New Media Environments: reflection

The video featuring Dr. Michael Weisch gave a very anthropological context to the idea of new media being pressed into societies.  His personal examples from  Papua New Guinea showed how changes in media are inevitable and affect everyone in the environment. This carries over well to the context of education because the power of new media, specifically the internet is demonstrably being neglecting in classrooms and many educational arenas.

The way this notion of new media effects me as an educator, coach, parent and leader is that I want all of my dealings to be positive.  I have many first hand experiences with educators sending a negative message about social networking and the use of the internet for non-productivity.  The bottom line is that as new media continues to grow, the new generations need to have a realistic and hopefully positive experience of how it can be used to be very productive.  Like old media has demonstrated, there will always be opportunities to use technology for selfish gains.  The best approach I believe is to teach our children to care, love, build-up and support each other in every avenue of learning, socially and academically.  This must include how we use the internet as more and more innovations unfold.  There must be a positive emphasis, where we use resources to extend the quality of our personal relationships, while expanding and sharing our learning.