Thursday, March 31, 2011

The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger (original narration by Randall)



Youtube is a gateway that allows people from all over the world to post and/or watch videos. Some are very serious, while others are very funny, like this one. The Internet allows people who did not have a voice before, have one. YouTube is one way of someone expressing there thoughts or feelings on a certain topic through the internet. YouTube can be quite addicting. Once you watch one video, more pop up after it has ended and it can be hard not to watch more. The internet has forever changed the way we look up information.

Games by Steven Jonson

Johnson, S. (2011). Games. In S. Cohen (Ed.) , 50 Essays (pp. 196-201). Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's.
In “Games” Steven Johnson highlights the importance of reading books but also the underappreciated benefits of video games.  His purpose is comparing reading and video games as entertainment and educational tools.  Video games improve not only hand-eye coordination and visual intelligence, they also encourage drive and the speed of information exercises the mind in new and powerful ways. Johnson argues that games improve one’s imagination and problem solving abilities. He imagines arguments that could be made against books (such as their linearity and isolating qualities) if video games had been invented first.  Johnson’s essay might help us better appreciate the creativity and intellectual benefits behind both traditional reading and modern video games.