Review of 4 Articles and Reactions
In Social Networking Websites and Teens, the survey attempts to provide an overview of teenage usage (ages to 12 to 17) of social networks. In regard to the survey, the "n" is 935, much less than the preferred target of 2000 when extrapolating to large numbers. In "Methods" 46% of those initially targeted for the study became a part of it. The results were analyzed. Boys and girls use the networks for slightly different reasons. Teens who go on line from home use the networks the most. Friendships are made and "managed." There are some concerns for personal safety and privacy.
Reaction
In regard to the study, not surprisingly, the survey found that greater than half of interviewed teens engaged in online social networks. Confidence is undermined by the fact that participants were "prompted" with two social sites: Facebook and MySpace. The information is not new. I am surprised it is not closer to 100% except for the availability of computers to all children. Not interviewing Spanish and other language speaking children is a limitation of the study. The need for positive discourse and trust between children and parents is underscored here.
In regard to my work setting and ethics, I really do not know anyone that is not connected to some type of social network. People trade pictures of children, coordinate activities, and discuss business on the internet quite frequently. Positive social interaction is a good thing and healthy for the heart.
In Your Guide to Social Networking Online, the reader is provided definitions for and a brief history of online networks and their usage. MySpace and Facebook are discussed and compared according to user definition, flexibility for profiles, and safety. Problems related to sustaining these giant sites are briefly discussed. Business networks are discussed. Other outlets for social interaction include news sites, photo sharing sites, and an information gathering and comparison site. A limited terminology review is presented and some related article and blog posts and social networking sites are presented.
Reaction
It is good to see there are so many things available to connect people. I am apart of some sites as well and enjoy them.
What Kind of Cyber Guide are You? is a short "quiz" for the reader, testing how he/she interacts with children and teens regarding internet usage. After taking the interactive quiz of sorts, suggestions are made to the participant for improvement.
In MySpace Cheat Sheet for Parents, reader is presented with a short list of FAQ in regards to surveillance of children's internet activities.
Reaction to both of the Above
I took the test: I am graded as a “Conversation Starter.” Though I appreciate the intent of these articles and quiz, the level of language and suggestions given are fairly elemental and condescending to parents.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Growing Up On Line Video
Dretzin, Rachel, pro. Growing Up On Line, A PBS Frontline Special. January 22, 2008.
Review
The PBS film Growing Up On Line is a documentary considering teenage computer skills and social networking on line and authority figures. Teenage computer skills are generally quite superior to their parents and teachers. On line social networking is a “virtual society” in which teenagers spend a significant amount of time.
Lives On Line. The “virtual society” is portrayed as often unruly and dangerous. It is hidden from parental oversight. Initiation into this hidden world begins with young children playing innocent on line games and becoming “friends” of fantasy characters. By the time teenagers are in high school, internet interaction is the “currency” of their relationships.
Classrooms. Computers and internet applications in the classroom bring an enormous amount of information into teaching, but are also critical in capturing student attention. Teachers claim that to teach effectively they must be more of an entertainer than they feel they should. Student thought streams are fragmented as they struggle to focus on classroom concepts. There are viable concerns that assignments are completed at all by students, that shortcuts and plagiarism are widely employed.
Self Expression. The internet provides an unchecked outlet for self expression and experimental behaviors. Teenagers readily expose parts of their lives heretofore considered private. Interpersonal conflicts may be “hashed out” on line as opposed to face to face. So intense may on line relationships be that one girl claimed she felt “erased from the world” when her parents demanded that she delete a provocative picture file of herself and the associated individual contacts.
Child Predator Fear and Cyber Bullying. The dangers of on line child predators were discussed. Some methods were presented to help manage this threat: locate the home computer in an open place and not in children’s bedrooms, apply site screening software, and ask teenagers about their sites. There was discussion that teenagers may be willing participants in risky behaviors as well as victims. Bullying on line has the potential to be more intense than interpersonal bullying. It invades teenagers’ homes, their “safe havens.” Inflammatory words maybe viewed over and over. The outcomes may be devastating.
Up Dates. The documentary closes with selected updates of its teenagers and families. Teenage choices of schooling and degree of anticipated “virtual society” participation were presented. The strained relationship of one child and his mother was highlighted. No one looked very happy.
Reactions
Film Criticism. To me, the essence of the film is a conversation about teenagers, teenagers in emotional turmoil seeking peers and others for acceptance and nonjudgmental guidance at the exclusion of their parents. The internet and internet skills are the platform to present the producer’s perspectives. Teenagers are portrayed in a sense as superior to and more powerful (in regard to their internet skills) than their parents. Little personal or social accountability is underscored.
Parents are portrayed as overbearing, controlling, and clueless as to how to make a significant positive impact upon their children’s personal and social lives. Children and parents are depicted as living in parallel life patterns. Religious values and morals are excluded from this documentary. Unconditional love, trust, acceptance, and honesty are the basics of good actual relationships; these elements were not address except by their absence.
Review
The PBS film Growing Up On Line is a documentary considering teenage computer skills and social networking on line and authority figures. Teenage computer skills are generally quite superior to their parents and teachers. On line social networking is a “virtual society” in which teenagers spend a significant amount of time.
Lives On Line. The “virtual society” is portrayed as often unruly and dangerous. It is hidden from parental oversight. Initiation into this hidden world begins with young children playing innocent on line games and becoming “friends” of fantasy characters. By the time teenagers are in high school, internet interaction is the “currency” of their relationships.
Classrooms. Computers and internet applications in the classroom bring an enormous amount of information into teaching, but are also critical in capturing student attention. Teachers claim that to teach effectively they must be more of an entertainer than they feel they should. Student thought streams are fragmented as they struggle to focus on classroom concepts. There are viable concerns that assignments are completed at all by students, that shortcuts and plagiarism are widely employed.
Self Expression. The internet provides an unchecked outlet for self expression and experimental behaviors. Teenagers readily expose parts of their lives heretofore considered private. Interpersonal conflicts may be “hashed out” on line as opposed to face to face. So intense may on line relationships be that one girl claimed she felt “erased from the world” when her parents demanded that she delete a provocative picture file of herself and the associated individual contacts.
Child Predator Fear and Cyber Bullying. The dangers of on line child predators were discussed. Some methods were presented to help manage this threat: locate the home computer in an open place and not in children’s bedrooms, apply site screening software, and ask teenagers about their sites. There was discussion that teenagers may be willing participants in risky behaviors as well as victims. Bullying on line has the potential to be more intense than interpersonal bullying. It invades teenagers’ homes, their “safe havens.” Inflammatory words maybe viewed over and over. The outcomes may be devastating.
Up Dates. The documentary closes with selected updates of its teenagers and families. Teenage choices of schooling and degree of anticipated “virtual society” participation were presented. The strained relationship of one child and his mother was highlighted. No one looked very happy.
Reactions
Film Criticism. To me, the essence of the film is a conversation about teenagers, teenagers in emotional turmoil seeking peers and others for acceptance and nonjudgmental guidance at the exclusion of their parents. The internet and internet skills are the platform to present the producer’s perspectives. Teenagers are portrayed in a sense as superior to and more powerful (in regard to their internet skills) than their parents. Little personal or social accountability is underscored.
Parents are portrayed as overbearing, controlling, and clueless as to how to make a significant positive impact upon their children’s personal and social lives. Children and parents are depicted as living in parallel life patterns. Religious values and morals are excluded from this documentary. Unconditional love, trust, acceptance, and honesty are the basics of good actual relationships; these elements were not address except by their absence.
Some Thoughts. Immature, narcissistic behaviors are not unique to today’s teenagers. However, internet socializing encourages and exploits these behaviors. In lieu of strong personal relationships, the internet presents as a constant “friend,” ever available to “listen.” Direct, personal encounter skills have diminished opportunity for exploration and development.
It is my experience that actual personal relationships are seldom made in a "click"; they are built over time and use a wide variety of connection modalities. Relationships limited to “clicking” are frequently fleeting and without significant depth.
Lost, lonely children tumbling along in life without moral constraint and lacking personal security in an adult who determines to unconditionally love them is a huge problem. I am not sure how to fix that. I can only say it most optimally is started when teenagers are babies and that the need for good relationships continues throughout life.
My Teaching Setting. I must not expect students to recognize “what I know” as important without also recognizing and being skillful at what they know. Learning is ever constant and requires deliberate attention from teachers. This underscores to me how important it is to be skillful to some degree in all form of communication to maintain viability. I believe that strong, dependable trust is basic to good personal interaction and significantly impacts the direction of virtual interactions.
All of my “students” are professionals and over 20. I have learned (and it has taken time and not without mistakes) to avoid being judgmental and accept the good that individuals have to offer in their work. I am in a position to enable and facilitate professionals to have confidence and skills in critical life situations. Each day I see the confidence element as more critical.
Interpersonal skills are often lacking in professionals, younger and older. I have been the recipient of some thoughtless emails and instant messages. I find that neutral or positive responses, personal notes, calls, and remembering individual needs is both surprising and well received. I try to build trust by strengthening their ability to remember algorithms and critical responses without judging their weaknesses. I really do. I know that professionals must know the material or skill even better than me because when they are done they must use it to save a life.
Friday, October 24, 2008
Searching Virtual Self
I did the on line activity...searching myself actually before I read the articles on search engines and how they work. The first engine I searched did not have me anywhere I could find, even though it is one of the sites suggested. I thought that I was "virtually" no one. :) Then, as I searched myself on the other suggested engines, I found myself. That is when I realized there must be different methods of tracking and prioritizing information. I found the differences between the engines and the "borrowing" between the engines very interesting.
Thursday, October 23, 2008
On Line Activity Search Engines
Search engines search the web collecting, indexing, ranking, and providing information on or relevant to any selected topic. There are basically two types of search engines: computer based crawlers and human based reviews. Some "hybrid" search engines use combinations of both of these features.
Computer based crawlers read and collect information that is later catalogued, matched, and ranked as to relevancy. Human based reviews work somewhat like review of abstracts. They are labor intensive.
Exactly how information is deemed relevant and ranked by the computer method is an industry secret of each provider. Generally, however, search engines employ an algorithm structure with a set of rules. Majorly important is the location/frequency rule. It has its short comings as demonstrated in the "miserable failure" search in Google which yielded George Bush. Computer based search engines differ as to the number of web pages they "read" and how often they are "read" and updated.
Search engines add and delete materials also based upon their popularity. Sites are guarded from manipulation by web masters.
The history of search engines and directories is a mere nineteen to twenty years old beginning with "Archie." Engines and speculation have come and gone along with fortunes as most search engines are "commercial ventures." Netscape was at one time a most popular browser with some relatively powerful search engines at the time. Google is by far the most popular search engine now.
I appreciated reading these articles. The history is short. The rate of growth and speed of acquisition is incredible. The internet never "closes up shop," never goes to sleep, never fatigues. There are a number of popular "boutique" engines for specific interests. Some of these are free, but I notice more and more that many require a member fee. In fact, a huge world of the information seems to be unavailable to the non paying "searcher." There is some concern that Google is defining the world by its algorithms. Moreover, though it employs other languages, it is an English based system which also limits its depth.
Computer based crawlers read and collect information that is later catalogued, matched, and ranked as to relevancy. Human based reviews work somewhat like review of abstracts. They are labor intensive.
Exactly how information is deemed relevant and ranked by the computer method is an industry secret of each provider. Generally, however, search engines employ an algorithm structure with a set of rules. Majorly important is the location/frequency rule. It has its short comings as demonstrated in the "miserable failure" search in Google which yielded George Bush. Computer based search engines differ as to the number of web pages they "read" and how often they are "read" and updated.
Search engines add and delete materials also based upon their popularity. Sites are guarded from manipulation by web masters.
The history of search engines and directories is a mere nineteen to twenty years old beginning with "Archie." Engines and speculation have come and gone along with fortunes as most search engines are "commercial ventures." Netscape was at one time a most popular browser with some relatively powerful search engines at the time. Google is by far the most popular search engine now.
I appreciated reading these articles. The history is short. The rate of growth and speed of acquisition is incredible. The internet never "closes up shop," never goes to sleep, never fatigues. There are a number of popular "boutique" engines for specific interests. Some of these are free, but I notice more and more that many require a member fee. In fact, a huge world of the information seems to be unavailable to the non paying "searcher." There is some concern that Google is defining the world by its algorithms. Moreover, though it employs other languages, it is an English based system which also limits its depth.
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