Especially after Vygotsky, The Victorian Internet was a welcome, fun book to read. I expected
the book to talk about things like how the telegraph came to be, important
people in its development, and how it progressed. What I didn’t expect was the
humor, and how they talked about all sorts of other effects it had. We usually
think about ‘effects of technology’ in terms of financial, political,
geographical, etc, but not usually in terms of how it affected individuals. The
heartwarming chapters on romantic relationships and friendships, but also the
chapters on individuals becoming obsolete made me more emotionally invested in
the development of the telegraph. For whatever reason I didn’t connect with the
TV show as much.
It’s like Will mentioned in class – what are the chances
that he would have met his wife if it weren’t for the technology of online
dating? My brother and numerous friends met their significant others through
the internet; I almost feel like that’s more normal than meeting someone
throughout our daily lives.
But I like that last week we talked a lot about the
individual. I feel like most of our classes have been talking about society as
a whole, or the teaching community, but its individual teachers and students
that we should always bring the focus back to.
Hi Stacey! I think it's great that you refer to a comment made in your class and that you tie it in with the book. I agree that meeting someone on the internet is commonplace now. I'm not sure, but I'm guessing that I'm older than you. :) I remember that I had a friend back in the 90s who met her husband online and we all thought that was REALLY WEIRD. So funny to think of that now. Also cool to think about how all of this affects us as individuals.
ReplyDeleteKim, I feel "old School" sometimes too when it comes to communication and dating via the internet. I remember the first time my youngest sister spoke of these friends that were coming to visit and stay at my parents house- Friends that she only knew from a "chat" room. My two other sisters and I were shocked and nervous. I think one of us even said, "What if they are serial killers or something?!"
DeleteStacey, I had some similar thoughts about this book. I like that Standage devoted so much of the book to discussing how the adoption and proliferation of telegraph technology affected people's lives on very personal levels. It seemed to me, too, so similar to the ways people interact over the internet. If you want a great investigation into the ways the Internet and mobile apps have changed the dating world, there is a book I love by the comedian Aziz Ansari called "Modern Romance". Ansar and a sociologist teamed up to really understand the ways people interact online. The book is funny and really provides a lot of insight into the way dating in the 21st century is unlike it has been at any time in history. I wrote in my blog post that technology advances and changes at light speed, but human impulses and desires will always be those same ones that originate in our caveman brains. "Modern Romance" is a great (and hilarious) exploration into that!
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to wonder if they knew how world changing their inventions were going to be. Seems they just set out to find a way to communicate faster with the next person down the line, someone they knew personally. I like that you mention bringing the focus back to the individual teachers and students. Who knows the students and their needs better than the ones who stand in front, or to the side, of them every day than teachers. Makes me think of the quote "“Yesterday I was clever, so I wanted to change the world. Today I am wise, so I am changing myself." by Rumi and how the big picture and large focus is beneficial and necessary but if we really want to prepare students to reach their fullest potential we've got to focus on the individual.
ReplyDeleteStacey, I appreciate your recognition that within each learning experience, we as teachers, do need to see our students as individuals. My main memory of studying Vyygotsky way back in the late 1980's and early 90's in my psychology and early childhood education classes was his explanation of the "zone of proximal development.
ReplyDelete