool/useless crappy stuff we can do/look at on the internet and so i spend time fiddling. Not saying it's a bad thing though! Pretty good actually :) especially since it is considered a subject.

In today's lecture Jason showed us some websites that do a number of different things but the most interesting part is a fair bit of the content is illegal in some way shape or form. Pretttty funny because the illegal softwares are what get used most such as Limewire, Bit torrent etc.

The Open Software - Freeware
Programs such as Itunes are considered to be freeware software.
They can be downloaded and saved to your computer for free and run on a memory stick.
The problem with them is they contract viruses - not good.

The Closed Software
Microsoft Office is considered to be a closed software.
Why? Because it is developed by a certain person/company and is strictly only available to whom they make it available, and YOU PAY FOR IT. Damn.
However - it has an advantage because people need it therefore they buy it.

CONSUMPTION AND PRODUCTION week 6 lecture

This morning's lecture was on the consumption and production big screen and small screen.
It was about us as consumers - how we consume content from the big and small screens.

The term 'the big screen' is often heard or referred to as the cinema. However there are other classifications under the heading 'big screen' such as Computers and Television. These are all content feeding machines through the use of picture, sound and writing.

Then there comes the 'small screens'...
These are devices with screens that are not only of smaller size but they use less technology to feed their messages. Personal media players such as ipods, discmans, MP3 players are considered 'small screen' players along with other devices such as mobile phones. These devices use mainly sound and writing to portray their content/messages. Pictures can be used as well on these devices but they are more known for communicating through sound and writing.

ireport

BREAKING NEWS: BRUTAL DOG ATTACK!

I didn't know what the class login was so I made my own.. sorry..

Sketchcast + Google Maps

Apparently Personas believe's the internet doesn't see me at all. I typed in my name...


and then this came up...


I'm not sure if it's a good or bad thing? haha


Nowww - as required, I did a ca-uuutee drawing for you on sketchcast I'm sure you'll love it:


Now for google maps!... This is where 4 of my closest friends moved - at the end of their street is Suncorp Stadium which is prettty cool! check it out:


View Larger Map


I even got a street shot of thier house so you can have a geez:


View Larger Map

Net Art Lecture - Interesting

Today's lecture was on the internet and all of the different sites and connections that it has.

It didn't really feel like a lecture though because Jason mainly showed us cool sites and funny videos and didn't have notes for us to follow or write down. I much prefer this type of lecture - i actually listen and concentrate because it's amusing.

The internet is crazy - the connection speed from here to another country across the other side of the world is a matter of milli seconds.

I thought the elf website was prettty funny - its kinda scary as to what kind of people would sign up to that, and the fact that there is so many of them.. wow! haha.

Apparently twitter will rise more although i have a twitter account and have had one for a while and i honestly forget to use the thing. It's so stupid and pointless. I don't really see how you can get in to it... but if Jason says it will rise - it will rise.

And the saddest part of the lecture was when he said facebook will die. Right now i feel like that is impossible, HOWEVER i never thought myspace would die and it has. Although I don't go on myspace any more, i still cant bring myself to delete it... It's sad i know but i like to keep it there in case. It's not even because there is people on there that don't have facebook that i want to keep in touch with, i just cant delete it. I'm really lame aren't I...?

Short films

I decided to add both of these videos because i thought they were funny. I would choose humour over seriousness in most cases so i thought i would choose two funny videos that share some similarities whilst still having differences. The first one is animated and mainly stays in the same screen shot as required.
The Jack Black film uses all types of screen shots to achieve maximum effect.

Treasure Hunt

1. What is the height of the world's biggest tree? How long did it take to grow?
The world's biggest tree is located in the Sequoia National Park. It is 275 feet high and it took between 2300 and 2700 years to grow that big.
Link: http://www.odditycentral.com/pics/worlds-biggest-tree.html

2. What is the best way (quickest, most reliable) to contact Madonna?
The best way to contact Madonna is by posting a message on her message board on her website.
Link: http://www.madonna.com/help/

3. What is the age of the oldest ever captive elephant? Is this older than the average wild age?
The age of the oldest captive Elephant was 82 years old. And yes it outlived the average wild age.
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elephant

4. a) How would you define the word 'glycomics'? In your own words, what does it really mean ? b)What does the term 'seagull manager' refer to?
a) The study of certain glycan structures from cells or organisms to determine the ingredients of it.
b)"A manager who flies in, makes a lot of noise, craps on everything, and then leaves."
Link: http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=seagull+manager

5. What was David Cronenberg's most recent feature film? Which of his films Had 'Blondie' in it?
His latest festure film is 'Eastern Promises' (2007). Blondie played in his film 'Videodrome'.
Link: http://www.topix.com/movies/blondie

6. When was the original 'Hackers' released?
The original 'Hackers' Movie was released in 1995.
Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113243/

7. Why do phone numbers in Hollywood films start with '555'?
All numbers begin with '555' because the Telephone compaies in the 1970's began encouraging television and film makers to use the prefix for 'ficticious' numbers.
Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/555_(telephone_number)

8.What is the cheapest form of travel from the Gold Coast to Cairns?
I DONT KNOW I CAN'T FIND ANYTHING AND I MISSED THE LESSON SO I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT IS GOING ONNNN!!!! I am going to say by plane because i saw flights from $88.

9. What song was top of the Australian Pop Charts this week in 1970?
In the summer time - Mungo Jess/The Mixtures
Link: http://www.poparchives.com.au/gosetcharts/1970/19700829.html

10. Which Brisbane band includes Stephen Stockwell on keyboards and vocals?
The Black Assassins
Link:http://web.revolutionrock.com.au/oral-hist/index.php?id=24

First missed lecture and lesson for New Comm Tech

Today i was unable to make it to uni for personal reasons therefore I missed the lecture and the tute for New Communication Technologies. This was my first time i have missed it and it won't be happening again (hopefully).

Due to the fact that i missed the lecture, I tried to download the notes. I was unseccessful as the document opens as a one page file with nothing on it on learning@gu. I am not sure why it is doing that but i plan on taking it up with my teacher to find out what i missed.

As for the tute i am planning on following the online blog instructions and catching up over the weekend.

Screen language (shots) in action... [5 W'S &H]

In this weeks lecture we learnt about the different types of camera shots and how they are put to use to engage the audience most effectively. We were told to put these methods to the test on a show or movie of our choice. I chose to analyse an episode of Home and Away last night and this is what i noticed...

Each scene generally began with a Wide Shot/Extreme Long Shot to let the audience see the place/setting which answers the question WHERE.

Following that was a Mid Shot. This allowed the audience to see the character(s) in the scene and their actions which answers the question WHAT.

Once this has been done, a Close Up shot of the character is used to further relate the audience to the story by showing distinct expressions and gestures in their faces which answer the question WHO.

This shot was also used in other sections to demonstrate the WHY question.

The WHEN question was somewhat irrelevant in this sense as it it a half an hour show that has a continuous story. The time period in which it is set in, is assumed known. However the use of lighting indicates certain 'when' aspects such as day/night.

I found it very difficult to pin point the HOW in this show, however i do understand that shots can be used to show how something it done such as series of shots of someone waiting in a cafe, looking at their watch, then their phone, then the wall clock would indicate that person has been waiting there for a long time. It demonstrates how long.

Other shots were used throughout to suit the context of the story line.

Language of the screen

ELS/WS: Extreme Long Shot/Wide Shot
Extreme Long Shot (ELS) - see establishing shot: In this type of shot the camera is at its furthest distance from the subject, emphasising the background. Also known as an establishing shot.
Establishing shot. Opening shot or sequence, frequently an exterior 'General View' as an Extreme Long Shot (ELS). Used to set the scene.

LS:Long Shot
Long shot (LS). Shot which shows all or most of a fairly large subject (for example, a person) and usually much of the surroundings.

MLS: Medium Long Shot
Medium Long Shot (MLS): In the case of a standing actor, the lower frame line cuts off his feet and ankles. Some documentaries with social themes favour keeping people in the longer shots, keeping social circumstances rather than the individual as the focus of attention.

MS: Medium shot
Medium Shot or Mid-Shot (MS). In such a shot the subject or actor and its setting occupy roughly equal areas in the frame. In the case of the standing actor, the lower frame passes through the waist. There is space for hand gestures to be seen.

MCU:Medium Close Up
MCU (Medium Close-Up): head and shoulders.

CU: Close up
Close-up (CU). A picture which shows a fairly small part of the scene, such as a character's face, in great detail so that it fills the screen. It abstracts the subject from a context.

BCU: Big Close Up
BCU (Big Close-Up): forehead to chin. Close-ups focus attention on a person's feelings or reactions, and are sometimes used in interviews to show people in a state of emotional excitement, grief or joy. In interviews, the use of BCUs may emphasise the interviewee's tension and suggest lying or guilt. BCUs are rarely used for important public figures; MCUs are preferred, the camera providing a sense of distance. Note that in western cultures the space within about 24 inches (60 cm) is generally felt to be private space, and BCUs may be invasive.

ECU: Extreme Close Up
ECU (Extreme Close-Up):a particular facial object. The extreme close-up is used to show deep expression or detail to a particular object. For example an extreme close up may be of the watering eye.

The above image and text were all taken from http://www.aber.ac.uk/media/Documents/short/gramtv.html
(Chandler, D : 2001. P.1)

Internet Timeline

For an example of the Internet Timeline please follow this link
http://www.zakon.org/robert/internet/timeline/

Timeline of Computing History

This is a great pdf. file i found on google of a computing timeline.
www.computer.org/computer/timeline/timeline.pdf

If the above link does not work then please refer to this link instead:
http://nct09-gc.blogspot.com/

Childhood flashback

It was approximately 10 years ago when i first experienced it. I didn't understand what it was, how to use it, or why it had a cord with a hemispehere shaped object attached. I hadn't thought of it since the newer versions had come about. Not until last week that is.

Last week in my thursday morning lecture i found it funny that the man standing before me had managed to create a childhood flashback in my head. He did this by mentioning the word IBM. It was then that i actually tuned in to what he was talking about.

I got my first computer approximately 10 years ago and it was an IBM. Last week's lecture got me thinking: I really cannot believe the technological change that has happened in the past ten years alone. The difference between my first computer and the computer i have now is enormous. Let's hope tomorrow morning's lecture finds a way of grabbing my attention as effectively as last weeks did.

Rollercoaster Ride

As I had the use of a mac I thought i would make the most of it and its effects and make a video of myself to upload as part of the 'extras' list.

Editing

I decided to edit the old fashion examples of convergent technology to suit the time period in which they came from. I did this by altering the colour and contrast of the photos.

4 examples of Technology convergence

1. MUSIC PLAYERS - Ever since music was invented everyone from all cultures and parts of the world have wanted it in their life in as many way shapes and forms as possible. The convertable music player has gone from a cassette tape player to an ipod touch screen holding thousands of songs.





2. TELEVISION
The television has been one of the most successful methods of entertainment ever made. Starting out old fashioned with black and white viewing, it has now technologically converged in to high definition LCD colour, flat screen with the monitors being made so thin that it can fit on a ledge or be hung on a wall like a picture frame.





3. TELEPHONE
Communicating with one another is essential in one's everyday life. With the invention of the telephone came the expansion of social interaction. The telephone has emerged from an old fashion hand held ear piece and winding, to a modern handset with the simple click of a button and dialing numbers to connect to someone.






4. .THE COMPUTER
The computer has merged from an old fashioned type writer in to a modern day monitor, maintaining the same keyboard set out. This is due to the fact that when the type writer was invited, it was figured out that the most frequently used letters had to be spread out to prevent the type writer from jamming. Therefore inventors came up with the 'QWERTY' style keyboard and it has remained ever since.

'Convergence in Communication' definiton

A trend in which different hardware devices such as TVs, computers and phones merge and have similar functions. (Chaffey. D, p. 1, - 22/05/2008)

One week down...

After completing the first week of uni for semester two, i am beginning to realise that it is going to take me a while to get back in to the swing of things. With my earliest day being Thursday at 8am I am not looking forward to it however it is New Comm Tech that i have first which is a good thing as it is my favourite subject so far. I guess it could be worse...

Our tute last week was very interesting, and i see that i will enjoy the subject as i enjoy using computers, and blogging etc. The assignment seems to be something that is down my alley and the topics of the subject are of interest to me which therefore looks as though it should be a positive out come.

First lecture in New Communication Technology

The first lecture was 2 very different things - painful and enlightening...

Painful due to the 8am start. Stressing about getting to uni, finding a park and arriving at class on time is bad enough on a normal day. When it has to be done by 8am just after you've been in late wake-up holiday mode for a month and a half - it is a real struggle! So that was the painful side...

The enlightening side was that i feel as though i will enjoy the subject so maybe, just maybe, it will be worth the early morning rise. Stay tuned and we will see...

Blog Virginity

This is my first blog entry i've ever done - therefore meaning after this i will have lost my blog virginity. A very intense step in life. Here it goes..