For this blog post, I would like to give a special thanks to Carla and Emily Rumble who gave me feedback on my first blog post “Do digital natives exist? Is there a difference between the 2001 digital native and the 2018 digital native?”.  Read below for Carla and Leah’s full analysis of my blog. You can also find these on my Feedback Page.

Hey Abbey, I’m Carla and I will giving you feedback on your first blog post “Do digital natives exist? Is there a difference between the 2001 digital native and the 2018 digital native?” Firstly I love the colour you have included, and how you have included personal anecdotal evidence to support your argument. I also love the visuals that make your post really intriguing. Some ideas to consider are maybe discussing how it is some individuals profession to study and work in technology, therefore they should be considered “digital natives” as they passionate towards technology. – Carla

Hi Abbey!
The colours and easy-to-read text in your blog is wonderful! It immediately jumps out at you and looks absolutely gorgeous. The images also really add to your post, giving information through fun ways other than simply (and sometimes tiring) text. The information you provide is really well backed up by relevant sources, and the points you argue are also relevant, backed up and persuasive. 😉
Looking forward to other posts you have in store, because it’s proving to be very informative!- Emily Rumble

Do digital natives exist? Is there a difference between the 2001 digital native and the 2018 digital native?- UPDATED

The following is an updated response to the question that I covered in Blog post 1 “Do digital natives exist? Is there a difference between the 2001 digital native and the 2018 digital native?”, whereby I have taken on the advice and feedback from my peers to improve the quality of my post. Any added and updated information will be written in Pink!

Way back in week one, we focused on the concept of “digital natives” and engaged in a reading by Mark Prensky, who first coined the term. According to Prensky, digital natives are people who grew up in the age of technology and because of this, are able to use various technologies fluently (Prensky, 2001). He describes the generations before the advancement of technologies as being “digital immigrants”(Prensky, 2001). These are people who have learnt to adapt to progression in electronics. This process according to Prenksy, is similar to the learning of a new language, and because of this, all digital immigrants will always have a digital accent.

(Technology Insider Group, 2018)

But do they actually exist? After initially reading Prensky’s article it is easy to agree with his ideas. There is an obvious difference for example in the way my grandmother chooses to engage with technology as opposed to my 12-year-old brother. However, in saying this, there are various aspects of Prensky’s argument that I’d have to disagree with. To begin, I find myself in opposition to Prensky’s notion that, because one was raised around technology, they are more adept at its advancements. By Prensky’s definition, I would be considered a digital native, however, I must admit that I often have difficulty performing even the basic of IT functions and it is often people older than me, who would be considered  digital immigrants, who are the ones to teach me. For example, it was only last semester where I had my first encounter with Microsoft Excel. My tutor an older lady and obviously a digital immigrant (i hope that’s not rude to say) had to teach the basic functions of Excel to myself, along with 4 other girls my age. It is due this that I’d propose that anyone who learns something new on technology is bound to be a digital immigrant and it is purely practice, rather than a generational thing that leads to people becoming digital natives.

In her feedback, Carla challenged me to rethink my perspective on the digital native and suggested that perhaps individuals who work with technology should be considered “digital natives”. I think this is a really interesting point and can’t help but agree. Individuals who work in IT are trained specifically to have knowledge of digital and communication technology. Often, these are people who are not born in the age of technology. They did not necessarily grow up with smartphones and laptops, but have through practice and study, have learned and often surpassed the skills of digital natives. This further weakens Prensky’s idea of what it means to be a digital native. 

In saying this, if I accepted Prensky’s notion of the digital native, there is no doubt that the digital native of 2001 (the time Prensky was writing) is vastly different from the digital native of 2018. Perhaps the digital native of 2001 is now a digital immigrant to 2018 technologies and electronics. Whilst the digital native of 2001 grew up with nokias and brick phones, the digital native of 2018 was born into a world of smartphones and siri.  Whilst both may be considered “digital natives” the language that they speak in has advanced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Houston Press, 2011)

 

Houston Press (2011). How Things Change: Technology in 1991, 2001 and 2011, Graphically Displayed. [image] Available at: https://www.houstonpress.com/news/five-nfl-season-win-total-bets-to-win-you-money-10817035 [Accessed 6 Sep. 2018].

Technology Insider Group (2018). Digital natives vs Digital immigrants. [image] Available at: http://technologyinsidergroup.com/business/digital-natives/ [Accessed 6 Sep. 2018].

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, Digital Immigrants part 1. One The Horizon, 9(5), 1–6. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy2.acu.edu.au/docview/214629645/fulltextPDF/4831F56930814AD1PQ/1?accountid=8194

 

Carla challenged me to rethink my perspective on the digital native and suggested that perhaps individuals who work with technology should be considered “digital natives”. I think this is a really interesting point.

Hi all! This page will be used to display the feedback that I have received from my fellow COMM140 students, as well as two pieces of feedback that I have given to my peers on how they could also improve their blog.

Feedback on my first blog post

I would love to give a special thank you to both Carla and Emily Rumble for providing me with insightful ideas and responses to my first blog post “Do digital natives exists?”. Please see my fourth blog post for how I have taken on board the advice of my peers and updated my discussion on this question.

Feedback that I have given to others

My first piece of Feedback was for Carla Vivarelli, whose blog was professional as well as insightful. To see my feedback displayed on Carla’s blog, simply click the following link:

https://carlavivarelli.wixsite.com/website/four

“Hey Carla, I’m Abbey and. ill be reviewing your first blog post “Could i live without Digital and Communication Technologies?”. Firstly, im a big fan of your blog’s theme and layout. It is professional and inviting and the little cactus symbol at the top is a cute personal touch. On your first post i love your reference to Boyle. The infromation is particularly insightful and adds depth and credibility to your argument. I’d probbaly flesh this out a bit more as it is really interetsing information. For example, maybe using examples of how digital technologies can make us feel safe. I also loved how you related the topic to your own lif eby giving example of your morning routine. Perhaps to make your post a little more engaging you could add more pictures and visual information or provide statistics through images that can further enhance your argument. Keep up the great work!”

 

My second piece of feedback was for Leah Vorgiatzidis, whose blog was fresh and inviting! To see my feedback on Leah’s post, visit her blog at the following link:

https://leahvorgiatzidis.wixsite.com/comm140leahv/blog-1

“Hey Leah, I’m Abbey and I’ll be reviewing your first blog post “Is the final product more important than the design and production process?”. Firstly I’d just like to say that I love the theme of your blog. The moving background is intriguing to the eye and adds a unique sense of tranquillity and personality that’s welcoming, and makes me look forward to reading on. On your first post, you have done a fantastic job of backing up your opinion with evidence from relevant academic sources, adding credibility to your argument. Perhaps to further enhance this, you could add personal anecdotal evidence from your own life to make your post more relatable to your readers, and also to add more depth to your argument . Lastly, I really liked the little image on the right of your post. The colours tie in nicely with your theme and keep everything looking interesting and professional. Keep up the great work!”

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We’ve all been there. It’s 10am Monday morning, and you’re stuck in a lecture theatre listening to your lecturer read mechanically off the powerpoint slides. The time just seems to drag on. Is there really anything worse? If you can relate, you’ve likely been a victim of death by powerpoint.

 

In our day and age, PowerPoints are inescapable. Likely, if there’s a presentation, there’s a PowerPoint accompanying it.

“Microsoft’s PowerPoint program is the most commonly used presentation software” (Amare, 2004)

Death by PowerPoint refers to the phenomenon of badly utilised presentation software such as PowerPoint (Rouse, 2018). So if millions of students are murdered in lectures each year, why is PowerPoint still so popular?

The truth is, the issue lies not in PowerPoint itself, but in the ways that presenters have now become reliant on using it to display information, rather than using it as an aid. The result? A bored and disengaged audience. In his article “Powerpoint is evil” Tufte argues that PowerPoint is misused in education, meetings and seminars more than it is used efficiently.

So how can we ensure that we avoid death by PowerPoint? The obvious answer would be PowerPoint abstinence; but if you must, I have compiled some top tips from various websites as to how to avoid this new phenomenon.

1. The 1 + 1=0 Rule (Katsiantonis, 2018)

Don’t overwhelm your audience by putting too much information on your slides.

Research shows that when information is displayed and then read directly off the slides, the utilisation of PowerPoint “redundant”(Wang, 2018). Katsiantonis (2018) recommends displaying information In bullet points and expanding on them, rather than reading directly off of slides.

2. Use the size of your text and font to your advantage

Now that you’ve limited the information to dot points, use font and size to draw attention to the information that is most important to the presentation (Katsiantonis, 2018)

3. Don’t have more than 6 objects on your slide.

According to Katsiantonis,  “people will actually need 500% more time & energy to get the point of your slide if you add just one more item beyond 6”(Katsiantonis, 2018).

 

In my future presentations at uni as well as my future teaching practice, i will definitely be taking this advice on board. NO MORE DEATH BY POWERPOINT!!

 

 

Amare, N. (2004). Technology for technology’s sake: the proliferation of PowerPoint. Professional Communication Conference, 2004. IPCC 2004. Proceedings. International.

Katsiantonis, N. (2018). 5 Presentation Tips to Avoid Death by PowerPoint. Retrieved from https://blog.100mentors.com/presentation-must-knows-5-tips-to-avoid-death-by-powerpoint/

Tufte, E. (2003). PowerPoint is evil. Wired Magazine, Septembre.

Wang, A. (2018). Redundancy Principle – Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning. Retrieved from https://sites.google.com/site/cognitivetheorymmlearning/redundancy-principle

Smartphones, laptops, ipads, smartwatches – What would we do without them?

In this day and age, it seems to be more common to sit down in a public space and see people on their various forms of digital technology, than it is to see people without it. Indeed as I sit on the train on my way to uni, I am no exception.  Smart technology has undoubtedly changed the world whether it be in the ways that humans interact with each other, or simply the way we go about our daily lives, humans and technology now seem to be irrevocably intertwined. Try telling a twelve-year-old to stop playing fortnight, and you will soon find out that people these days simply cannot live without the internet.

Of course, that is an exaggeration, humans have survived before the internet, and if it were to happen, humans will be able to survive in the absence of it. However, to frame the question differently I am doubtful as to whether I could live as comfortably as I do now, without the technology that we have today.

One website called TechSpikes establishes three main reasons why we “cannot live” without technology. The reasons being: It offers us entertainment, keeps us safe,  and educates us (TechSpikes, 2018).  I can’t help but agree.  According to a 2015 Media consumer survey by  Deloitte 60% of Australians use the internet as their preferred form of entertainment (Alcorn, Harding & Johnston, 2018). Technology has allowed for increased safety in the lives of technology users.  With the invention of the smartphone, we have access to 000 at the touch of our fingertips. The Apple iPhone actually has a feature whereby if you press the off button 5 times fast, the phone will send an emergency SOS to the nearest police station. I know within myself that if I am ever alone, I feel a lot safer carrying my mobile phone. It is hard to say that in a world without technology, I would still feel this secure. In terms of education, technology has changed the way we access, learn and gain information. Whereas in the past, gaining information was found after hours of searching through books, with the rise of technology and the internet, we can find information instantly. Websites such as Wikipedia have replaced the good old encyclopaedia and effectively made our lives a lot easier. In terms of education as well, technology has allowed for new ways of learning. Instead of reading out of a textbook or rote learning, students who are visual and audio learners can benefit from watching educational videos.

(Alcorn, Harding & Johnston, 2018)

 

So, although technically we could survive without the internet, there is no denying that we would not be able to live with the comfort, ease, and security that technology allows us.

 

 

 

References

Alcorn, N., Harding, C., & Johnston, S. (2018). Media Consumer Survey 2015 Australian media and digital preferences – 4th edition (p. 5). Sydney, New South Wales: Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. Retrieved from http://file:///C:/Users/Abbey/AppData/Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/deloitte-au-tmt-media-consumer-survey-2015-100815.pdf

Alcorn, N., Harding, C., & Johnston, S. (2018). Figure 3: Ranking of preferred sources of information by generation [Image]. Retrieved from http://file:///C:/Users/Abbey/AppData/Local/Packages/Microsoft.MicrosoftEdge_8wekyb3d8bbwe/TempState/Downloads/deloitte-au-tmt-media-consumer-survey-2015-100815.pdf

TechSpikes.com – Uncovering Technology. (2018). Retrieved from https://techspikes.com/three-important-reasons-we-cant-live-without-technology/

Way back in week one, we focused on the concept of “digital natives” and engaged in a reading by Mark Prensky, who first coined the term. According to Prensky, digital natives are people who grew up in the age of technology and because of this, are able to use various technologies fluently (Prensky, 2001). He describes the generations before the advancement of technologies as being “digital immigrants”(Prensky, 2001). These are people who have learnt to adapt to progression in electronics. This process according to Prenksy, is similar to the learning of a new language, and because of this, all digital immigrants will always have a digital accent.

(Technology Insider Group, 2018)

But do they actually exist? After initially reading Prensky’s article it is easy to agree with his ideas. There is an obvious difference for example in the way my grandmother chooses to engage with technology as opposed to my 12-year-old brother. However, in saying this, there are various aspects of Prensky’s argument that I’d have to disagree with. To begin, I find myself in opposition to Prensky’s notion that, because one was raised around technology, they are more adept at its advancements. By Prensky’s definition, I would be considered a digital native, however, I must admit that I often have difficulty performing even the basic of IT functions and it is often people older than me, who would be considered  digital immigrants, who are the ones to teach me. For example, it was only last semester where I had my first encounter with Microsoft Excel. My tutor an older lady and obviously a digital immigrant (i hope that’s not rude to say) had to teach the basic functions of Excel to myself, along with 4 other girls my age. It is due this that I’d propose that anyone who learns something new on technology is bound to be a digital immigrant and it is purely practice, rather than a generational thing that leads to people becoming digital natives.

In saying this, if I accepted Prensky’s notion of the digital native, there is no doubt that the digital native of 2001 (the time Prensky was writing) is vastly different from the digital native of 2018. Perhaps the digital native of 2001 is now a digital immigrant to 2018 technologies and electronics. Whilst the digital native of 2001 grew up with nokias and brick phones, the digital native of 2018 was born into a world of smartphones and siri.  Whilst both may be considered “digital natives” the language that they speak in has advanced.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Houston Press, 2011)

 

Houston Press (2011). How Things Change: Technology in 1991, 2001 and 2011, Graphically Displayed. [image] Available at: https://www.houstonpress.com/news/five-nfl-season-win-total-bets-to-win-you-money-10817035 [Accessed 6 Sep. 2018].

Technology Insider Group (2018). Digital natives vs Digital immigrants. [image] Available at: http://technologyinsidergroup.com/business/digital-natives/ [Accessed 6 Sep. 2018].

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital natives, Digital Immigrants part 1. One The Horizon, 9(5), 1–6. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com.ezproxy2.acu.edu.au/docview/214629645/fulltextPDF/4831F56930814AD1PQ/1?accountid=8194