Teaching online has meant computers. Keyboards clacking, mice clicking, and screentime are a constant for me, my students, and a lot of other people. People complain about their eyes, their backs, and the awkwardness of ending a zoom call. However, even though these grievances are valid, the truth is that we are fortunate. If the pandemic had happened twenty or thirty years ago, online learning likely would have failed. Even today, when more and more of us are supposedly digitally literate and even digital natives, the learning curve for many students and far more teachers has been precipitous. In those doldrum moments when students feel down about online classes, it feels important to remind them that we are still working towards graduation; that despite the speed bumps, their lives continue to progress. There are many people around the world who are not so blessed.
Before the pandemic I lived a computer life in many ways. However, since March, what was once a lot of time online has become a lot more. Reflecting on this in recent days has brought me to some old subjects that are relevant today. In fact, the present-day relevance shows just how prescient they were years ago. They are subjects that revolve around privacy, our government, and the role of technology.
The first is the story of Aaron Swartz. Below you will find a documentary about his life, his ideals, and his quest to keep the technology for the people. Thinking about Swartz brought me to reading Corey Doctorow’s recent novel Attack Surface. Science fiction -the category booksellers use for this book- is not usually where I spend a lot of time. However, I enjoy Doctorow’s depictions of what technology is capable. I am only a quarter of a way through the book, but his protagonist’s navigation between using her hacker skills to defend protestors one day and to prosecute them the next, is a provocative way to push the ideas and ideals that Swartz defended into our current conversation. Swartz warned us about the internet’s power. It is now more present in our lives than ever and we should be thankful for many reasons. However, this tense trade where we receive a useful tool and sacrifice our privacy deserves reflection.
Before the pandemic I lived a computer life in many ways. However, since March, what was once a lot of time online has become a lot more. Reflecting on this in recent days has brought me to some old subjects that are relevant today. In fact, the present-day relevance shows just how prescient they were years ago. They are subjects that revolve around privacy, our government, and the role of technology.
The first is the story of Aaron Swartz. Below you will find a documentary about his life, his ideals, and his quest to keep the technology for the people. Thinking about Swartz brought me to reading Corey Doctorow’s recent novel Attack Surface. Science fiction -the category booksellers use for this book- is not usually where I spend a lot of time. However, I enjoy Doctorow’s depictions of what technology is capable. I am only a quarter of a way through the book, but his protagonist’s navigation between using her hacker skills to defend protestors one day and to prosecute them the next, is a provocative way to push the ideas and ideals that Swartz defended into our current conversation. Swartz warned us about the internet’s power. It is now more present in our lives than ever and we should be thankful for many reasons. However, this tense trade where we receive a useful tool and sacrifice our privacy deserves reflection.
