Reflective Post

I'm sorry this is so LATE but I completely forgot we had to do one of these!! I really liked the blog aspect of this unit, and found that it was really useful in distinguishing certain ideas and different opinions from everyone in the tute. It also gave me an opportunity to think about what to say and what the issue really meant to me...instead of just thinking of random stuff like in a regular tutorial!

I found this unit overall really interesting - especially with the evolution of technology and the virtual world. I'm pretty sure the line between human and machine will continue to become even more blurred as technology evolves...we'll probably look back on this day and wonder what all the fuss was about with virtualized worlds and cyborgs! I mean we depend so much on technology and machines nowadays its hard to think what life would be without them...therefore human/machine relations are probably somewhere in the future - its just a matter of when.

Reflective Post

For me the blog was very useful as it enabled me to participate more than I ever would in a physical tutorial. The fact that the blog is asynchronous gave me the time to think and construct a better argument, as opposed to simply trying to say anything in tutorials in order to fulfil the participation criteria for the unit. Also I agree with a previous comment that it ensured the readings were completed and fully engaged with as opposed to merely skim reading. Additionally I think it was beneficial having people present each week via the blog as this offers a different perspective each week and conjures up ideas that I may not have thought of. Overall I thought the blog was successful and an idea that could be useful in other units.

In terms of being a cyborg, in concurrence with others, I too am uneasy with the idea of us all being cyborgs. I understand that society and individuals are now closely linked to technology and it is intrinsic to our everyday lives but I’m not sure I’m convinced with the whole concept. I appreciate that with so many body-altering/enhancing products available in contemporary consumer society people are slowing veering away from being completely natural but still as I have said I’m still not completely comfortable with the idea.

Reflective Post

The weblog for me is a new learnig experience, and it is really useful because the particular timeslot for the tute would become more flexible. Also the weblog offers us a longer presentation and comments. We don't necessary attend the tute on the fixed time (because 5-6pm I must have dinner! lol), instead we can post on our comments whenever and wherever we have our thoughts. The course material and the readings are very relevant to the lecture. But I think the workshop can be replaced by the posts and comments in weblog because sometimes the material for these two are duplicated.

Actually,I still have the difficulties of understanding "to be a cyborg" as Donna Haraway suggested. Of course nowadays, our lives are surrounded by technologies. But is it necessarily to collapse those dichotomies: human/machines, natural/artificial, flesh/technologies? Why don't we just merge them when we need them, either separate or together?

It is same as my idea: why don't we have a large weblog without the separation of tute groups and bring with the ideas from other groups together?

One problem for the weblog is that when editing the post or posting the comment, the original post doesn't come up to the top. We cannot identify which one is the most popular post.

Reflective Post

I felt that the weblogs were useful for learning purposes. They were a good break from real tutorials because they were so much more flexible. Also I felt that I gave more attention to the readings because I had to write about them. Furthermore I felt that weblogs were a useful way of demonstrating some of the issues that were explored in the lectures. Weblogs take away the intimidation that can be felt in real tutorials and allowed for a more free exchange of ideas, especially for people much like myself who have trouble verbalisng their thoughts in public spaces. Overall the weblogs were one aspect of the course which I enjoyed.

I personally do not believe that I am a cyborg. Yes, I rely on technology, both for my physical well being as well as for my life in general however I still don’t think this alone makes me, or any of us, cyborgs. I still believe that the term cyborg has connotations with a being that is largely artificial and is more machine than human. I think the ability to feel, to have emotions, to be individuals is what keeps us from becomming cyborgs. Furthermore I wouldn’t ever want to see myself as a cyborg.

Reflective Post

I found the weblogs useful because it provided a more flexible arrangement to tutorials. However, I found it difficult to clarify concepts using the weblogs. Overall though the weblogs worked for me, it was a nice change of pace and useful to put theory into practise. It actually felt strange having face to face discussions in tutorials after webloging.

I still do not feel entirely comfortable identifying as, or being perceived as, a cyborg. The concept is great but I would prefer a different term. The term cyborg feels dated and stirs up images of cartoon aliens rather than offering future for feminism. The unit felt like a history of the internet and cyberspace and it was useful to have an understanding of the founding concepts. It was difficult at times to apply the theories in a contemporary context. That said, I enjoyed this unit and hope more units go online.

Week 12 Reflective Post

I think the weblogs were useful for learning purposes. I thought that you were forced to put more time and effort into thinking through the readings than you probably would in a tute. I also enjoyed the weblog's flexibility. Not having to go to a tutorial at a set time each week was great! It meant I could do my blog post's on the weekend, late at night... whenever I had a spare moment!

I am still not sold on the cyborg idea... I can understand Haraway's argument, but I believe to be a cyborg you need to be made-up of part of a machine, such as prosethic limbs etc, I do wear glasses occassionally, but I am not fully convinced that they would make me a cyborg...

The things I most liked about this unit was the way tutorials were broken up into halves- half being in-class tutes and half being posts on this blog. The usual routine of going to a tutorial at the same time and day every week does get monotonous, and it was good to be able to break up this routine a bit!

The think I most disliked about this unit was probably some of the workshops. While some week's topics were quite interesting, some other weeks were slightly less captulating.

All in all, though I quite enjoyed this unit :)

Do we....

I missed last weeks lecture, do we have an RL tute this week or is it online?