Aesthetics of the Everyday Through Tatiyana's Eyes
Tatiyana is a freshman in high school with a unique eye for capturing the experiences of youth. From schooling, to friendship, to love, to simply hanging out, Tatiyana brings these special moments into focus through precision and depth. Here is her story of the everyday.
My Gangsters
Anna Marie and Joey were playfully flashing their jackets when I saw that my camera naturally lit up the hallways so that everything in it stood out. I told them to go down the hall a little more and flash the people up ahead ! Anna Marie suggested that I take the picture with Joey too (: This reminds me of teenagers for sure -- always doing crazy, random things.
My Journalism Class
This is my most favorite picture. It really shows the personalities of my friends and how different they are. Savannah (second girl pictured from the right) has a really cool look on her face that gives away so much emotion! And Joey (right next to her) looks sly and charming. And of course Anna Marie, who always has a smile on her face.(:
Lemons
I took this during jounaslism. The yellow in this picture is just for Anna Marie because it's her favorite color; I decided to just get on the ground and take a random picture and she got right on the ground with me! When I see this picture, I think of happiness lemons! Haha (:
Together
Anna Marie and Elijah, two people who are an absolute mess ! This is the very first day they were going out. I took this picture only because I wanted to capture the very first moments of a blossoming relationship.(:
Fort Bliss Comic Book
If Fort Bliss were a comic book, I know that this is what it would look like. I took this while my sister Zoe was playing soccer on the parade field. Originally, there was a golden sunset, but when I played with the tones and hues, I found that this picture looks even more magical than a normal sunset picture ! (:
Social Implications of Technology in Education
Despite being a bit outdated, I found Castells' article The social implications of Information and Communication Technologies relevant to what's currently happening with technology and education. Castells breaks down the implications of information and communication technology on society based on several categories:
- Education
- Economy
- Society (inequalities)
- Space/Time (history and urbanization)
I'll limit my discussion to Castells points on education since it's necessary to think about technology in terms of how it impacts current trends in education, particularly urban education. Castells point of view is that ICT tools should be knowledge production tools that supplement, not necessarily replace, other learning tools in education. I appreciate Castells consistent points about generating relevant knowledge through ICT tools. Castells writes,
Our economy is informational because the capacity to generate relevant knowledge, and process information efficiently, is the main source of productivity and competitiveness for firms, regions and countries (237).
Interestingly enough, Castells' point about a productive economy reminds me of Mayor Bloomberg's recent comments about his choice for Chancellor of NYC public schools, Cathie Black. He says of Black,
"There is no one who knows more about the skills our children will need to succeed in the 21st century economy,"
On one hand, I can understand why it's necessary to consider how technology, for instance, can prepare learners for a productive and competitive economy, even if it does come across as Orwellian. Though I wonder what a complete focus on technology's role within education as tool to increase productively and competitiveness in our economy, says about our view of technology and education in general. I come back to Castells main point that technology should be seen as a supplementary tool in schools, and that "increasing computer equipment is not the answer" (236). Technological determinism aside, I think the quantity argument is an important point for us to consider because it speaks to how we use ICT tools as opposed to how many or what type of "latest" tech tools we use.
On another note, I wonder if Black, being a former high profile publishing executive, has any plans for implementing more technology into public schools seeing as how she and Bloomberg seemingly want to prepare our children for a competitive economy - like the little worker bees.
*cough cough*