Computer Education
Content
ROLE OF COMPUTER IN TODAY’s LIFE – INTERNET
Submitted to: Pargat Singh
Submitted by: Geeta Sharma Roll No. - 310
BCM COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, LUDHIANA
1
INDEX
Sr. No.
Particulars Introduction Presence of computers in today’s life Influences in the Personal Domain 3 3 3
Page No.
1. 2. 3.
4.
Influences in the Emotional Domain
5
5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Business Entertainment Animation Education Medical
5 6 6 7 8
Strategies and Interventions for Teachers 9
11.
Conclusion
10
2
INTRODUCTION
Research done by the Pew Internet and American Life Project (Lenhart, Rainie, & Lewis, 2001) found that the Internet has a pivotal role in the lives of American teenagers. It has been found that 87% of the youth of today go online (Weiss, 2005), representing 21 million youth. Text messaging, instant messaging, chat rooms, and personal Web sites increase the speed of multiple, simultaneous interaction. The advances in technology that provide opportunities for youth to reach out to new sources of knowledge and cultural experiences are not without challenges. As we embrace the rapidly changing modes of communication in the new millennium, there is a need for school teachers to assist parents and school personnel in protecting their students from harm and victimization. This digest will discuss some initial indicators that are emerging and provide strategies and interventions that teachers can use to assist youth in the cyber-communication age of today.
PRESENCE OF COMPUTERS IN TODAY’S LIFE
Influences in the Personal Domain Cyber-communication offers opportunities for valued learning, responsibility, and independence. Students can learn to manage time and resources effectively, master the art of accessing and processing skills gained in a meaningful context, and communicate this information clearly to the intended audience. Integrating the Internet with communication allows students to share personal perspectives, knowledge, and experiences, and structure discussions for debate. The negative side of cyber-communication is the access to personal information. With the press of a button, you can find out where someone lives, a phone number, even directions to someone’s house. It is becoming increasingly hard to protect children from unsafe access to their personal information.
3
Although the unlimited access to information can be positive, now it is increasingly difficult to keep children safe from giving information with unwanted consequences or being exposed to harmful information. Although school teachers routinely provide interventions to balance personal, social, and emotional growth, interacting through cyber-communication is creating a new dimension. Influences in the Social Domain Communicating through the Internet has expanded the social circle. Youth are actively using the Internet as an important form of social interaction. No longer does the social circle have to be limited to geographic locations. There is a “virtual” rather then “physical” presence. Young people geographically remote, disabled, or housebound due to illness may find online chat an important form of communication. Cyber-communication today helps children who might not otherwise be confident to communicate to do so quite well over the Internet. Brignall and Valey (2005) stated that a fundamental position is that online social interaction is one form of role play, thus an element in the development of self. Due to increased use of cyber-communication, a feeling of being autonomous also exists. However, there is less direct human contact thus social isolation for adolescents and the impact on family relations is a concern. There is increasing freedom to harass and use putdowns because there are no repercussions personally. This creates cyberbullying, cyber-stalking, cyber-harassment conversations, or “flaming,” a public personal attack, where people demonstrate verbal aggression. Other observed differences include the open display of group norm violations such as racism, sexism, and homophobia. Discussions of suicide, self-mutilation, harming oneself or someone else are prevalent on the Internet. Teachers have control over creating a safe environment in schools, but with more youth communicating through cyber-space, teachers no longer are able to directly help youth with social interactions. Teaching children safe ways to deal with cyber-communication in order to create healthy social relationships is a key role in counselor, parent, and student interactions.
4
Influences in the Emotional Domain The Internet is increasingly being accessed as a key resource for issues relating to anything from abuse to selfhelp. It is also used as a vehicle for youth to express themselves. Many students access healthy resources like suicide hotlines, support groups, information on medical conditions, and contact with appropriate organizations. This interaction helps to give them a support system outside of their immediate environment to assist in dealing with emotional issues.On the negative side, this ability to find resources regarding the emotional domain can be harmful. There are hemlock (suicide) societies on-line. There is information on how to build bombs, self-mutilate, be sexually active, participate in drug use, and many other illegal and illicit activities. Thirty percent of all adolescents have suicidal thoughts, and over half of them use the Web (Becker, Mayer, Nagenborg, El-faddagh, & Schmidt, 2004). Children are exposed to unhealthy emotional ideas and outlets that they otherwise would not be aware of until a more mature age normally. Computers changed the world a lot. It helped man step forward into the future. Thanks to computers, space exploraation came true, new designs of vehicles and other trasportaion were made, entertainment became more entertaining, medical science made more cures for diseases, etc. . . The computers impacted our lives in many ways. You may not notice it but they did make life a lot easier. Without computers, the world would be a harder place to live in. Thanks to the computers, everyday life is easier for us. Some people may disagree but most wouldn't. Some people say that computers are taking away man power. That maybe true but computers did make the impossible possible. BUSINESS Computers impacted many items in today's society. One area the computer impacted on is the business area. Business uses computers for keeping track of accounts, money, or items that they need. You may notice business people using computers a lot, especially the laptop computers, portable computers that can be taken to your work area. You may see people use things like pie-charts and graphs when they present information to other business people in meetings. Most of those charts were
5
made by computers. The business field uses the computers a lot for their companies and organizations.
ENTERTAINMENT Another area computers impacted on is the entertainment area. Most of the people out there like science fiction or action movies, especially the ones with the neat looking effects. Well, those graphics were mostly made by computers. Most of the movies today use computer graphics to make things more realistic but not real. Computer graphics are mostly used on spaceships, aliens, monsters, and special effects. To the left is a picture from the movie "Godzilla." Godzilla was created by computer animation, texturing, and graphics to make him more realistic then the older version when they used a man in a costume to play godzilla. This wasn't the only movie made with computers. Movies like Jurassic Park, Wing Commander, Starship Troopers, Star Wars SE, and the latest Star Trek Movies used computers to make them look more interesting and realistic. There are even movies completely made by computers like Toy Story and A Bugs' Life.
ANIMATION Not only movies used computer animations and graphics. Games on the latest game consoles like the PC, Playstation and Nintendo 64 used the computers to make the coolest games ever. Of course all of you heard of the game Final Fantasy VII. It was
6
the first Final Fantasy game to have a 3D environment and neat computer animation. It was a big money-making seller. Games now and days use computer graphics and animations to make the coolest games. Computer games also have their share. Wing Commander Prophecy, Shogo and all the other new 3D games were made by really cool computer graphics. It would be really boring without all this wouldn't you think? That's how computers impacted today's entertainment.
EDUCATION Education was impacted by computers as well. Computers help out students in a lot of today's projects and essays. If a student were to do an essay on the planet Saturn, they could look in an electronic encyclopedia in the computer or they could look up their topic on the internet.
They could also type their essays and reports on what's called a word-processing program. This program allows you to type anything out from a school essay to
7
business papers. You can make your paper look very neat by adding images and neat looking text to impress your teacher. Now and days, typing out essays and reports are mandatory, especially in High School. Computers help students in any way they need, researching, typing, searching, etc. . . Teachers use computers as well. They use computers to keep track of grades, type out instruction for their students, and to let students use the computer for school purposes.
MEDICAL An important field computers impacted on is the medical field. The computers helped the hospitals out very much. In pharmacies, the pharmacists use computers to keep a record of what medication to give to a patient and the amount they need. Most computers in the hospital are used to keep data of patience and their status.
Computers also keep track of equipment placement and status as well. Scientists need the help of computers to find cures for diseases that need cures like cancer and STDs. Without the computers help, cures for a lot of diseases woudn't have been found. Computer helped the medical area a lot and we are greatful for that since they keep track of our health. Other areas the computer impacted on is space exploration and designs of transportation.
8
Strategies and Interventions for Teachers
There are many strategies and interventions teachers can use today to deal with cybercommunication and helping youth. Teachers have to change the focus on dealing with youth and their needs in order to be effective in the 21 st century. They must become cyber-teachers and use the Internet as an increasingly effective source of information. To stay current with information, it is vital that teachers use the Internet as a resource and teach students to use the Internet as a healthy resource of information. A counselor’s knowledge of cyber vocabulary/terminology is key to understanding communication on the Internet. Cyber-Safety is an important aspect of counseling today. It is important that teachers train parents and children to be aware of cyber-safety and to avoid victimization, including sexual solicitations and harassment. Teachers can integrate instruction into the curriculum and the classroom to address plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of unethical communication methods. Cyber-Lessons are vital in the classroom and in the counselor’s office. Those lessons may include: critiquing an instant/text message or an email to understand the message/messenger, discussing “netiquette,” reviewing appropriate use of MySpace.com, reading various pieces written for expression of poetry or other literary forms on blogs, and demonstrating the use of software with positive benefits. Teachers need to take advantage of those “teachable moments” (Freeman-Longo, 2000). Cyber-Helpers are an essential part of counseling for today and in the future. Training is essential for establishing a partnership between the counselor and students. It is not possible to monitor all of the social interaction and communication that happens on the Internet or cellular phones. It is the children who have access and are exposed to the communication going on outside the school walls on a daily basis. Students are a great network resource for informing school personnel if someone talks about suicide, harming others, or is participating in cyber-bullying.
9
It is important to teach and model for our youth how and why to get “unplugged.” In this age of ever increasing electronic usage, from cellular phones to computers to iPods to video games, it is vital to bring back human social interaction. Balancing the “virtual” world with the “real” world can be the greatest gift of all. Cyber-communication may change many aspects of our lives—private, social, cultural, economic, and intellectual. However, with proper instruction, guidance, and supervision, there is the potential for the impact of positive, personal growth.
CONCLUSION
Half a century ago one could hardly imagine what advanced technologies based on computers would advent in next decades.The development of computers has had great influence on our lives affecting important aspects like economy, education and medicine. This essay will examine the role of teachers as well as computers in modern education. It can not be denied that teachers play a critical role in children education. Firstly, they prepare a friendly atmosphere in class. Secondly, not only they teach them but also they try to be their second family. Importantly, a good teacher can be even a role model for a child. Last but not least, they pass their experiences and beliefs along their knowledge to next generation. Nevertheless, new technologies have challenged the conventional role of teachers in the class. Teachers used to be the only reliable source of information for students and there was a show-tell approach in teaching while the exponential speed of information change today makes this method rather abolished. Another considerable point is that the information within textbooks should be revised and updated time by time that will definitely impose the excess expenses to educational system.
Consequently, it is the computer and e-learning that help teachers to come up with the aforementioned problems. Using unlimited educational sources available in the internet along with interactive CDs or games; nowadays, teachers can effectively manage how to transfer
10
educational material to their students to have an enjoyable educational process with a longlasting result in particular. Furthermore, the role of teachers surely changes in this system because it would not only be teachers who transfer the information to their students but it would be also the students themselves who follow their educational needs while teaching role of a teacher would change to a guide role subsequently. In conclusion, since computers are going to find their real places in modern education; hence, in my opinion, it is expected that the current educational system would change in next years to a technology dominating system.
References
Becker, K, Mayer, M., Nagenborg, M., El-faddagh, M., &Schmidt, M. H. (2004). Parasuicide online: Can suicidewebsites trigger suicidal behaviour in predisposed adolescents? Nord J Psychiatry, 58(2),111-114. Brignall, T.W., III, & Valey, T. V. (2005). The impact of Internet communication on social interaction. Sociological Spectrum, 25, 335-348. Bryant, J. A., Sanders-Jackson, A., & Smallwood A. M. K. (2006). IMing, text messaging, adolescent social networks. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(2), article 10. Fleming, M., & Rickwood, D. (2004). Teens in cyberspace. Youth Studies Australia, 23(3). Freeman-Longo, R. E. (2000). Children, teens, and sex on the Internet. Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity, 7, 75-90. Lenhart, A., Rainie, L., & Lewis, O. (2001, June 20). Teenage life online: The rise of the instant- message generation and the internet’s impact on friendships and family relationships. Washington, DC: Pew Internet and American Life Project.
11
Submitted to: Pargat Singh
Submitted by: Geeta Sharma Roll No. - 310
BCM COLLEGE OF EDUCATION, LUDHIANA
1
INDEX
Sr. No.
Particulars Introduction Presence of computers in today’s life Influences in the Personal Domain 3 3 3
Page No.
1. 2. 3.
4.
Influences in the Emotional Domain
5
5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10.
Business Entertainment Animation Education Medical
5 6 6 7 8
Strategies and Interventions for Teachers 9
11.
Conclusion
10
2
INTRODUCTION
Research done by the Pew Internet and American Life Project (Lenhart, Rainie, & Lewis, 2001) found that the Internet has a pivotal role in the lives of American teenagers. It has been found that 87% of the youth of today go online (Weiss, 2005), representing 21 million youth. Text messaging, instant messaging, chat rooms, and personal Web sites increase the speed of multiple, simultaneous interaction. The advances in technology that provide opportunities for youth to reach out to new sources of knowledge and cultural experiences are not without challenges. As we embrace the rapidly changing modes of communication in the new millennium, there is a need for school teachers to assist parents and school personnel in protecting their students from harm and victimization. This digest will discuss some initial indicators that are emerging and provide strategies and interventions that teachers can use to assist youth in the cyber-communication age of today.
PRESENCE OF COMPUTERS IN TODAY’S LIFE
Influences in the Personal Domain Cyber-communication offers opportunities for valued learning, responsibility, and independence. Students can learn to manage time and resources effectively, master the art of accessing and processing skills gained in a meaningful context, and communicate this information clearly to the intended audience. Integrating the Internet with communication allows students to share personal perspectives, knowledge, and experiences, and structure discussions for debate. The negative side of cyber-communication is the access to personal information. With the press of a button, you can find out where someone lives, a phone number, even directions to someone’s house. It is becoming increasingly hard to protect children from unsafe access to their personal information.
3
Although the unlimited access to information can be positive, now it is increasingly difficult to keep children safe from giving information with unwanted consequences or being exposed to harmful information. Although school teachers routinely provide interventions to balance personal, social, and emotional growth, interacting through cyber-communication is creating a new dimension. Influences in the Social Domain Communicating through the Internet has expanded the social circle. Youth are actively using the Internet as an important form of social interaction. No longer does the social circle have to be limited to geographic locations. There is a “virtual” rather then “physical” presence. Young people geographically remote, disabled, or housebound due to illness may find online chat an important form of communication. Cyber-communication today helps children who might not otherwise be confident to communicate to do so quite well over the Internet. Brignall and Valey (2005) stated that a fundamental position is that online social interaction is one form of role play, thus an element in the development of self. Due to increased use of cyber-communication, a feeling of being autonomous also exists. However, there is less direct human contact thus social isolation for adolescents and the impact on family relations is a concern. There is increasing freedom to harass and use putdowns because there are no repercussions personally. This creates cyberbullying, cyber-stalking, cyber-harassment conversations, or “flaming,” a public personal attack, where people demonstrate verbal aggression. Other observed differences include the open display of group norm violations such as racism, sexism, and homophobia. Discussions of suicide, self-mutilation, harming oneself or someone else are prevalent on the Internet. Teachers have control over creating a safe environment in schools, but with more youth communicating through cyber-space, teachers no longer are able to directly help youth with social interactions. Teaching children safe ways to deal with cyber-communication in order to create healthy social relationships is a key role in counselor, parent, and student interactions.
4
Influences in the Emotional Domain The Internet is increasingly being accessed as a key resource for issues relating to anything from abuse to selfhelp. It is also used as a vehicle for youth to express themselves. Many students access healthy resources like suicide hotlines, support groups, information on medical conditions, and contact with appropriate organizations. This interaction helps to give them a support system outside of their immediate environment to assist in dealing with emotional issues.On the negative side, this ability to find resources regarding the emotional domain can be harmful. There are hemlock (suicide) societies on-line. There is information on how to build bombs, self-mutilate, be sexually active, participate in drug use, and many other illegal and illicit activities. Thirty percent of all adolescents have suicidal thoughts, and over half of them use the Web (Becker, Mayer, Nagenborg, El-faddagh, & Schmidt, 2004). Children are exposed to unhealthy emotional ideas and outlets that they otherwise would not be aware of until a more mature age normally. Computers changed the world a lot. It helped man step forward into the future. Thanks to computers, space exploraation came true, new designs of vehicles and other trasportaion were made, entertainment became more entertaining, medical science made more cures for diseases, etc. . . The computers impacted our lives in many ways. You may not notice it but they did make life a lot easier. Without computers, the world would be a harder place to live in. Thanks to the computers, everyday life is easier for us. Some people may disagree but most wouldn't. Some people say that computers are taking away man power. That maybe true but computers did make the impossible possible. BUSINESS Computers impacted many items in today's society. One area the computer impacted on is the business area. Business uses computers for keeping track of accounts, money, or items that they need. You may notice business people using computers a lot, especially the laptop computers, portable computers that can be taken to your work area. You may see people use things like pie-charts and graphs when they present information to other business people in meetings. Most of those charts were
5
made by computers. The business field uses the computers a lot for their companies and organizations.
ENTERTAINMENT Another area computers impacted on is the entertainment area. Most of the people out there like science fiction or action movies, especially the ones with the neat looking effects. Well, those graphics were mostly made by computers. Most of the movies today use computer graphics to make things more realistic but not real. Computer graphics are mostly used on spaceships, aliens, monsters, and special effects. To the left is a picture from the movie "Godzilla." Godzilla was created by computer animation, texturing, and graphics to make him more realistic then the older version when they used a man in a costume to play godzilla. This wasn't the only movie made with computers. Movies like Jurassic Park, Wing Commander, Starship Troopers, Star Wars SE, and the latest Star Trek Movies used computers to make them look more interesting and realistic. There are even movies completely made by computers like Toy Story and A Bugs' Life.
ANIMATION Not only movies used computer animations and graphics. Games on the latest game consoles like the PC, Playstation and Nintendo 64 used the computers to make the coolest games ever. Of course all of you heard of the game Final Fantasy VII. It was
6
the first Final Fantasy game to have a 3D environment and neat computer animation. It was a big money-making seller. Games now and days use computer graphics and animations to make the coolest games. Computer games also have their share. Wing Commander Prophecy, Shogo and all the other new 3D games were made by really cool computer graphics. It would be really boring without all this wouldn't you think? That's how computers impacted today's entertainment.
EDUCATION Education was impacted by computers as well. Computers help out students in a lot of today's projects and essays. If a student were to do an essay on the planet Saturn, they could look in an electronic encyclopedia in the computer or they could look up their topic on the internet.
They could also type their essays and reports on what's called a word-processing program. This program allows you to type anything out from a school essay to
7
business papers. You can make your paper look very neat by adding images and neat looking text to impress your teacher. Now and days, typing out essays and reports are mandatory, especially in High School. Computers help students in any way they need, researching, typing, searching, etc. . . Teachers use computers as well. They use computers to keep track of grades, type out instruction for their students, and to let students use the computer for school purposes.
MEDICAL An important field computers impacted on is the medical field. The computers helped the hospitals out very much. In pharmacies, the pharmacists use computers to keep a record of what medication to give to a patient and the amount they need. Most computers in the hospital are used to keep data of patience and their status.
Computers also keep track of equipment placement and status as well. Scientists need the help of computers to find cures for diseases that need cures like cancer and STDs. Without the computers help, cures for a lot of diseases woudn't have been found. Computer helped the medical area a lot and we are greatful for that since they keep track of our health. Other areas the computer impacted on is space exploration and designs of transportation.
8
Strategies and Interventions for Teachers
There are many strategies and interventions teachers can use today to deal with cybercommunication and helping youth. Teachers have to change the focus on dealing with youth and their needs in order to be effective in the 21 st century. They must become cyber-teachers and use the Internet as an increasingly effective source of information. To stay current with information, it is vital that teachers use the Internet as a resource and teach students to use the Internet as a healthy resource of information. A counselor’s knowledge of cyber vocabulary/terminology is key to understanding communication on the Internet. Cyber-Safety is an important aspect of counseling today. It is important that teachers train parents and children to be aware of cyber-safety and to avoid victimization, including sexual solicitations and harassment. Teachers can integrate instruction into the curriculum and the classroom to address plagiarism, cheating, and other forms of unethical communication methods. Cyber-Lessons are vital in the classroom and in the counselor’s office. Those lessons may include: critiquing an instant/text message or an email to understand the message/messenger, discussing “netiquette,” reviewing appropriate use of MySpace.com, reading various pieces written for expression of poetry or other literary forms on blogs, and demonstrating the use of software with positive benefits. Teachers need to take advantage of those “teachable moments” (Freeman-Longo, 2000). Cyber-Helpers are an essential part of counseling for today and in the future. Training is essential for establishing a partnership between the counselor and students. It is not possible to monitor all of the social interaction and communication that happens on the Internet or cellular phones. It is the children who have access and are exposed to the communication going on outside the school walls on a daily basis. Students are a great network resource for informing school personnel if someone talks about suicide, harming others, or is participating in cyber-bullying.
9
It is important to teach and model for our youth how and why to get “unplugged.” In this age of ever increasing electronic usage, from cellular phones to computers to iPods to video games, it is vital to bring back human social interaction. Balancing the “virtual” world with the “real” world can be the greatest gift of all. Cyber-communication may change many aspects of our lives—private, social, cultural, economic, and intellectual. However, with proper instruction, guidance, and supervision, there is the potential for the impact of positive, personal growth.
CONCLUSION
Half a century ago one could hardly imagine what advanced technologies based on computers would advent in next decades.The development of computers has had great influence on our lives affecting important aspects like economy, education and medicine. This essay will examine the role of teachers as well as computers in modern education. It can not be denied that teachers play a critical role in children education. Firstly, they prepare a friendly atmosphere in class. Secondly, not only they teach them but also they try to be their second family. Importantly, a good teacher can be even a role model for a child. Last but not least, they pass their experiences and beliefs along their knowledge to next generation. Nevertheless, new technologies have challenged the conventional role of teachers in the class. Teachers used to be the only reliable source of information for students and there was a show-tell approach in teaching while the exponential speed of information change today makes this method rather abolished. Another considerable point is that the information within textbooks should be revised and updated time by time that will definitely impose the excess expenses to educational system.
Consequently, it is the computer and e-learning that help teachers to come up with the aforementioned problems. Using unlimited educational sources available in the internet along with interactive CDs or games; nowadays, teachers can effectively manage how to transfer
10
educational material to their students to have an enjoyable educational process with a longlasting result in particular. Furthermore, the role of teachers surely changes in this system because it would not only be teachers who transfer the information to their students but it would be also the students themselves who follow their educational needs while teaching role of a teacher would change to a guide role subsequently. In conclusion, since computers are going to find their real places in modern education; hence, in my opinion, it is expected that the current educational system would change in next years to a technology dominating system.
References
Becker, K, Mayer, M., Nagenborg, M., El-faddagh, M., &Schmidt, M. H. (2004). Parasuicide online: Can suicidewebsites trigger suicidal behaviour in predisposed adolescents? Nord J Psychiatry, 58(2),111-114. Brignall, T.W., III, & Valey, T. V. (2005). The impact of Internet communication on social interaction. Sociological Spectrum, 25, 335-348. Bryant, J. A., Sanders-Jackson, A., & Smallwood A. M. K. (2006). IMing, text messaging, adolescent social networks. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 11(2), article 10. Fleming, M., & Rickwood, D. (2004). Teens in cyberspace. Youth Studies Australia, 23(3). Freeman-Longo, R. E. (2000). Children, teens, and sex on the Internet. Sexual Addiction and Compulsivity, 7, 75-90. Lenhart, A., Rainie, L., & Lewis, O. (2001, June 20). Teenage life online: The rise of the instant- message generation and the internet’s impact on friendships and family relationships. Washington, DC: Pew Internet and American Life Project.
11
