Final Post!

Unbelievable, my final post!  It hardly feels like two months has already past but here it is my last post and now I'm counting down the last two weeks until my next practicum. 

For my final post I would like to discuss the McLuhan video.  The video was broken into his four laws regarding technology.  Those laws centre around what technology enhances, makes obsolete, retrieve and reverses into.   I’ve never really given technology much thought because it is so prevalent in my life.  I believe McLuhan lived in an era where technology was just beginning to change the way people viewed each other, themselves, and the world.  His views on technology and the media were very philosophical. 

I agree that technology has created a global village and in my opinion I see this as a positive.  Having family across Canada, the US and overseas technology has enabled us to keep in contact.  The advancement of technology allows me to view family pictures, comment on pictures and talk to family members via skype or face time.  Without today’s technology I would have little opportunity to keep in contact with these family members.

Technology has allowed us to learn instantly about situations in other countries.  I can turn on the television and watch another country’s news channel or find a news paper online and learn about events going on in that country.  People no longer watch just the local news but can choose tune into any country of their choosing.  Even this blog, it is a window into a Canadian’s life experiences that anyone in the world can view.

Technology does have negative elements.  The desire to constantly have the newest, fastest technology is now the norm.  We expect instantaneous information, there is no patience for wait time.  From personal experience being without technology is sometimes difficult.  The days when I forget my cell phone feel as if I’ve forgotten a body part.  Which is ludicrous, it’s just a phone, but I know I’m not alone in feeling this way.

McLuhan states that life can only be understood by looking backwards, but it must be lived forward.  No one knows how technology will affect civilization over time.  I do agree technology will and does and has changed civilization.  I do not agree with McLuhan’s statement that the stake of progress is our civilization.