I was always interested on how social networking websites worked ever since they started to spring up. The first site I heard of was Myspace. One day, after months of hearing all the good things about this website, I decided to create an account. It was easy. The only thing I did not like was the captia. From what I know, this is an image with letters and or numbers. One of my brothers had to help me out. It would have been nice of this site if they could be like blogspot, which is a website where you can create your blog. For example, when you want to post a comment on someone’s blog, you have to type the characters that appear in the image. However, for blind users, there is a link that says listen to the characters. I think that Myspace was not created for all of us. To me, this is another form of segregation. I know that the captia is a way to prevent automated accounts to be created and therefore, preventing people from getting unwanted things. In other words, by using this system, harm could be avoided. Anyway, I gave Myspace a try. When my account was created, the first thing I did was to email everyone I knew to tell them I had a Myspace account. I thought that creating this account would enable me to reach out to people and help them. I had four friends. I met two of them in college, and another friend was my band’s page. You see, I am a singer. The other friend was someone by the name of Tom. I did not know who this guy was. I posted something that I thought was interesting. Nothing happened. I commented on two of my friend's page, but I did not get a reply. I tried emailing these people, but I had no luck. One of my friends set her page to private, so the next time that I wanted to take a look at it I was not able to do it. I started to get frustrated. Not only because people did not want to speak to me, but because every time I would go into a page, I would hear music. I tried to find a way for it not to do this, but it did not work. I was done with Myspace after I heard that it would cause computers to malfunction. I asked one of my friends if there was a way that she could close my account, and she said yes.
Then, I tried blogging. It was much better. I am able to reach more people who are in different stages in their lives. I am able to comment on other people’s blogs, and I know when someone has left me a comment on mine.
Skype, Facebook, and Youtube, have also been of great help. I could post videos on my blog, send my blog address to the new people I meet in Skype, and I use Facebook to make all these come together. In other words, Facebook is the place where people could find me. However, I am about to take my Facebook page down because I am developing my website.
This will be a space where every person will have an opportunity to know me. This will be a place where everyone will be able to come together. After hearing politicians only talk about the rich and middle class people, after seeing websites inaccessible to the disabled, and after hearing so much about why the disabled community can’t do this or that, I have become tired. My dream has always been to live in a world where everyone helps one another. A world where the internet is accessible to all. What is this called? Am I too idealistic? Do I strive for perfection? The answer is yes.
This world is not going to be a perfect world. I know that. What I want to do is to teach people how to see life from a different prospective. Thru my writings, I want to see what people would do if they were poor, and disabled.
My website will be like the world I dream about. It will have things in brail, described videos, a blog, resources to help those who are in need, a radio show, Pictures with text, and so much more. I strongly believe that this could be done, and it will be done.
If I want to make a change, I need to start by making the changes in my work. Hopefully, others will learn, and they will change things for the benefit of all. At first, the change will happen in the internet world. Soon after, that change will be happening all around us
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Showing posts with label internet. Show all posts
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Thursday, June 26, 2008
texting, technology, and school.
Technology has been in a way bad for us. The machines that were made a long time ago used to help a lot but now some want the machines to do everything for them. Those machines were invented so they could help. Men as well as women, used to be really tired from doing a lot of work. Machines, such as the typewriters, made things much easier. Although these things were made, People still had to put 100 percent into their job. Back then, there was no such thing as an email address or blog. Whatever you wanted, you would have had to write it and mail it.
It is surprising how things have changed. It is all about here and now. Now, we have texting by computer. What is it called? Internet lingo? This is a problem because it is ruining are English language as well as other languages. It is doing this by cutting words or phrases, so young students don’t have to write the entire word or phrase. I always have to ask myself Why are they doing this.
According to www.pewinternet.org, 60 percent of teens do not think of their emails, instant and text messages as writing. What is it then? A secret code so no one else can understand them? Or are they just saving time. If it is the second one, all I have to say is that everything in life takes time. This is if you want everything to come out the way you expected.
Have you ever tried cooking something fast, and it did not taste good because you took little time in preparing it? This is how writing is. In able for people to understand what someone is writing, they have to take their time to write. Kids also have to remember that not everyone who is young will understand their lingo.
The pew internet also says that 85 percent of people from ages 12 to 17 utilize some form of written communication. I think this is good because they are learning how to use a specific technological component. In our changing world, kids as well as adults, have to be ahead of technological advances. We always need to think how we can help this person.
Like in everything else, we need to be very careful because there could be a big problem. The problem arises when students bring informal writing to schools. 64 percent of students bring some type of variation of this stile and apply it to their school work.
Although I don’t know this internet lingo very well, I wanted to take shortcuts when I had an exam in college. Sometimes, I did not know the full answer, or I did not know what words to use. At that point, I just tried to connect every bit of information that I had about what the teacher was asking me. It would take me a long time to come up with something that made sense, but when I did, I kept on writing until I had written everything down. Because I took my time, I had a high grade.
I forgot some of the things that I was supposed to know because I was not really interested in the subject. In able for me to get answers right in an exam, I have to be interested in the subject. I have to be motivated. As I said before, not being able to recall the answer to a question, I was tempted to say whatever came to my mind. This study also found that other students have to be motivated in able to write. They have to like the subject that they are writing about.
This leads me to my next question. Why teachers don’t let their students choose the type of exam that they are going to take? As we all know, one method may not be good for all students. By doing this, everyone wins. Students will be encouraged to write lengthy essays, and teachers could give better grades. I wonder what would happen if this was put into practice.
Students feel that more instruction and more focus on writing will improve their writing even more. This tells me that these students want to learn, but the education system needs to listen to them. And the parents need to do their job. They need to read and write with their child, so when that child is old enough, he or she will love to read and write. It also means that parents have to go to the meetings that schools have. This will let the parent know the progress of his or her child. In other words, they need to work with the school. Also, by doing these things, the mom and dad are showing an interest for their child’s school and education. If before children did not feel loved by mom and dad, now this has changed just because of what one or both parents did. I hope that parents learn that it is up to them to learn about what their child is doing. Learn to decipher those codes that they have. Then teach them that the computer should not be used to make a language bad. A mom or dad should teach their children that just because that child is not writing for a teacher, he or she should not destroy the language. Always reinforce what the child learned in school. Finally, parents must tell their child that as a parent, it is necessary to do all of these things because of love, and because they want the child to succeed.
It is surprising how things have changed. It is all about here and now. Now, we have texting by computer. What is it called? Internet lingo? This is a problem because it is ruining are English language as well as other languages. It is doing this by cutting words or phrases, so young students don’t have to write the entire word or phrase. I always have to ask myself Why are they doing this.
According to www.pewinternet.org, 60 percent of teens do not think of their emails, instant and text messages as writing. What is it then? A secret code so no one else can understand them? Or are they just saving time. If it is the second one, all I have to say is that everything in life takes time. This is if you want everything to come out the way you expected.
Have you ever tried cooking something fast, and it did not taste good because you took little time in preparing it? This is how writing is. In able for people to understand what someone is writing, they have to take their time to write. Kids also have to remember that not everyone who is young will understand their lingo.
The pew internet also says that 85 percent of people from ages 12 to 17 utilize some form of written communication. I think this is good because they are learning how to use a specific technological component. In our changing world, kids as well as adults, have to be ahead of technological advances. We always need to think how we can help this person.
Like in everything else, we need to be very careful because there could be a big problem. The problem arises when students bring informal writing to schools. 64 percent of students bring some type of variation of this stile and apply it to their school work.
Although I don’t know this internet lingo very well, I wanted to take shortcuts when I had an exam in college. Sometimes, I did not know the full answer, or I did not know what words to use. At that point, I just tried to connect every bit of information that I had about what the teacher was asking me. It would take me a long time to come up with something that made sense, but when I did, I kept on writing until I had written everything down. Because I took my time, I had a high grade.
I forgot some of the things that I was supposed to know because I was not really interested in the subject. In able for me to get answers right in an exam, I have to be interested in the subject. I have to be motivated. As I said before, not being able to recall the answer to a question, I was tempted to say whatever came to my mind. This study also found that other students have to be motivated in able to write. They have to like the subject that they are writing about.
This leads me to my next question. Why teachers don’t let their students choose the type of exam that they are going to take? As we all know, one method may not be good for all students. By doing this, everyone wins. Students will be encouraged to write lengthy essays, and teachers could give better grades. I wonder what would happen if this was put into practice.
Students feel that more instruction and more focus on writing will improve their writing even more. This tells me that these students want to learn, but the education system needs to listen to them. And the parents need to do their job. They need to read and write with their child, so when that child is old enough, he or she will love to read and write. It also means that parents have to go to the meetings that schools have. This will let the parent know the progress of his or her child. In other words, they need to work with the school. Also, by doing these things, the mom and dad are showing an interest for their child’s school and education. If before children did not feel loved by mom and dad, now this has changed just because of what one or both parents did. I hope that parents learn that it is up to them to learn about what their child is doing. Learn to decipher those codes that they have. Then teach them that the computer should not be used to make a language bad. A mom or dad should teach their children that just because that child is not writing for a teacher, he or she should not destroy the language. Always reinforce what the child learned in school. Finally, parents must tell their child that as a parent, it is necessary to do all of these things because of love, and because they want the child to succeed.
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