GEDIs,
Here is an interesting ProfHacker blog post that talks about graduate students owning iPads and being too embarrassed to use them in public.
What do you think? Are there other technologies that might elicit these same emotions?
This is an interesting factor at play as universities move towards increasing their technological capabilities. It makes me wonder if/how this would affect students' off-campus learning.
Adam
Interesting article. I can see the students' hesitancy toward using this technology in front of their (possibly less fortunate) peers, but our self-consciousness probably leads to embarrassment more so than feedback from those around us. But does this embarrassment really hinder our ability to effectively use technologies? Is it just because the technology is too new to be considered mainstream? It's interesting to think beyond the utility of a technology and into the "status" realm. Is an iPad a practical, portable gateway to the Web or is it a status symbol? Seems like we often think the latter, even without realizing it (e.g., little girl from the blog post: everyone has one, so I need one).
ReplyDeleteI was more interested in one of the responses/comments - the person did not want to adapt to technological advancements because they are harmful to the environment, and such gadgets are non-recyclable. When these items are out-of-date, they are sent to third world countries to be sold as scrap metal so that people there can buy food. It's another whole different perspective altogether!
ReplyDeleteRose
That's interesting how the professor made that observation. I think there are other technologies that will elicit the same response. I was not consciously aware of it but maybe ipods when they first came out made ipod/iphone owners/non-ipod/iphone owners self-conscious. Maybe I am wrong to have this mentality but if it not broken don't fix it. If a new technology cannot be explained why I need to have it because of its features then why should I spend money to get it?
ReplyDeleteIt's neat to read this article because I have definitely felt that way myself. I bought a kindle before heading to Asia for a summer NSF program to collaborate with a lab in Singapore. Who wants to carry a stack of books through the airport? While I feel very lucky to be so fortunate, I have heard plenty of comments about owners of the newest technologies as “selfish elites,” and I have also felt too self conscious to use this technology in circumstances like traveling by bus into less developed regions as a tourist, even in the US. Doesn't quite make sense considering there is no way I'd ever blend in with the local people anyway, but I can't help but almost feel disrespectful to be so fortunate. Some of these feelings in students is probably healthy because at least they don't seem to be taking for granted that they have this opportunity. We could say with great gifts comes great responsibility, so we use them wisely rather than get rid of them altogether.
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