Just Add Water and Blog

I thought this article was very interesting, and really made me think about how video games might be related to learning literacy. There are many aspects of literacy and I believe that it is not just about being able to read and write. Literacy can be symbols, images, colors, ect. just like the article talks about. I also never really thought of literacy like this, but as I got more into the article, and actually started to think more about this, I guess video games could be considered as a form of literacy. Technology has become a major tool for thinking and learning skills in today’s world. With video games, a person has to be able to read certain things, listen to what is going on, and has to understand what is going on in the game. To me, this is a form of literacy in that all of these things a person has to do in video games makes them literate. In video games people have to be able to understand what is going on and what is expected of them. They have to know how to read directions and instructions that are being given to them. They have to know how to read numbers in order to see maybe how many points they have, or how many they need. Children have to know how to read codes if they are given them in the game. These codes they have to read can help them learn how to navigate the controller or just how to play the game right. I do think that video games can be educational and can help a child to learn different parts of the world or culture in some aspects of a video game. There are many different forms of literacy all over and I think it is just how you look at something to be able to say if it is a form of literacy or not. I think you could classify video games as literacy and I think it is just a different way and form of literacy.

This site that I found was pretty interesting on how television is now coming about more and more online. Major studios today are trying to attract more online video viewers too instead of just the television viewers. It makes it scary to think that the Internet could possibly one day replace the television completely. The Internet looks like it could replace a lot of things in the near future.

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/01/tv.future/index.html#cnnSTCText

I read in the AC press today about email letting students find out if they are accepted into the college they’re trying to get into. A lot of students felt that they were being “robbed” of their “big envelope” moment. I thought this was pretty interesting, and this is what a lot of colleges are doing now instead of sending the acceptance letters by mail. I myself liked getting my piece of paper saying if I was accepted or not. The article goes on to say how technology today is playing a big part in the colleges way of doing things. Almost everything for colleges now can be done on line, such as applying or even enrolling. More and more universities are going on the Web, and using it for everything. One part I read said how one college had an admission fee of $45 for paper application, while if applied on line it was free. Schools now feel that they can make that acceptance moment even better by using technology, and are trying to get more involved with the students by the way most students communicate. At one university the email that was created for the acceptance letter was actually done by a student from the university.

I think in the way Rowan communicates with the students is mostly done by email for most assignments in class, whether its lectures, homework, notes, syllabus etc. A lot of college students think it is best for colleges to take advantage of the technology. I also agree with this but when I read this article I agree with some of the students that getting that piece of paper is just different than an email. I think it is more exciting and means more. I like this tradition but I think as time goes on after a while almost all schools will probably send out acceptance letters by email.