Technology has always been defined as a very broad topic that encompasses many, many elements. This course has already begun to shift the way I view technology and has given me many things to think about. I had never made the connection of how our brain and the capacity to learn is much like how computers operate. Correlating technology and how we use it to communicate to one another on a daily basis is an underlying topic in all of the readings and even in this class as a whole. It is astonishing how far we have come in the world of technology and this class, being that it is online, says something in itself. Earlier in the week I thought that I was going to struggle mightily in this class, but as the week progressed and thinking analytically about the reading, I am much more comfortable speaking about these topics. One of the biggest topics that I have found interesting from this first week is the fact that the discussion board can have such a wide discrepancy in topics stemming from the same article. This concept does is not discussed in any of the readings, but it does shed light on how the human brain can be so diverse. It also shows how many different learning styles can be evident in one place. One genre that sparked my interest was Artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence was something that I had not given much thought about and the videos this week had shed new light into an unfamiliar topic.
The videos that were assigned from Monday were very informational. One aspect that I found both humorous and interesting was the idea that our machines designed with artificial intelligence have a difficult time handling “common sense” knowledge. The examples were evident throughout the “How the Brain Works” video. The opening scene with the chess playing computer had to be told specifically chess terms in order to move the chess piece. Moving from a simpler robot to WATSON, this idea was present yet again. The designers from IBM are some of the most intelligent computer designers on our planet and it took them much trial and error before perfecting WATSON to play Jeopardy. The most alarming statistic in the video was posted my Michael Hiestand and said “the 6 million common sense facts that the programmers added in were only thought to be 3% of human common sense”. This is a statistic that is hard to even fathom due to the large number of common sense concepts the human brain can program itself to learn. I connected this idea to my experiences within my major of special education and the idea that not all human brains are capable of understanding “common sense”. I can picture all the servers and processors of WATSON, and to think that only 3% of common sense was programmed with all the other fact based knowledge is amazing. Artificial intelligence is growing at a rapid rate, however I am unsure if they will ever be able to artificially create a fully functioning human brain.
In conclusion, the first week of this class has created a new way for me to think about technology, the brain, and the environment that surrounds us. The human brain is very complex and no two brains think exactly the same. Due to this fact, one of the possible topics for my project might be how technology connects to different learning styles. My educational background usually leads me in the direction on how people think and why they may have though the way they did. The discussion board is a prime example of all the different conclusions humans can draw from the same information and how differently words can be interpreted. I am both anxious and curious as to how the rest of this class will evolve as we progress.
POL week 2:
ReplyDeleteThroughout week two I tried to focus my attention to the discussion board as much as possible. My thinking shifted from simply posting my thoughts and ideas, to really trying to ask meaningful questions. I have noticed that it is not just me using a different “language” in these posts; rather most of my classmates have been doing the same. I find it very interesting how we have been engaging in these discussion threads online as opposed to in person and how it compares to the readings for this class. We have been posting and responding to each other’s questions everyday for two weeks now and we have gotten to know one another. One major shift that I made in my writing was trying to engage with my peers by posing meaningful questions to spark new thoughts. I did not do this much in week one but as the second week came about, I made a much better effort to do so. This discussion board has been defined by the article “Down the Rabbit Hole” as a virtual community. The idea of physical attractiveness has been something that has stuck out to me from the Baker article as well. “In cyberspace, the role of physical attraction is lesser than in physical space, depending on the place. In the theories of attraction before widespread computer-mediated communication, appearance is, in many cases, the prime factor, if not the only one in how people become romantically intertwined along with closeness in physical space or propinquity (Baker, 2008, pg 165). I had never thought about physical attractiveness as being lessened via the internet simply because the focus of “profiles” online and how easy it is to shun someone because of their physical appearance. During the reading of the Baker article I then asked myself, what sorts of qualities would most offset physical appearance? The author answered my question right away, “other factors such as place of residence, interests, and style of writing can offset appearance (Baker, 2008, pg 165).” Taking this into consideration when thinking how people write online and what they write about has changed my mind set on what that person might actually look like in real life. This phenomenon can even be evident in our own class because we do not necessarily know what each person looks like, unless you have posted a picture of yourself.
The one problem that I continue to have is with the Sparklix online note taking. I have also seen that this is a problem with some of my classmates as well. Taking a line from Anthony’s blog “The SparkLix, note-taking genre has also been considered, though not as well as I would have liked”. While I have not considered this genre to be something I would be interested in doing for my research project, it does have its relevance to my topic idea. I want to focus on technology in the classroom and how it can be used for good purposes, as well as, what to avoid in terms of teachers. Relating to the Sparklix problems shows that some technologies are not for everyone. I am a believer that you should still try it and give it a chance, but I am one of those note takers that jots down notes rather than complete thoughts. One of my biggest problems with the online notes is that once I have discussed my ideas with the class on the discussion board, I am finding it difficult to elaborate on those posts. This is going to be a challenge of mine for the remainder of the class and I will try my hardest to write as much as I can on Sparklix. My final research project will incorporate as many beneficial technologies that can be used both in school and at home to enhance learning.