My First Blog Post
As I was reading "Technology as Social Practice" by Bertram C. Bruce, I could not help myself from repeating this sentence over and over: " ...even the basic
computer interface becomes a site for the maintenance of power relations, favoring professional
over working class users, English speakers over non-English, men over women, white over
black, and other all-too-familiar hierarchies."
That technology, which many people consider as a 'powerful' tool to improve access to information and inequity in education, actually still preserves or reflects many problems we face today in our world made me pause for a moment. This idea is actually valid in some degree. Take today's lunch time for example when I met up with my brother for food - my brother and my eyes were each glued to our own smartphones, scrolling down news articles of our own interest - my brother was catching up with the most recent tennis news from ESPN, while I was scrolling down Instagram to check out the new food scenes in New York. From this one casual instance alone, it is quite obvious that personal preferences and interests shape our interaction with technology. This also suggests that information digestion through technology - or learning from technology - can never be the same experience for everyone; at the end of the day, each person's learning experience is influenced by his or her personal interests.
Then how can I broaden my learning experience? How can I keep my eyes open and prevent my interests from becoming pigeonholed to the topics that I am only familiar with? Regarding that the majority of digital platforms - not to mention social media - shows contents based on our previous history, it is very easy to get swarmed by contents that align with my past interests and devolve into a myopic rather than a global citizen. For this week, I want to start browsing new websites and blogs so that my social news feeds show me ads that are not just about skincare products and subscription meal plans (which I have been very interested lately).
That technology, which many people consider as a 'powerful' tool to improve access to information and inequity in education, actually still preserves or reflects many problems we face today in our world made me pause for a moment. This idea is actually valid in some degree. Take today's lunch time for example when I met up with my brother for food - my brother and my eyes were each glued to our own smartphones, scrolling down news articles of our own interest - my brother was catching up with the most recent tennis news from ESPN, while I was scrolling down Instagram to check out the new food scenes in New York. From this one casual instance alone, it is quite obvious that personal preferences and interests shape our interaction with technology. This also suggests that information digestion through technology - or learning from technology - can never be the same experience for everyone; at the end of the day, each person's learning experience is influenced by his or her personal interests.
Then how can I broaden my learning experience? How can I keep my eyes open and prevent my interests from becoming pigeonholed to the topics that I am only familiar with? Regarding that the majority of digital platforms - not to mention social media - shows contents based on our previous history, it is very easy to get swarmed by contents that align with my past interests and devolve into a myopic rather than a global citizen. For this week, I want to start browsing new websites and blogs so that my social news feeds show me ads that are not just about skincare products and subscription meal plans (which I have been very interested lately).
The example is so real. So, when having meals with my friends, we just put our phones at the center of the table. Whoever touches the phone first will have to pay for the meal.
ReplyDeleteI feel like people tend to feed themsleves with information they feel comfortable when browsing the medias. But, in order not to be swallowed by the technology, we should make a plan about what we're going to earn before opening the browsers.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with your idea that learning from technology will not be the same experience for everyone, since our personal interests influence our personal learning experience. I like your example of having lunch with your brother but each of you looks at different news, which indicates how our personal preferences and interests shape our interaction with technology. I think this example also helps argue against the Technology Independence Assumption, which states that technology are tools with fixed meanings whose uses are definable without regard to social relations and values. In addition, while many people regard technology as a powerful tool to improve access to information and alleviate inequity in education, the author of Technology as Social Practice considers computer technology as just a tool, but the primary issues are access and training. Thus, we need to have the skills to use new technologies effectively to broaden our learning experiences, and to take advantages of new tools to realize our personal academic pursuits.
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