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Get to be used to reading E-BOOKS in My Life

                      I was used to reading paperback books, but the emerging of e-books made a change for me. Nowadays, so many books are turned into e-book version so that we can read them on all kinds of screens instead of on paper. For most of my courses on university, I chose to get e-book version of textbook from Amazon.com, CourseSmart.com, and other ways through the Internet. If I'm lucky enough, I'm able to find free e-book version of textbook or other books that I need right the way. It's pretty convenient.   Some people say publishing industry are facing a revolution of e-books and is likely to be replaced by digital publishing industry. I would say yes, but it will happen in the near future but not right now. Print books are still the main form in the book publishing industry. However, e-books do have great potential due to its features of convenience, environmental friendly ,  and spontaneity.

Social Media Tool Increases Group Effects

Human beings are always social animals. It is what makes human beings distinctive and distinguished from other creatures. Clay Shirky starts with this idea in the Chapter 1 of his book Here Comes Everybody. So called that human beings are social animals means people can't live without participating in different of groups at current social circumstances. What really influence human being's social life in terms of groups is group effects. Group effects usually indicates the outcomes from the ways of how people communicate and interact (connect, cooperate, and share) with one another. With the help of new social media technologies, such as cell phones, e-mails, and the World Wide Web, the group effort that leading to group effects is optimized and become better and easier to achieve than before.
             

 However, why those new technologies have such a positive effects? Shieky believes "When we change the way we communicate, we change society." This is a very important idea throughout his book. Cell phones. E-mails, instant messages, and the World Wide Web, all these new social media technologies largely optimize the way people communicate and interact with each other within different groups. Shieky used the example of Microsoft to discuss that social media technologies decrease the costs of management and make the process of coordination much easier than that through traditional ways. In other words, people are easier to form new groups and communicate with eath other through the use of new social media technologies, while the difficulties of coordination fall. Group's function that achieving its goals become more effective, so that the group effects are increased.

I also find an example in my life that is a manifestation of increasing group effects due to the new social technologies. I have experienced the difference of how college students communicate with their professors between Chinese universities and American universities. When I was studying in my Chinese university 2 years ago. I generally use traditional ways of communication to engage in the education process with my professor. For instances, I turned in written paper for every assignments; neither other students nor me used e-mail as communication tool to interact to professors and faculties; And I have to complish paper test for every course. The only thing I could recall in terms of social media tools were instant massages and social networking site for personal communication. But, there was a totally different story after I came to study here Ball State University. I used several new technologies to communicate and interact with teachers and professors for the purpose of education. So far, I've been kind of familiar with Facebook, Twitter, and I have been able to use e-mails, Inqusit, and Blackboard effectively. I find its much easier, much more frequent and flexible for me to communicate and interact with my teachers and professors.
          
       

Critically, new technologies won't directly or necessarily increase the group effects. Conservative people may also choose not to use them, and people who haven't been educated may not use them effectively. Also, the complexity of coordination is still exist. But, the good thing is "the new tools enable alternate strategies for keeping that complexity under control." The new social media technologies at least provide us a good to optimize the way we communicate and interact, which gives us a chance to build a better society.    

Everybody Edit and Everybody Benefit

 

     
         I think Wikipedia is a space where everyone who know something to participate. But both ordinary citizens and professional have their own responsibilities. Ordinary citizens can feel free to participate and edit. And professionals should provide some advices and some kinds of review to let information more accurate. So that, everybody can benefit from wikipedia when he or she want to know something quickly. 

HTML Placement Element---Color Blocks

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Technological Literacy and Education

         

             Inspired by the video that Chad showed us in the class. Most of the people in the video mentioned that technology especially computers is a important tool for people to work with. The main function of computer and related technology is gathering information quickly and effectively.


             Lots of technologies have been applied to educational field. Depends on my personal experience in high school and college, technologies have been widely used in both developed and developing countries.In spite of the level that how much the technologies are applied to is different between different countries, it's beneficial to at least have computers and projectors in my classrooms both in China and in United States. I can feel the teaching and learning process become more effective. During the developing of technology applied to educational process, the way how teachers and students interact with each other is also changing. A good thing that I've found is we students won't be bothered by time when we want to communicate with teachers, and the whole learning process is more convenient as well.

           Well, long story to be short, thanks for technology!