Final Musings on Week 1 #edcmooc Films and Articles

Though I watched all the films, I will speak on "Thursday" For me it depicted a balance of utopian v dystopian in the female and male characters. The female character seemed perfectly content, as many people I know, to interact with her device, engage stress free with all of the digital technology around and sort of "go with flow." On the other hand, the male character seemed to always be in a state of "quiet desperation", annoyed at the sun for casting a shadow on his screen, annoyed with the blinds to shut out the sun, out of sync (probably not the first time) with the hand print scanner. The only true emotion I saw from him was a bit of anguish at the possible demise of the bird outside his window.

And the bird (possessor of agency), just went on with life dealing with technology as it would anything else that came up. Makes me wonder where real intelligence lies.

I viewed "New Media" as art . It made me wish I could produce the art. The other two films really did not resonate with me.

I read all of the articles, or rather skimmed through all but two. I have little patience left for having to read academic jargon positioning in any discipline. I liked Daniel's article probably because the subject resonates with me and it was presented in a clear balanced approach. He was utopian in his enthusiasm with open education and clear enough to present the economics of it which is crucial in any project. And warnings to be on the look out for bias and bull, though not emphasized as such, are the very dystopic side of media in general and how it can be used for one-sided gains.

If one uses year of birth as the determining factor, I should be a digital immigrant, but am much more comfortable as a digital native. As a self-structured learner, I probably would have made better grades in school with more autonomy over my education. My personal experience from working with many people who chronologically are digital natives, they may have digital skills I lack and I may have digital skills they lack. This is with those do not have "tech" related jobs.

Final Musings on Week 1 #edcmooc Posting 1-Language

 In a global learning environment, I wonder about the issues of the subtleties of language, especially in the use of humor. I have found  there are very subtle, cultural driven nuances in the "hidden" meanings of words along with phrasing and body language that give language and words meaning. I know most people "speak" or read or write English or use Google translator constantly. But often meaning is very cultural driven. Even within the same country, it is so. And it takes time and almost immersion in a different region or culture to learn the often hidden meanings or messages behind the same words.

I wonder if anyone else has thought about or dealt with the many meaning behind language.