Activity III

Technology is something that is big all around the world today. A good portion of people think that the younger generation is the ones who are so tech-savvy. However it seems if you ask the younger generation, they will beg to differ on how technology advanced they really are.
Vaidhyanathan says kids have grown up with the internet and are “accustomed to the entire world being only a mouse click away.” I do agree with this point. Most teenagers I know, myself included, will google anything that we do not know thinking that the vast inter-web holds all the world’s answers. Vaidhyanathan also says how the young generation will avoid the library and this I do not agree with. Personally, I would normally choose the library over internet research. I do use google to find spur of the moment things, but I would really prefer to be in a library surrounded by books when I am doing research. After all, anyone can make a website; not everyone can publish a book.
I do no believe that technology driven education is a “one size fits all.” Vaidhyanathan makes some very good points. “Every class has a handful of people with amazing skills and a large number who can’t deal with computers at all,” says Vaidhyanathan. Personally, I can work word, excel, and power point, save and upload documents to emails, and work my way through most of the internet. But asking me to do more than that is really pushing it. At the beginning of the semester I didn’t even know how to do a screen capture!
Vaidhyanathan also says that college students are not as “digital” as most think that they are. Being a college student I really have to agree with this. Most people think that us college students have all the high tech advancements and can do anything in the snap of a finger. I have said it before and I will say it again, I am not tech savvy and I do not have the high tech advancements. Most of us really cannot afford it. We are college students after all. I certainly cannot afford a MAC or an IPhone. Vaidhyanathan says how all the talk of people who were “born digital” completely bypasses the norm of college students. “What do we miss when we pay attention to only the perceived digital prejudices of American college students,” asks Vaidhyanathan.
The truth is we miss a lot. If you just pay attention to the richest college students in the country then you are looking at a very small group. Sure you will have a few kids maybe in each class who pull out their MAC and Iphone, but if you really look at a typical college class, you will see students pull out their Verizon Samsungs and pen and paper to take notes. Typical college class.
As Vaidhyanathan goes on to explain in the article, my generation is known as the technology generation though wrongly named as a lot would agree. My dad can dance circles around me in the computer world and he was born in 1960. Yet why isn’t his generation named the technology generation? All in all, I agree with the points Vaidhyanathan is bringing up. My generation does have technology all around us but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we have access to all the forms. And like I said, sometimes traditional modes are just easier.

Project 1

The problems we face in America are something that we can all relate to, especially if we focus in on just Michigan. If you look around though, it is not just Michigan having economic problems; it is America as a whole. I have friends in several different states and they too talk of job loss, economic problems, etc. America is supposed to be this superpower nation; the place where everyone wants to go. The place that will make your life complete and all your wildest dreams will come true. Then why are so many of us suffering due to the economy? Why do so many of us go to work everyday fearing that it could be our last? My project is going to be geared toward what American can to do make sure our people are not suffering. My main argument is simple- stop helping other countries so much! I understand that we are the huge superpower and we want to help and feel the need to. But there's a time where enough is enough. My argument stems off of the song The Americans by Byron Mcgregor. If you haven't listened to this song, listen to it. Maybe my major in history is the reason that I love it so much but it really hits home. This some was written in the 1970's I believe but the argument still stands today. America helps too much. We rush to other countries aide sometimes without them even asking! How many countries would rush to help us? How many countries are in debt to us. Will we ever see a penny of that again? Probably not and we're not fighting for it, we just let it go. The war in Iraq is a really good example. I personally believe that we are not fighting for the effects of 9-11 anymore. Right now we are trying to force our government on them saying that it will make them a better country. Who are we to say who's government is better? True, it wouldn't be good if they went communist or anything but why are we so great? We are paying for everything over there. Building their country from the bottom up and Iraq is not spending a single penny. Add on that we're buying their oil and that country is banking. And America? We're broke. We spend so much on the war when it could go to better uses. How many people in America don't have health care? How many parents have to work several jobs just to provide food and a place to live for their families? How hard is it to go to college because it's so expensive? I feel like I've rambled on long enough. So to end this, my project will be a powerpoint basically touching on these subjects again and ways that America can start to look out for our own good and stop worrying about everyone elses!