Hindsight- 20/20 Foresight ?

September 1, 1939- If you'd asked an American high school student what was going on, they would have probably responded that it was an average day for them. But today a high school student can tell you that this day was the day Germany invaded Poland, thus starting World War Two.

And October 1. 1949? The day Mao declared the formal establishment of the People's Republic of China . It may not have seemed significant then, but now we look back and see how it changed everything.

It's the same thing with technology. When the first cell phone came out in 1973, it was laughed at. Who would want to carry about that thing, when there are payphones and work phones and even your home phone. Today we are glued to our cell phone, many have discontinued their home phones, and think it is the greatest thing since the tractor. We look back now and say "Duh! How could you not see that the cell phone would be life-changing?!" But they didn't know.

Just like we don't know today how this digital revolution is going to end. Is the digital language going to replace the formal written language? Are some tools going to die out? Could Facebook possibly stop being popular at some point? What tools are going to replace the old ones?

What of all of it is going to matter twenty years from now?

I don't know the answer to that yet, but I know that there is a Digital Revolution and Reformation sweeping the world. The likes of which we have never seen before. I'm still trying to figure out what changes that will bring to me.

The Click Heard Around the World

We all have our favorite gadgets and inventions- like sliced bread (which isn't as good as homemade, but to each his own), the toaster (I'm not sure why I'm on a bread train of thought), the iPod, cell phone, laptop, etc, etc. I think you get the point.

Many technological advances have catapulted our world into a digital era full of immediate communication. We got tired of waiting for a reply by handwritten mail (which, if you didn't know, is the coolest thing still) or, heaven forbid, we needed to walk across town to ask someone a question. The radio, television, the telephone, and the computer are all ways we've created to obtain information quickly and effectively. But there was one that seemed to start it all.

The telegraph.

Invented by Samuel Morse (yes, that Morse) in the 1830's, it predates the telephone, radio, and many other early technologies. Not to be confused with Guglielmo Marconi's invention of the radio telegraph system. Here's a prezi with more details about the development of the telegraph.

Samuel Morse on Prezi

To me, the telegraph represents the desire we had to start connecting to each other. It started the ball rolling, or the clicking started.

Glogging...?!

So I've just gotten semi-adjusted to blogging. Now there is glogging. That's right. Their slogan? "Why blog when you can glog?" Glogger: Poster Yourself.

Basically, glogging is creating "posters" with images, sounds, text, and videos to express yourself. A more visual way to blog I guess. It's kinda fun. Here's one I created.



Here's a screencast walking you through some of the designing features.

http://www.screencast.com/t/DmhV8YlOvf

Reflections (Take Two)

Coupled with the two midterms of the Digital Civ class, we are asked to post a reflective blog post as a self-evaluation of how we are doing in the course. My last reflective post has a great list of things I had learned up to that point and many of the points are still true, even more so as I've expanded further.

I need to take into consideration several things as I reflect including the historical content of the class, the computing concepts, the digital literacy labs, and self-directed learning through consuming, creating, and connecting. The course learning outcomes are decribed here on canvas. I am going to separate the material by strengths and weaknesses with links to examples from my blog.

Strengths:

• Since I love history, that section of the class has been fun and relatively easy for me. I have worked to expand my knowledge from what previous knowledge I had of these historical events and people by researching ideas or aspects of the time that I knew little about or what would hace normally ignored. For example 1 2 3
• I feel that I am continuing to make quality connections between the histoy and digital concepts as well as outside of class. Examples 1 2 3
• I am doing well with keeping my posts short, but also more of a synthesis than a re-stating. Examples 1 2
• Sifting through piles of information has become second nature to me and I find myself comfortable finding the relevant and interesting ideas and information.
• I am so excited to share the new tools and resources that I am finding that I told my hairdresser the other day, my employer, someone I met on the bus, and the kid who sat at my table in the library to name a few. It's so cool I can't keep it to myself!
• Probably the one thing I am most excited about as far as my blog goes is that I've found a good balance that is "me" with my blog. I can post about the Digital Civ class history and computer concepts, but I can also post samples of my writing, express frustration, talk about other classes, play my music, and share fun news. I feel more comfortable and less stiff with the format now.

Weaknesses:

• I need to improve the amount of media that I am including in my blog and make sure that most posts have a link for more information.
• I need to increase my efforts in the area of computer and digital concepts. While I am learning at an unprecedented rate in those areas, my posting on those has been dreadfully lacking.
• In some areas I still need to go deeper and wider on a subject to really find something that engages me completely. I need to look for other ways in the class to challenge myself.

Overall, I feel excited and challenged by this class, always wanting to learn more and often running out of time to do so. I have found many tools and resources that I plan on using after this class and semster and which have changed the way I research and study. I find myself continually evaluating my learning algorithisms and making adjustment. Now I just need to push harder, climb higher, and discover more!

Free Education...just a glimpse

So I've mentioned before that I write for the Insight Magazine for the BYU Honors Program. This year I've been working on several articles including one one free education. I couldn't resist sharing a small bit of the research I've done for the article with you all. Hope you enjoy it.

193 Opencourseware Consortium Members including John Hopkins, MIT, Notre Dame, University of California-Irvine and universities all around the world with material available in 10 languages.

44 Webcast classes available online for free with more being added every semester at Webcast Berkley.

16 full languages courses and Quick Phrases and Words in 36 other languages at BBC Languages.

iTunes-U has over 350,000 free lectures, texts, and videos from universities available.

I've been a bit hard on digital technology in the past, but free education goes a long way to smooth over differences I have with the internet.

Man in Space

I have long been fascinated by the space race and rockets. Apollo 13 and October Sky always pull me in. So just for fun, Disney had a little show about Man in Space. I was able to find it on Teacher Tube and YouTube, but the latter are easier to post. Here are the first two and you can go search out the rest.






Enjoy!

Google In General

Can I just say that I love Google? That might come back to bite me when a new and un-thought of system as of yet develops and flips Google, but I think that is a bit in the future still. So I will enjoy Google for now.

Beyond the general search ability, email, and image searching, I have discovered a multitude of tools that I actually use consistently, for my daily life and other classes. Plus a couple that are just fun and kooky. Yes, kooky.

Google Documents: I started using Google Docs for my magazine class to save articles so I could edit and work on them on any computer, anywhere. Then, in my church ward, my bishopric uses Google Docs to put our Sunday program together, so the music can be put in by the music committee, the talks by the conducting person, and any announcements from various organizations and committees in the ward. Beyond just word-type documents, you can also do spreadsheets and to-do lists, powerpoints and budgets. Never. Ending. Possibilities.

Google Reader- At first this was just another way for me to keep track of classmates blogs, but then I discovered the other little secrets of Reader. Such as Notes, where you can place notes (similar to Evernote, but attached to everything else on Google!) and the Explore section. That section suggests items and sources you might like based on what else you have in your reader feed. It's almost like Google knows what I need. I'm trying not to get too emotionally attached.

Google Calendar- Though I lack the time to sit down and really put down everything in this tool, it's extremely useful to help coordinate schedules with family members, classmates, fellow employees, etc. Plus it will message you if you have a certain event or deadline coming up. Personal assistant? Yes, thank you.

I'm sure many of you are already on to more complex things, but for me it's the simple, but widely applicable tools that keep me coming back. I've explored and used several other Google tools including Sketchup in my book review project. Sites is another Google feature that I've found recently through class project formulation. I've been using GoogleTranslate for quite some time actually as I've worked on learning multiple languages. Also, Google Health is a feature that keeps your medical records online so you can readily access test results, medication, etc for yourself or someone you are caring for. Quite helpful.

Peer Blog Evaluation

In this post I will be reviewing Parker Woody's blog in three parts.

1. Historical Concepts

• As I examined Parker's blog, I saw immediately that he has posted on all the class topics, specifically referencing or referring to the ideas suggested in the assignment. So he is definitely doing the reading. (Examples 1 2) Slam dunk Parker.
• I've looked at his Diigo bookmarks which suggest that he is looking at other sources, but I feel he could be doing more research on specific ideas outside of the specified class ones.
  
• At the same time, several of the review of historical topics read like summaries or recaps of the reading. It's hard to tell whether he is just reguritating or simply trying to make sense of the load of material. Examples 1 2 But I understand how hard that is and I think he's working hard to incorporate more outside sources.
  

2. Computing Concepts

• He has incorporated computing concepts several times. Examples 1 2
• However, I think he needs to spend more time on explaining and working through the process of certain computing concepts. Perhaps making more connections between the historical content and the computing concepts.
  

3. Digital Literacy

• I was impressed with the variety of tools and feature Parker incorporating into his blog such as TeacherTube videos, Vimeo videos, prezi and slideshare presentations, and others.
• Yet, I feel like he's getting the habit of writing content, inserting video, quoting the class readings and finished. While this format it good, I'd like to see him play around with other formats.
  
• As mentioned above, he struggles to explain a digital tool completely. Example 1

Just a couple overall impressions: The blog posts are little long typically and I tend to stop reading. Also, the blog feels a little stiff. It is limited to exactly the class material and nothing else. While this may be that he doesn't prefer the blogging format or is a more private person, I would like to see more personality and reality to his blog. But that could just be me.
Good job Parker!

Iconic Propaganda

Though I am saddened that in my Digital Civ class we have glossed over World War II (my specialty), I am sure that I will revisit the topic in the future, especially with my new book.

As we have started to read and discuss the Atomic Age, I've been drawn to the media and images associated with this age. At this time, images become iconic, sending messages separate from the words.

What do you think of when you see these images?

So many images today are associated in our minds with other ideologies and feelings. The Statue of Liberty, a national flag, Marilyn Monroe, protestors, Jane Goodall, Eiffel Tower, and many other images. Are they important because we say they are, or are they important regardless of our personal opinions?

Game Theory

Earlier this week in class we discussed Game Theory. At first it appears difficult to describe game theory without just showing an example. But a good description is "Game theory is the branch of decision theory concerned with interdependent decisions...game theory deals with any problem in which each player's strategy depends on what the other players do."

This strategy is often called the Prisoner's dilemma because it is a strategy used to encourage criminals to confess. But it has far-reaching applications with human behavior.

- Game Theory assumes that people act rationally.

- It assumes that people employ a dominant strategy- a strategy that works in your personal best interest.

- It requires that one player determine their strategy based on what choice they think the other player will make.

Some situations it can be used in:

• Friends choosing where to go to dinner
• Parents disciplining children
• Diplomats negotiating a treaty
• Competing businesses
• Gamblers in a card game
• Even in dating: If the guy is deciding between whether to ask a girl out or not, and her choices are to say yes or no, if this scenario is mapped out it suggests that girls will tend to accept a date verses rejection.

Yet the problem I see with game theory is that it does not allow for emotional choices or cultural values. If within a certain society loyalty is valued above freedom, then both prisoners will tend to stay silent instead of confessing. Can game theory overcome this error in the process, or does a different theory new to be employed for more emotional situations?

I"M PUBLISHED!!

It's official. I am now an official author that you can buy work from, at least online to start with. You might be thinking- what about these past few months that I've been writing this blog? It kinda counts too. Every post I write and post sends a little bit more of me into the digital community.

But this is a bit bigger. Barnes and Noble.

The past few months I've also been in negotiation for a book contract with another publisher, so I had to get permission to publish with Barnes and Noble. You can now start downloading my poems and short stories onto your Nook or computer!!!!!! Some of the titles are Stars, Just A Moment, Just Me, Stronger Than..., One Day, and What IF?

All of it was made possible by my new favorite digital tool, Pubit, from Barnes and Noble. I will post more on this soon. But go check out my work. Plus I get to add more all the time.

Digital Economics (Kinda)

I've touched on economics once before, with Adam Smith and the invisible hand/market economy discussion. But, as with most things, more thoughts and discussions have been added to economic theory since then. To be honest, I had a different post already written on the development of economic theory, but during class I got several ideas that I wanted to run with instead. If you'd like a good history of the progression of economic model check out Rhett's post on economics.

This is an economic systems model- used merely to point out the connectedness discussed shortly.

It was fascinating to me today as I sat in class within the swirl of discussion on game theory, economics and the changing economies in relation to technology. As I've felt many times before in my Digital Civilization class, everything is connected. Suddenly I was scribbling furiously in my notebook (the paper kind, not the electronic one) about the similarities between economies and the digital culture/networks. And here are some observations I made...

- Current networks and websites can act as an economic system in the fact of the trading/buying/selling of information. That, as a whole, benefits anyone who wants such information.

- These systems can get replaced or modified as they fail to keep up with development. Facebook is, in an sense, a better Myspace. And Google in it's present state has largely eclipsed Yahoo and many other email networks due to the number of features it offers and problems it solves.

-In the credit card discussion in class (specifically the disassociation of signing your name an paying for something), it reminded me that there is a disconnect in this generation between the publicity of information, including personal info, and the consequences and dangers of having that information public.

- It has been a trend in history that economic systems go through booms and busts, even periods of rapid growth, recessions and depressions. So will the digital model or system experience that? Right now it is expanding at an unprecedented rate, but can this digital progression hit a depression? What would cause that?

I love seeing all these connections! Many more post will follow in the next couple day because my head and notes are full of things I need to post : )

Healthy Fear of Technology

I grew up reading and watching science fiction, in which space travel and extraordinary feats are common occurences. But it was all just make believe. Yet, as our technology develops exponentially, those ideas are in the realms of reality. My computer could take over right now and start writing this blog post or alter what I've written so it appears differently to various readers. And it could fool me. Because I am only marginally computer savvy.

Pay no attention to the woman behind the screen. She is irrelevant.

So how can this be prevented?
It can't be. Muhaha.

Be smarter than your computer. And your phone. And all your other gadgets. Learn how they work- the details- and be up on the new developments.

What a silly idea. Go back to your youtube videos and Facebook stalking.

Teacher and/or Friend

Dear reader (and me)-
Can I express the consternation over a certain area of annoyance and frustration in my life? I guess this is my blog so I'll write almost whatever I choose, but still. Any comfort and or advice would be helpful.
I'm frustrated with teachers trying to educate without caring to know what is going on in my life. Without knowing to some extent the needs and struggles of the very students they teach it is hard to connect and build relationships. And without some level of a relationship, students don't want to learn or even will resist what is being taught. Some students will strive to learn no matter what because something in them loves to learn despite faulty relationships with professors. But many will withdraw from the professor, stop commenting in class, but still doing readings and assignments. I recognize that it is difficult for a professor, especially one on our extensive campus, to meet and understand each of their students. However, it has been even more difficult for me to find a professor who is actually caring what I'm saying as an individual, both in class and when I visit their office. I am just one more student in one of their classes, one more appointment they need to deal with- maybe smart, sassy, annoying, argumentative, or challenging.
At what point should I sit down, look them in the eyes, and tell them what is really going on in my life? That life is chewing me up right now and I'm fighting with everything I have to keep going. I've found some professors helpful when I approach them with a particular problem, but others I avoid approaching in those circumstances because of our relationship. I have a certain professor this semester for a class I really like. She is very welcoming of us to her office hours and encourages us to email with questions and for feedback about our papers. Yet, in class she will cut me off, tell me I'm wrong, ignore me completely or just my comment, and singles me out for mistakes. There is no way I want to go to her office to discuss my paper, much less my family and personal problems. Yet if she knew what I was dealing with, would she be nicer?
Another example. I needed to meet with one of my major advisers to get a signature on some paperwork. They rescheduled with me FIVE times. I finally waited outside the office first thing in the morning to catch this counselor. I know that was probably annoying for them, but so is being rescheduled five times!!!
It is unreasonable to want a professor or counselor to actually care about who I am, in a holistic way? Is it feasible for a professor to want to talk to me and become a friend? I certainly hope so.

Sincerely, Frustrated Student

And how do you feel about that?

Well, isn't that the question you think of when you hear the word "psychology"? I certainly do. Not that I don't value psychology and what it can add to our understand of both ourselves and each other. Plus, it's come a long way from Freud and Jung. It would be impossible for me, in a succinct manner, to cover all of psychological developments in the 20th century. So I won't. Instead I'm interested in just one idea that caught my attention while reading some excerpts of Freud.

Freud claims that "the development of the individual seems to us to be a product of the interaction between two urges, the urge towards happiness, which we usually call "egoistic," and the urge towards union with others in the community, which we call "altruistic." This idea sparked a debate in the realm of psychology about whether there is true altruism or not and about which "urge" will win out in the end. This website, Authentic Happiness, explores the idea quite well. Most agree that egotism does win out, 11 times out of 10. What a sad view of human nature.

In my religion, we see people in a opposite light- divine from within, taught selfishness by the world. We believe that we are working towards building a Zion community, one in which we all work and serve together. We work towards this ideal in our families, our neighborhoods, and our wards and stakes (church congregational divisions). Key words- work toward. This is a goal in progression- we know that no one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes, is a little selfish sometimes, and gets frustrated when life is hard. But instead of trying alone to reach "happiness", if we work together as a community we can find a more supportive and lasting happiness. Even small acts of kindness will improve your day and someone else, such as write a thank you note or donate books to the library. For more ideas check out HelpOthers.

Now, for your entertainment, and since I was just talking about West Side Story, some psychology in a musical. Juvenile delinquency in the 1960's : )