The Victorian Internet


The evolution of technology is a pretty amazing thing and The Victorian Internet helped to encompass and showcase this. The Day the Universe Changed I spent most of the time watching it wondering if I was really supposed to be watching it. But once they started talking about the printing press, I figured I had the right video. These ideas and inventions came from someone identifying a problem. It took years of trial and error, money, trying to gather support for technology like the telegraph to come about. There were always naysayers even in today's world with modern technology.

While we have come a long way, technology isn’t where I thought it would be today while I was growing up. I grew up with the tv show the Jetsons, so I really thought by the time I was old enough we would have flying cars. There aren’t flying cars but there are cars that can drive themselves. With every advancement in technology there are significant changes to society whether they are immediate or not. Think about how much we rely on our phones now- literally everything can be done from them. You don’t need to go to the bank anymore, you can track your children, make investments, shop, order food, you name it- you can do it. I wonder what people like Samuel Morse or Thomas Edison would think about the iPhones or Alexa? 

Also, with the advancement comes new forms of dangers and crimes. As our students become exposed to the internet and social media, we need to help them navigate these new worlds. Worlds that might seem unfamiliar to us or too familiar to them. We need to focus on Digital Citizenship starting in the primary grades, not when they receive their device from the county. We need to help them to develop skills that will allow them to be safe and successful now and in the future.

Comments

  1. elvalentineOctober 5, 2019 at 6:25 PM

    You are absolutely right, Liz. We need to focus on Digital Citizenship with our primary students. My school is 1:1 in 5th and 6th grade, and though I think the majority of the students are doing what they are supposed to, I know every so often we have a student lose their computer privileges for a week. I do wonder if they were better prepared to be that independent on a computer if some of the problems would occur. And I know kids makes those choices on their own too- but I think there is a lot more we could do.

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  2. JulianneOctober 7, 2019 at 8:53 AM

    Your post got me thinking about how much technology has changed how we live our lives and the new curriculum that has had to be created because of it (digital citizenship now HAS to be taught in FCPS). I wonder what technology in schools will look like in another twenty years? What will we be worried about? Will the dangers that exist today (lack of privacy online, dangers to kids, etc.) be the same or will we have new ways of protecting people and and information in the digital space? It's fascinating. BTW, I was also Jetsons-lover and was pretty sure I would be riding in my hover-craft to work by now:-)

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