Blog 2: Web 2.0

In regards to technology, I don't think we realize how much we take for granted in our lives. Our reliance on the convenience of technology has just become something that is normal to us. I went camping this weekend and all the adults were telling stories about their college days while we were sitting around the fire. Almost every single story ended with, "And that was before we had cell phones or anything." It reminded me of this youtube clip. I never really think about how far technology has come and how easy it seems you can do pretty much anything with a click of your mouse.

It seems like everything we do and everywhere we go today has some influence of technology. In most cases this is a good thing. For example, look at the way the classroom has changed. It has gone from blackboards, textbooks and a pen and paper to smartboards, textbooks with CDs and laptops. Most teachers or professors include some form of medium in addition to their lectures. Selecting more than just one approach to communicate can prove to be much more effective. A slide show, poster, video clip or other type of visual aide engages more learning styles than just auditory learners. Without advances in technology it would not be as easy to do this.

On the other hand, the availability of technology can sometimes be a bad thing. The internet makes plagiarism extremely easy. It can be very tempting to do a quick edit copy edit paste, cut out a few words and replace them with your own. You have changed the sentence but not the original idea. Many students don’t realize that this is plagiarizing. The increase of internet plagiarism with advances in technology among just college students alone is significant. The fact that it is so easy to take ideas you find right at your finger tips can really weaken your ethos in writing. Another problem with information found on line that affects ethos is credibility. You may have sited your information right, but as the clip proves it is easy for anyone to come in and edit what is on the page.The ending of the video really hit me. We do need to rethink things; what we are reading, what we are quoting and what we are sharing. Technology has advanced but are we advancing with it in the right direction?

Blog Post 1: Quotation on Writing

"Have something to say, and say it as clearly as you can. That is the only secret." - Matthew Arnold

I liked this quote first of all because it was short and I didn't want to read all the long ones. After I did read it however, I thought that he had a good point that would be good to consider.
I believe this quote is dead on when it comes to writing. When I’m listening to or reading someone else’s writing, the last thing I want to do is sort through pointless information while looking for what is important. Long speeches and essays are tiresome and by the time I am done, I’m lucky to remember more than three things from what I have just taken in. It is much easier to determine the author’s purpose without all the extra information. Writing that is clear and to the point is easier for me to understand, therefore the purpose is simple to identify.
As a busy college student, large amounts of reading are not exactly something that is at the top of my list. In today’s society I do not think there are many people that would disagree with this statement. People are constantly on the go and wrapped up in their own lives too have a lot of down time for meaningless literature. Our lifestyles do not match up with extensive, heavy reading. An idea that is stated clearly and to the point would be more likely to be read, absorbed and remembered than something lengthy. This also pertains to long speeches. The audience would probably begin to think about other things going on in their lives or tasks they should be doing instead of paying attention to what the speaker is saying.
Finally, a clearly stated argument is much more affective than a case stated with random, rambling points. Information that is pointless to me is usually disregarded and thought of as an unprepared statement. I would be less likely to take an argument seriously if it is not presented in an organized and clear manor.
A clearly stated point will get you farther than something blurted out of impulse. I think Matthew Arnold’s secret to writing is something we can all use to improve ourselves as writers. However, the only part of his quote that i don't completely agree with is: That is the only secret. I don't think it is fair to include the word only. There is more to writing than just saying something clearly.

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