Reflection on Reading

    When reading Dr. Dennen’s excerpt on the history of the Internet and World Wide Web I thought of my grandparents, who have lived through the early origins and development of the internet. When the world wide web emerged in 1989, they were almost 40 years old. They are currently in their 70’s and have no real concept of how to navigate the internet. They know how to google things, check their email, and occasionally watch a YouTube video. They strictly interact with the internet in a Web 1.0 manner and are horrified by social media. I wonder what my grandchildren will have to say about how I interact with the internet in 40 years.

    In Bruns’ (2008) article, The Future is User-Led, there was a section about educating produsers, in which educational institutions are challenged to ensure that their graduates have the capacity to be creative, collaborative, critical, and communicative. The articles goes on to talk about transforming the system from teacher-led and generated to user-led and generated. With the advancement of technology, I’ve seen the traditional classroom transform at all levels. Starting in elementary school, students are given tablets and laptops to complete assignments that harness their creativity. There are applications like Canvas and Padlet, that allow students to post content, collaborate with their classmates, and communicate with their instructor. I can recall a time when group work had to be developed in-person. Now, collaboration on projects can take place without ever physically seeing the other collaborators. Learning can take place without ever hearing a teacher’s voice or stepping into a classroom.

    In reading both articles, it made me reflect on where we were, and where we are now in terms of my experience with using and interacting with the internet. I can recall making my first MySpace page and burning CDs in high school. Dr. Dennen mentioned that most people are satisfied with using the internet in a Web 2.0 manner. I’m curious how long it will take for humanity to shift towards preferring Web 3.0. At this point in time, people enjoy interacting with Siri, Alexa, Google home products, and we are testing the waters with self-driving cars.

Comments

  1. Jeffrey FMay 21, 2023 at 5:41 PM

    Yes, the information Dr. Dennen described especially with regards to the history of the early origins of the internet was fascinating. I had no idea that the internet's initial developments were started all the way back in the 1960's. My parents are the same way with regards to their online activity and usage. It will be interesting to see what advances are made in the field of web browsing and just how computer usage and ease of access changes our lives in the future.

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  2. MarionMay 23, 2023 at 12:36 PM

    You mentioned that your grandparents "strictly interact with the internet in a Web 1.0 manner and are horrified by social media." It made me think of a poll my institution submitted to college students, asking them what they think about traditional in-person lectures delivered to the whole class. Unsurprinsingly, many students (the majority) replied they were not happy about them and they were expecting more interactive and dynamic courses. Yet, a significant amount of students (I think it was about 20%) reported they did not want them to change and were comfortable with such format. This event made me wonder if the concepts of digital natives and digital immigrants might be more relevant when suggesting that some people are more reluctant to change compared to others, and this has nothing to do with age or other factors. Maybe because the world changes so fast in numerous ways, some people just try to slow down the movement by staying out of the stream.

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