Reflection

Reflecting on what I have learned this week or its better said for the first three weeks of this course, I have realized that I am not up to date with technology. As a student this experience has been pleasant because I have learned so much in such a short amount of time. For example I never knew I could create a document with my Google account and share it with someone, and have them make changes to it. Or share my pictures with my professors by pressing a button. Nor did I know how to create a blog and work with it through my phone. It is incredible what we can do and how it is done. Watching 'Shift Happens' was very interesting, but watching 'The World is Flat' was a bit scary. It made me realize how everything is happening so fast. Technology is being updated at an incredible speed and who knows what else to expect. I hadn’t realized the world is flat until Thomas Friedman explained the three great era’s of globalization. According to Friedman we are in the third era, where the world is build around individuals; individuals can globalize themselves. I was able to fully understand this yesterday when I ordered pizza on line. I ordered on line because I was saving 20%, but I realized, like Friedman said about Southwest Airlines, that the individual becomes the employer. There is no interaction with another person on the phone, I was able to create my pizza the way I want it and get it in my house without speaking to anybody on the phone. It was really cool because I was able to experience the third era in a new way.

As an Educator I would use all this in the classroom. I would encourage students to share their documents with other students by working in groups or with a partner. Or to share with another student just to proof read. Also turn assignments in through e-mail to save paper and space in my desk. There is so much we can do.