TEACHING THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA

I love this idea. It holds so much potential. For my assignments in this course, I have been following online communities that focus on debates and logical assessments of theist and atheist arguments. I learned so much from this community. It is a testament to how you can use social media to teach even abstract and seemingly technical things. It would be incredible to see more of this in other subjects and areas of knowledge. 

In the classroom, however, I am not sure. In fact, I think I am still against it. When learning about formal logic from videos from Matt Dillahunty, all I can think about is how I would love to have an academic class with him. Social media can complement academic classroom instruction and format community of practice rather than substitute it, or even be a major part of the class. 

For work, that would be annoying. It would be distracting and cumbersome. However, it is a trap. Companies will try to argue that an employee should always be available because, as we have seen this week, we are always on our phones. 

Social media has its place and is a wonderful thing, but balance is necessary. 

Toxic Detoxing

I tried the detox. It was my goal to spend a whole day without my phone and computer. However, I work remotely and a student asked to reschedule his class on the very day I planned on being away. So, I was not able to forego my computer, but I avoided the phone as much as possible. 

It was harder than I thought it would. First, my friends just literally ignored that I did not want to be bothered. Moreover, my sister, who was told to text if necessary, understood her concerns about the new Constantine movie to be of the utmost pressing importance. So, a lot of people kept texting. It was especially difficult and distracting because I have the texting app on my computer as well. 

I also found it hard to stay away from the phone. It was almost impossible. For example, I set out to relax with Netflix. But it asked me for a validation code that was sent to...the...phone.... Then, I ordered pizza. I needed the confirmation from the app (code from the driver) that was sent to...the phone.... then I had to move money from one account to the other to cover a bill. I can only do that through the..phone...

Even when isolated from social media, the phone is an intrinsic part of our lives now. The idea of the social naive rings true indeed. This new perspective makes me think that the transition from direct and physical socialization to Web 2.0 is nothing more than a natural occurrence at this point. However, the banalization is still true. I set out to relax and learn something by watching a documentary. The technology was distracting and hindering even as I sought to focus. It seems that we have a new master now. A false idol that pulls us into a life entangled with technology that makes life easier but less meaningful. 

WEEK SIX

 WEEK SIX POST

Crook (2012) got me thinking. More and more, we see the concept of "digital native" coming up. While I still have a serious gripe with the WHAT of social media, I can see, better now, the value of the HOW of social media. I must admit that I loved to engage Destiny and the ACA on X and YouTube. I did learn a lot. However, these examples seem outliers to a data population devoted to lunacy and debauchery. But, if one seeks to find value in the new order, one can see that immersion is a good thing. 

As we immerse ourselves in social media and all the concurrent advertisements for the new sawdust hamburger, garbage clothes, plastic food, etc. product that promises to fill your anxiety (it won`t), we at least have the potential to change our ontology to augmented beings living in an interconnected reality. Hail the Matrix. 

I also enjoyed seeing the plastic fruit you are all eating (I live abroad. Haha). I recall the social media posts that exposed China (sorry if it is not inclusive) for doing the same ages ago. While social media connects the two instances, and globalization brings it to you, I wonder, since it was known to be in China, why has no one noticed the issue until now? 

Were you scrolling? Perhaps, the ontology that social media is infecting is not of an augmented being, but augmented ignorance and passivity. 

• Crook, C. (2012). The 'digital native' in context: Tensions associated with importing Web 2.0 practices into the school settingLinks to an external site.. Oxford Review of Education, 38(1), 63-80. doi:10.1080/03054985.2011.577946

BLOG MAKEOVER

 Challenge Accepted

Yes. My blog was ugly. Por guy looked like this: 

Now, bro looks like this: 

Incredible what some fillers and a new haircut will do. 

I changed the background to the main color, added a home picture, and enabled the most viewed widget, and added links. I do not see Blogger as a very user-friendly platform, and I am not too keen on the general look. I would love suggestions for better platforms. 

My future Self changed his address.

    The Ship of Theseus is a philosophical paradox that explores the nature of identity and change. It asks whether a ship with all its components replaced remains fundamentally the same. The thought experiment begins with Theseus' ship being gradually repaired by replacing each wooden part with a new one. Once all the original parts have been replaced, a question arises: is the ship still the same ship Theseus sailed? Furthermore, if the old parts are reassembled into a new ship, which of the two is the true Ship of Theseus? This paradox delves into questions of identity, continuity, and the criteria that define an object's essence, challenging our understanding of what it means for something to remain the same over time.

I love the idea of sending a letter to my future self. I would love to encourage him and let him know he can do it. However, IS he my FUTURE self? 

Can you step on the same river twice? The point of life is to grow in mind. After enough discrete differentiation, qualitative differences will occur. In that manner, the future qualitatively different selves may not represent the current ones. 

It is an accomplishment to get to a future point in life and, despite hardships and mistakes, to not want to change anything because that would have changed who you are. I love the idea, but it is folly if you assume you will grow, as you should. 

WEEK FIVE REFLECTION: MERLOT and SOCIAL MEDIA

                   

I found this module interesting. Merlot was amazing. I found courses and, most importantly, assessment materials on different subjects. I loved the neuroscience and the history sections. Between these OERs are such great finds that enhance acessibility and enrich education. The part about social media and intellectual attributions was relevant. I recalled a funny social media (Instagram and YouTube) fight between two creators over a song. 

One perspective is that, even after removing the plagiarized song, Peyton Parrish is still successful. He built his social media fame with unattributed songs and only took them down after he had millions of followers who did not care about the more minor creator Peyton plagiarized. The attribution would have been meaningless as he did change the song. 

It seems that social media is a place designed to provide content only measured by the demand of the audience. 

New Vulgar Acropolis: Social Media in the Classroom

 

The idea of bringing social media into the classroom is interesting. On the one hand, if in a physical synchronous setting, social media would not be too useful as discussions can be done in person. In a synchronous and/or remote setting, this would be more interesting. Social media can be used to expand classroom discussions and fodder practice opportunities. In my experience with the literature on pedagogy, communities of practice that focus on social constructivism are optimal for learning. Especially nuanced and skill-heavy endeavors. 

I had a teacher in my freshman year use social media to our advantage. It was a philosophy class that met three times per week for 45 minutes. However, I remember spending hours per day engaged on the blog. We would have lengthy discussions. People would suggest videos and articles. We had some grievous wars between the liberals and conservatives (under different banners). It surely made the class memorable and helped me recall, apply, analyze, and synthesize information much better. I will never forget it.