The World Going Digital

Janessa asked on the wiki: "Hey Ms. Peifer--how do you really feel about our society going digital????" Well, Janessa, I had so much to say about this that I thought I would write out my answer as a blog post.

I believe that technology has the ability to equalize our world--"flatten the world" (Friedman idea) . According to wikipedia (yes, not a reliable source for an academic paper, but for this blog post, I am going to use it because the explanation is good): "The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century is an international bestselling book by Thomas L. Friedman, analyzing the progress of globalization with an emphasis on the early 21st century. The title is a metaphor for viewing the world as flat or level in terms of commerce and competition, as in a level playing field —or one where all competitors have an equal opportunity. As the first edition cover indicates, the title also alludes to the historic shifts in perception once people realized the world was not flat, but round and how a similar shift in perception —albeit figurative— is required if countries, companies and individuals want to remain competitive in a global market where historical, regional and geographical divisions are becoming increasingly irrelevant" (http://tinyurl.com/2uvvy3). What if we could really equalize the playing field? What if we could interact in a way where people could not discriminate because they wouldn't know what the person on the other side of the computer looked like--you could just see the quality of their mind? What if technology could do this?

On the other hand, what if we don't learn about technology--but everyone else does? We are then left behind in a "participation gap" that prohibits you from doing the same things--having that same playing field--that everyone else gets to have. Studies show that people in affluent schools get more technology training in more meaningful ways--even at a young age. Already, we see the "participation gap" affecting people's opportunities to succeed. I don't want that for any of you. I want you to know what the tools are and then decide if you want to use them or not. I don't want the fact that you don't know something thus mean you are excluded from social equality and being able to create meaning in our world--create policy, create laws, create meaningful text, because even if you aren't writing the laws, you still have to live by them. I want to make sure each of you have the power to use your voice to create the lives you want--technological tools give us this power because we have a voice online, we are publishing text, but then we have to focus on how strong that voice is in order to have people listen. The better written the writing is, the better your ideas can be heard. The more educated you are, the more relevant your voice is and the more people will take you seriously--the more your voice will matter.

I believe that technology should enhance our world--not replace all our favorite things. It allows us to be more efficient and thus, hopefully, more effective in our lives--while having fun. Why shouldn't learning be fun? Why shouldn't reading the news be interesting? If technology can reengage people into caring about learning, versus a letter grade--or worse yet, not caring at all--then I am all for it.

Additionally, technology gives us one more edge. It allows us to connect outside of school, which means people are engaged in class for longer than the one hour (actually less) that we have in school. We have a way to create a community where you can learn from each other and from the comments I give all of you--a real community of learners. In the end, you get more education, you get more knowledge, you get more practice using skills you'll need to be successful everywhere--writing skills, critical thinking skills, developing your own ideas, recognizing quality of voice and reliability of resources, and the list goes on and on. That is my ideal world--where everyone is engaged and sharing ideas and inspiring others to learn and be better too...think more, think differently, critically think about the world we live in.