On Virtual Socialization.

We all seem to live and breathe social media.  Take that away for just two days, and we’re likely to suffer some serious withdrawal symptoms – ok, so perhaps that’s an exaggeration.  If you were to meet someone on the street and asked for his contact information, the likely response would probably be:  Are you on Facebook?  And don’t be surprised if you get directed to some other social networking site that you’ve never even heard of.  That’s right, technology is evolving by the minute as we speak!

This is all well and good but we have to ask – in today’s tech-savvy world, are we losing our sense of human voice and touch?  Is social media killing the art of personal communication, and how is it affecting our everyday lives?

As I look on my iPad I currently have apps for Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, LinkedIn, Instagram, Tango, Path (my new favorite), FourSquare, Voxer, and Google +. These are all different social media platforms that many of us take part in on a daily basis. Sometimes I wonder how I even keep up with it all. Tweeting one second, while updating my status on Facebook and posting a picture on Instagram the next, it can be tiring.

I believe social networking technology has changed our lives for the better, but at a cost. Social networking tools have made it nearly effortless for me to keep in touch with friends, family and colleagues. I can know what's on their minds, who else they know, and even what they are doing at this very moment. On the other hand, I'm not sure I need to know any of that.

While all humans need to feel connected to each other or to some cause, there are also times when we simply want to disconnect, and disconnecting is becoming increasingly hard thanks to social networking technology. As one who was bitten by the Blackberry bug, I can attest that the pull of these wireless electronic is often too strong to resist. Today, we experience a feeling of isolation when our Internet 

connections go down, revealing just how dependent we've become on the connective power of the Web.

I remember every time our internet wi-fi connection stopped working, meaning there are no e-mail, no voicemail, no Facebook, no Skype, and no Twitter, my siblings would panic for a moment but would eventually get out of their rooms and really talk. I enjoy those moments. I use various types of electronic communication on a regular basis and have to admit I can't remember what life was like without it. Enjoy the benefits of these technologies, but don't forget to make time for valuable face-to-face contact. There will never be a substitute for comforting words followed by a big hug!

Missing the Snail Mail?

Do you miss getting letters in the mail? Does email, facebook and twitter seem convenient but a little impersonal and stilted? Do you miss the anticipation of waiting for a letter, going to the mail box, finally finding it there, opening and reading it?

I love the internet. I love social media. I love creative and fun links. I love being able to find information in 30 seconds of googling it.  I really do love all these things.  But the thing I don't love about it all?  This crazy techy/internet/amazing information at our fingertips has really made us disconnected from the process of real connection.  It's not to say real connection can't happen over the internet, it can. But the connection that I feel sad about that I know I personally miss is the good old fashioned kind: a single heartfelt letter.

For all the fancy, multimedia modes of communication out there, nothing beats the thrill of opening finding a personal letter, written and addressed just to you.

I have vivid memories of mailing letters. Snail mail was a major part of my life before I became "rjean_sassyangel@yahoo.com" when I was 14. (Yes, that was my first e-mail. No, I don't use it anymore).

When I was a little girl, I used to help my mom decorate letters to her sisters. Sometimes she would let me draw flowers or balloons on the envelopes. She always allowed me to sprinkle her favorite perfume on the pages. I was enthralled by this process, when I was four-years-old. Creating something beautiful and watching it disappear into a box seemed like magic.

A few years later, I started writing letters of my own, to cousins and long-distance friends. Since I was an ugly duckling who wasn't very popular as a child, my letters were mostly sarcastic, with random short stories and dry observations included. My friends and relatives loved my sense of humor and encouraged me to continue writing. I did.

And then e-mail took over, all of the sudden. I remember my dad asked me to come over to the computer in his office so he could show me how to use the internet and create my first yahoo account through yahoo mail

And that was the beginning of the end.

2013 is another year immersed in the digital era of social media, cell phones and e-mailing. Long gone are the days of handwriting letters and sending them through the postal service. Days of snail mail seem like something that only existed in a pre-war movie.

Now, after all these years, I wish I could go back in time. Letters were so personal, so much more real. You could sleep with a love letter under your pillow. You could store letters from friends in a special box. Reading them, clutching them in your hands, brought back memories from a forgotten past.

I want to lovingly craft a memory which someone will cherish forever. I want to tell them news they won't hear on Facebook or in a text. Why can't we have that again?

Education And Technology: The Role of Technology in Education.

In the past, learning and education simply meant face-to-face lectures, reading books or printed handouts, taking notes and completing assignments generally in the form of answering questions or writing essays. In short; education, learning and teaching were considered impossible without a teacher, books and chalkboards. 

 Today, education and training have taken on a whole new meaning. Computers are an essential part of every classroom and teachers are using DVDs, CD-ROMs and videos to show students how things work and operate. Students can interact with the subject matters through the use of such web based tools and CD-ROMs. Moreover, each student can progress at his/her own pace. 

The role of technology in the field of education is four-fold: it is included as a part of the curriculum, as an instructional delivery system, as a means of aiding instructions and also as a tool to enhance the entire learning process. Thanks to technology; education has gone from passive and reactive to interactive and aggressive. Education is essential in corporate and academic settings. In the former, education or training is used to help workers do things differently than they did before. In the latter; education is geared towards creating curiosity in the minds of students. In either case, the use of technology can help students understand and retain concepts better. Research has shown, time and again, that students learn best when they are engaged. 

Through the use of technology, students can become active participants as opposed to passive ones where they simply receive instructions or information. Trust is another factor that enhances the learning ability of students. With the help of technology, teachers can establish credibility in what they are teaching. Web based tools can be used for providing demonstrations and examples that can help students establish credence in what they are learning.