Week 6 Lecture

On week 6 we began the lecture by watching Thunderbirds, this seemed very strange but soon all became clear.  We discussed the aspects of the show and at the time, how far out some of the ideas and inventions on the show were, but now a lot of the ideas are in every day use, examples of this are the GPS systems used in the show, and now they are in every car made.  This comparison was used as an example to show us how much ground has been covered technologically in the last 40 years.

We talked in depth about how our visual Grammar has changed over the years, and also discussed the statement that people born after 1985 have an instinct that enables them to use new technology, referring to them as “digital natives”.  I personally don’t believe this is true, because I know several people who were born before 1985, who have a freakishly quick grasp on any new piece of technology that is placed in front of them, were as it would take me a while to grasp certain new pieces of technology, mainly because I grew up without a lot of technology and gadgets.  I also feel that it depends on where you’re from; I feel that people who come from the country are not as bothered about new pieces of technology, whereas people from the town or city always seem to have the newest developments, I also feel it depends on how wealthy you or your family are.      

We discussed how every 2 years the speed of technology doubles, which is a crazy thought and shows just how fast we are moving forward.  This lead on to the topic of social networking sites specifically facebook.  We discussed how the majority of people these days, especially those on a certain age group can live without commenting or posting on facebook.  This idea ties in with our previous lecture on post modernism, as, most people are living this post modern lifestyle, where we believe we are all celebs, or we are all living our own celebrity life.  This can be a dangerous concept or lifestyle, and is increasingly blurring the line between reality and virtual-reality.   

Lastly we discussed the argument; should all primary students have smart phones, and do they help or not.  This statement divided opinion in the class, with various valid opinions for both sides.  Personally I feel that smarts are a great idea and way of presenting students with information, but I also feel that they should be exposed to it a certain age, or gradually taught to use them.  I know if I had of been given a smart phone when in primary school I would not have done any work, but maybe that’s just a generational thing, or maybe it’s just me. 

Overall I gathered from the lecture the technology is developing and moving at an amazing pace, and is changing the way we learn and work.  So technology at the minute is like a fast moving train, you either hit the ground running, and get on board or you’ll be run over.