Reina's Thoughts on Gadgets

I am sitting in my seat on my New York City bound plane, surrounded by upper middle class Jewish kids. One boy to my right is actually throwing a hissy fit because his in-flight entertainment console is not working. Ok, I know how much it sucks when those things do not work. But this kid up until this point was playing on his hand held gaming device. His sister, seated next to him, is fidgeting with an I-pad and I can only imagine what other gadgets he has on him.

The stewardess tries to console him telling him that they are not supposed to work until after take-off. He shrieks, “but his works” as he points to the person seated in front of him. The stewardess replies that what he sees does not indicate that his won’t work after take-off. He was unsatisfied, but there was nothing else to be done at the point.

Of course I was struck by his spoiled attitude, but I also wondered if I am any different? Granted I have a much better attitude, however, I too am connected to my gadgets. I don’t go anywhere without at least one of my devices. My phone, Ipod, and computer can all connect to the Internet through wifi. I am currently typing on my computer while hooked-up to my in-flight entertainment consle, listening to music.

Am I any different?

I have always valued my weekly Sabbath respite from these gadgets, pride myself that I attend a monthly in person book (not nook) club, and appreciate that my profession requires me to move to music in real time and space.

Once again I am reminded what my professors told me before embarking on a dance piece that utilizes technology. Envision a dance whose artistic aesthetic is enhanced by the technology you are using not one that is simply about using technology. I am beginning to believe that this principle should seep into my every day life. Allow the technology to enhance ones life not be its essence.

As I return to my New York City life, final projects, and the beginning of summer, I have started to envision how my days will unfold. I would like to connect to the people and places that are important to me, using technology to get me there, but once there I hope to be fully present and not to still be connected to my devices.  

Reina's Thoughts on the Internet

Over this past Passover Holiday I was able to spend some quality time reading. I came across an old issue of New York Magazine entitled "PORN and Junior-High Culture, the vanishing male libido, and the google of smut plus: Emily Nussbaum on 'Skins' and NC-17 TV." Although I was at first struck by the provocative cover article, the segment on Junior-High culture in this February 7, 2011 issue was very informative.

Time and time again we are hearing about the impact technology and, in particular, the Internet is having on our youth. I have already witnessed how it has affected my generation, no one really talks on the phone anymore people prefer the impersonal nature of texting, relationships are developed on g-chat rather than in person, and the boundary between what is personal and public has been completely blurred by social networking. As an educator who works with K-12 and, part of the Y generation, I am sandwiched in between two realms. I remember, appreciate, and grew up in the times of old, as well as value, understand, and utilize the technologies of new. I am also in direct contact with today’s youth.

Am I expected as a young teacher to help navigate students through this “newish” frontier for them?

Alex Morris, in his article “They Know What Boys Want,” focuses on young teen relationships. He discusses that this generation of kids’ “sexual maturation is inextricably bound up with technology.” They are exposed to more, they have access to more, and they live behind a screen. Morris mentions a teen who ignores her “boyfriend” in public, where they act like they are just friends, but have extremely intimate online conversations. It is as if this generation of youths can only communicate online.

So what is the big deal?

Teens also realize that it is not only easier to communicate online but is also easier to conceal the truth. Words of commitment and devotion can be written and copied to many “girl/boyfriends.” Actual emotions, whether good or bad, are only expressed through emoticons rather than visual confirmations and/or confrontations.

There is so much lost and gained by exposing our children to the Internet, so how do we keep up?


Over this past Passover I had the great opportunity of spending time with my cousins in Israel. They are all Israeli and range from 14 to 2 years of age. Technology exists in each one of their lives in different ways. I had the great pleasure of watching the Disney Channel with my 7-year old cousin. We were watching an episode from the TV series “The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.” In that particular episode characters of the show take part in a virtual online community where their self made avatars roam. One character describes it as an online world featuring their better selves. My cousin who was reading the Hebrew subtitles exclaimed that he wanted to join such a community. He immediately went to the Internet to search for it. After a few minutes, he came back to ask me if I could search for the program in English as he was not sure how to spell it. I was all of a sudden searching for “virtual world” and trying to navigate through the hundreds of hits. At some point I stopped and sat my cousin down next to me. I explained to him that what was taking me so much time was that I was trying to find a child appropriate world. He asked me why? I tried to explain to him that just as adults and children visit different places in the real world so too in the virtual world. Fortunately for me, he accepted this explanation. The last thing I needed was for his parents to find out that I gave their 7-year old access to a virtual stripper club or worse. I kept on thinking what would happen if he ended up on the wrong site and interacted with the wrong avatars. Isn’t the nightly news full of these horror stories? At the same time a lot of the kid sites had animal avatars, not realistic looking ones. I finally decided to look up the actual TV episode, I found out that Disney made up the program used on the show that was similar to but not identical to second city, which does not exist for children. After another search, I found something and we began to navigate the program together. Within half an hour my cousin lost interest.

This experience made me think about how I, as an adult, want children to navigate the web. More than anything I have learned that I cannot control what they view, but hopefully I can inform them how to search for appropriate material. 

Recently, I came across an article that uses “Second Life to Enhance Classroom Management Practice in Teacher Education.” 

Reina's Thoughts on Singularity

The February 21, 2011 issue of TIME Magazine was entitled "2045 The Year Man Becomes Immortal*." The asterisk led to the bottom right corner of the cover, "*if you believe humans and machines will become one. Welcome to the Singularity movement." I proceeded to read about and expose myself for the first time to the concept of singularity. The cover article begins with a dictionary definition. "sin·gu·lar·i·ty n: The moment when technological change becomes so rapid and profound, it represents a rupture in the fabric of human history." 

The idea that artificial intelligence (AI) will eventually outperform the capabilities of humans does not surprise me. Right now there exists artificial intelligence that outsmarts humans. For example, Watson the computer that played on Jeopardy! competed against trivia champions. As of now, what remains the same is that these AIs are being programed by man. Technology is not creating original thought nor producing innovative work. What is being suggested by singularists is that by 2015 AI will surpass the brainpower of a mouse, by 2023 surpass the brainpower of a human, and by 2045 surpass the brainpower equivalent to that of all human brains combined! Some even theorize that humans and machines will become one. Man will insert chips into their brains to function better. Eventually the line between human intelligence and artificial intelligence will be blurred.

So how does this affect me as an artist, as a person whose craft is based on creativity, on original thought?

Over the past semester I have embarked on a journey to incorporate technology into my art. My dance and technology professors alike have been warning/reminding me to use technology as a means to enhance my artistic vision, not to become the work. The artistic driving force behind the piece can not be the use of technology. So what happens when technology becomes a part of us? When there is no thought without it?

The article ends with the following thought: "Singularitarianism is grounded in the idea that change is real and that humanity is in charge of its own fate and that history might not be as simple as one damn thing after another." Whether I like it or not technology is changing at a much faster rate then I can keep up. It seems every few months another device is being launched and the current models are becoming outdated, while I struggle to find a way to stay relevant.