Digital Nation Responses

After watching the video, I realized there was a whole lot more pros and cons about technology than I originally thought existed. In the movie they mentioned many consequences to living in a digital nation. One main issue that seemed to be heavily pointed out was technology and education. Students seem to get distracted quite easily today. They stated that when typing papers, there is no flow or consistency in the paper. Each paragraph is constructed very well, but there is no relation from one paragraph to the next. This is due to checking the cell phone, listening to music, or going on to some social media site. Also, while in class, when students are allowed to have their laptops during lecture they tend to pay less attention to their professor and more to distractions on their computer. This causes students to think they can multitask well, which has been proven that it's not all it's cracked up to be. 

Besides these consequences, there are actually benefits to living in a digital nation. Since there is no escaping technology, then why not incorporate it into a child's everyday learning. Using the internet as a way to engage the students in the classroom as brought such great results. Overall attendance increased and fighting in the school decreased. Students actually wanted to attend to school to learn something. Technology has also brought people closer together. Those who have played in virtual online games together had come to conventions to meet each other. Some got married, some became lifelong friends and it was because they first met over the internet playing a game.

My opinion of technology goes both ways. It definitely has changed the possibilities that we have to create art. Now those possibilities are practically unlimited. I do think that the way we appreciate digital art is much different than traditional art. Unless one has worked with digital art and knows how much time and long tedious effort goes into the creation, I think viewers appreciate the traditional art much more than a digital piece. To an uneducated eye, they may think, oh it was created on the computer so it must have been easy. Rather than actually seeing the dedication that went into a drawing or painting where they can physically see and relate, a digital creation doesn't show that organic-ism for the viewer to relate to. To experience the art is a whole different discussion. With technology we can feel as if we are a part of the piece. It allows for interaction that wasn't offered in the past.