Rudy's+Journal+2010

June 22, 2010

I just finished reading chapters 2 and 3 of our book. It really has me thinking about what direction I should go in for my project. I'd like to focus in on our second objective of the class where I can analyze the cultural and spiritual implications of electronic networks. I am just not sure how to go about it. Any feedback or suggestions would be great.

June 27, 2010

Reading Schultze has left me thinking way too much on the issues of technology and how the world views it. For my project, I think I'd like to persue the ideas of how adolescents use electronic networks so much that it has replaced their ability to connect with the outside world. It affects their writing in classes, their ability to communicate appropriately and politely. I just think about the work that I do in the high school and how I have a front row seat to how this type of networking is abused. I acknowledge that there are some benefits, but it is a lot of power for a teen to have.

July 7, 2010

Being able to journal has not been an easy task. I have been reading a lot. But haven't had a real chance to process it all. The more I read Schultze, the more I realize how powerful the tools of technology really are. As adults we (at least a lot of us) have the capacity to discern our choices and are aware of what we are doing and getting ourselves into. Without a doubt there are adults who abuse the power that is given to them. So here's my dilemma... If adults haven't completely grasped the idea of balance and using these tools for what they are, then how is it we so willingly give that power to kids????? In chapters 4 and 5, Schultze delves into the creation of alter identities and this false sense of anonymity. So many just fall into another world for whatever the reason and end up losing themselves while thinking there are no real consequences. But as grown ups, we have lived and experienced things that lead us to the choices we make. It gets to the point that we have to learn to live or at least respect the perspectives and life choices of those around us. This is true at any age, but when it comes to kids who are still trying to find their place in the world and don't have the maturity and foresight to truly process their choices, we take a very serious risk. Even the smartest kids can be unpredictable in their reactions and choices. Many of us know this, yet so willingly give so much power to our children and we give it all at once.

The aspect of education that I serve teaches me everyday what not to do as a parent. I see first hand what happens when we trust our children so blindly that we don't set boundaries or even bother to check in. Lately, however, these lessons are showing up even in my personal life. Thankfully, not with my own son, but with a recent incident with my niece. And now an even worse incident with the son of a good friend of mine. With my niece it was a situation where my sister allowed her the freedom of a cell phone and all the texting in the world. This led to a secret "my space" page. You can imagine what happened after the revelation! My niece just finished the 8th grade. In a way, it was a blessing to open my sister's eyes to what she's going to have to pay attention to when her daughter enters high school. In the case of my friend, her son like mine is going into the 8th grade. Here's another situation where a child since the age of 9 has had a cell phone, access to kid chat rooms on the internet, and now a facebook page. She openly knows the risks and believes that she is doing her job in monitoring--- yet things keep happening. This is a boy with low self esteem and doesn't have many friends. He actually considers my son his best friend since they've know each other since the 4th grade. The mistake is that this boy has been given a choice to do things all his life instead of the parent taking the initiative and guiding more the situation. He feels so entitled and empowered that he has no motivation outside video games and the internet. All of which has taken a toll on his social develpement. He is now thirteen. And has been recently grounded because he was involved with a "sexting" incident with his new step brother! I was told of this yesterday.

Honestly, I'm not sure what to think because now protecting my son from the immaturity of his long time friend is now even more of an issue. This kid is going in a total opposite direction. My son is more balanced and has no real need to be on a computer or watching tv all the time. He plays sports, loves the outdoors, and loves to read books. The more he grows, the further apart he and his friend grow. I'm happy to say that he has developed nicely in that we've done a good job of not exposing him to certain things too early. By no means does he live a sheltered life. The diversity in my family and his dad's doesn't allow for that. They are opportunities for him to learn to be very culturally competent. But right now he only gets to use technology as he needs it. For instance, he has a cell phone. I had to cave in and get him one because of the activities he's involved in and so that I can get a hold of him if need be. The condition,however, of allowing this was that I was going to have full access and have a "smart limits" plan on it. So yes he has phone. He can only use it during certain times in the day. I have listed only 15 numbers (mostly family in Colorado and us) that he can call or receive calls from. He's limited to only 20 texts a month to the designated numbers. And there is absolutely NO internet access! The best part is that he's totally content with that! I don't pretend to know it all, but I do know that so far I have yet to deal with what unfortunately many parents are dealing with and crying about.

July 11, 2010 Recently I just posted reactions to journals and completely forgot that I need permission first as a new member. So now I have to wait. But its been interesting to see what my classmates are into and thinking. **I checked out Brenda K. and Brenda P.s journals.** I learned that they too share in my frustrations of technology in different aspects. One frustration is when we are expected to use technology for certain things and projects, and then it doesn't work! The other is the wait time to get a response from an individual because not everyone is on the computer all the time. When I got my new phone, I connected my gfu email, my work, and my personal account to make sure I get information and respond in a timely manner. My goal, however,l is to not get wrapped up in checking it all the time. On another note,on Friday I took my 12 year old to the airport. It was the first time I would put him on a plane by himself. Talk about nerve racking! To add pain to punishment, there was a one hour delay because of a mechanical issue! Talk about the devil trying to shake my faith in that all would be well! During that time, I found myself pulling out my new iPhone to play with the Apps and read the news. It was weird because I still haven't convinced myself that it's not much different from having a newspaper in my hands. My son and I aren't very talkative in the morning. Plus we had been up since 4am. We were both tired. As he pulled out his PSP to play the new Toy Story game, I realized that he did it just to have his quiet time. But most of all so that he didn't have to pay attention to whether or not they were going to fix the plane. My realization that day was that technology plays a huge part in how we kill time and stay connected and even distracted.

July 19, 2010 This past week has been a bit overwhelming. I began taking my other classes. There is so much reading. Everything kind of overlaps. But I'm wondering how I should write up my project. A lot of it is based on my experiences with work and information that I have read. I want to include information that I have received from the police department on internet jargon and what to look out for. But I'm not sure how academic to go or just write to create an awareness that things do happen when you are not paying attention... Decisions, decisions....;0)

July 25, 2010

I feel as though the more I read Schultze, the more I just want to stay away from digital networking. It keeps coming back to balance for me. But even with that I still feel my resistance to it all. This past week I had a conversation with my husband about the possibility of me opening a Facebook account. He, of course, gave me reasons as to why it would be a good idea for me. He mentioned networking and connecting with organizations. Connecting with people... So I went to the site and I swear I must of stared at the sign in page for about 5 minutes! I'm not really sure what is stopping me. After what seemed an eternity of debate in me, I decided to read the privacy policies of the network site. I'm just not convinced of the good. I just can't help feel that I would open a whole other world of headaches and "just one more thing" to keep track of. Still, I think the nature of my work and the organizations I connect with, will inevitably push me into opening an account because that's the only way they communicate! We'll see... In continuing my preparation for my project, I have decided to just do a powerpoint presentation. I feel it would be appropriate considering the nature of the class. Plus I need the practice. The information I have to share, to me, is a lot of common sense. But it is surprising to see what parents ultimately overlook. I believe that by sharing a couple of the horror stories, it will lead into the "how to" if parents decide to go ahead and give their kids that power. It will take shape in the couple of days.

July 27, 2010

I'm done!!!!! It's exciting to be able to come up with something that I can use for parent presentations. There was nothing super fancy in my powerpoint, but the images and the information say a lot. I covered some key points that are necessary to know. I hope its something I can build off of later. I have learned a lot from this class. It has made think a lot about how I'll proceed in this world of technology. I admit that I will not use this Wiki after this class is done. My thoughts are for me and I actually like writing them down in a notebook. I will probably break down and end up with a Facebook page, however. The purspose of that will be to connect to the organizations that only communicate through that venue. For instance, I am the MEChA Club advisor in my high school. It is a Latino Leadership group that is represented all over the U.S. Their chapter information can be found on Facebook. So if I want acces, I need an account. This is starting to happen more and more. Which is why I feel like eventually I will not have a choice.