Reflection on Influential Technologies

          We use technology every single day practically all the time!  In thinking about which three pieces of technology I find most essential in my life, I had a hard time singling out just three.  I ended up choosing my cell phone, the internet, and tv. 

I find it hard to imagine my life without these three key technological concepts, as they have become such a staple in my every day life.   From getting up in the morning with my alarm clock on my phone, to staying connected throughout the day with the internet, and watching the news or my favorite shows before I go to bed, I have grown dependent on these devices.  Now with the internet being available on our phones and through our televisions, we really can be connected all day long, as many of us are. These technologies have an incredible impact on the ways in which we learn new information.

            I remember when I was younger in elementary school I would have to go downstairs and yank out the encyclopedias for my homework assignments.  I would find the letter that corresponded with my word of inquiry and go searching through the pages until I found the desired definition.  Before the internet the world depended on books, newspapers, and other documents for information.  However, once the internet was created and refined, it became the single best source for finding information, and as it was significantly faster and easier than leafing through encyclopedias, it quickly became the preferred method.  The internet makes learning easy, simple, and something that you can do with the click of a finger whenever you desire.  It puts a world of information at your fingertips and begs you to take advantage of it.  I can’t imagine going back to a time where you need to find answers in a library, and where finding that information wasn’t always a given. 

          The internet has impacted learning tremendously, and is now available through our cell phones and our television sets.    Our phones have become almost a third hand, as some of the students in the video were saying.  One student expressed that he wouldn’t mind if his phone were duct taped to him, a sentiment that sounds slightly scary, yet is a sentiment that is shared amongst many of today’s youth.  Our phones have become our one connecting object; connecting us to the internet, to our world of friends on facebook, to our favorite news websites, our favorite game apps, to virtually anything and everything we could desire.   While I initially resisted the urge to become attached to my phone, it seemed inevitable.  The freedom of knowing that you can obtain any information by means of a quick google search is both liberating and amazing.  From looking up recipes, to translating words, to connecting with friends around the world, the possibilities presented by the internet really are limitless.  So long as we use the internet for all its good, I think it’s a wonderful and life changing event to have the internet accessible through our phones with the click of a finger.

              The third technology I deemed as essential is the television.  The television is a great source of entertainment, news, distraction, and connecting agent.  Through it we’re able to stay up to date on all our favorite shows and current events from around the world, or just relax and zone out after a long days’ work.  The television provides us with live and accurate news from all corners of the world, and allows us to learn about what’s going on quickly and in an entertaining format.  Now that televisions can be hooked up with the internet as well, it allows us to always have a means of finding the information we’re searching for, and to always be connected.

             While I found the cell phone, internet, and television to be the most important technologies for me, many of the students chose differently.  Some choices were game consoles and systems, video cameras, laptops, music making programs, or photo editing programs.  I think being a little older, I appreciate the more basic technologies such as my phone, tv, and the internet as a whole, whereas younger kids may value specific programs more and not realize how life changing the internet is.  Growing up in school where the internet was still gaining popularity and making its way into schools, I got to see its transformation into this all encompassing omnipotent technology that it is now.  Along with my phone and tv, these technologies have transformed and come to define my life, and I certainly cannot imagine life without them.