Joe Hoffman
Reflection on Googleing my name
I am not a digital person. I don’t face book, blog, except when forced to, or even email people. I only got a cell phone five years ago. It was no surprise to me that I am an internet nobody. After I went through the Google and Pipl searches, I didn’t really find much about my self. My full name (Joseph Paul Hoffman) turned up nothing my common name (Joe) gave me a few images of myself fishing on a boat that someone else had posted at some time and some art shows I have been in. My handle (joehoffman82) produced more results but not much, a few blog posts that a previous teacher had assigned. If you search my name in Google videos you will find two films that I made “David Lane the Guru”, and “God and His Fishermen”. I am glad that I have nothing to be embarrassed of that can be found on line.
There is nothing that I would like to change on the internet about myself. Its not that I have never done or said anything embarrassing, I’m just lucky enough to not have hade anyone post it on the internet. The worst thing one may find about me would be my criminal record which includes some misdemeanors I was convicted of in high school. I have changed my life significantly since then and I would gladly explain the transformation to anyone who had problems with my record. Thank God all of the stupid things I did when I was young were done in a time when no one could afford a digital camera.
I absolutely believe that teachers should be held to a standard higher than that of the rest of the community. What a teacher writes and wrote in the past should be a mater of serious consideration. I stand by everything that I have ever written no mater how offensive or politically incorrect it may be. I have never written anything mean, hateful, or untrue. When I say that what a teacher writes is a mater of consideration, what I mean is that it should be considered during the hiring process. I do not believe that when someone becomes a teacher that they suddenly lose there first amendment rights. Teachers are Americans just like the rest of us and while we may hold them to a higher social standard they can not legally be treated any different than the rest of us.
I don’t think I am going to do anything in particular to protect my reputation or my job other than being myself and perhaps watching what I say a little closer. I know that my religious and political views are not shared by most people in the field of education. Being philosophically outnumbered is something that I will have to contend with however, I refuse to cowardly hide my feelings or beliefs for fear of confrontation. This approach may someday come back to hurt me but I could not live any other way.
Places I found myself on line
flickr.cwww.coopkiosk.com/.../Hoffman/hoffman.html
www.coopkiosk.com/.../Hoffman/hoffman.html
http://www.coopkiosk.com/TheCoopKiosk%20folder/TheCoopKiosk/meettheartists.html
google videos search +Joe Hoffman
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Joe Hoffman
10/24/09
I am not a digital native, I can’t even figure out how to get on to the WebCT thing. The strange thing is that many of my closest friends are digital natives and we are the same age. I graduated from high school in the year 2000, a transitional period in digital history. Some of my friends were born into a world of digital technology but I certainly was not. I don’t view this to be a disadvantage in any way other than my ability to participate on the same level as the digital native.
I grew up in the country on 40 acres of forested land that was my personal playground. My father would not let a Nintendo in the home and I am glad he had this rul. I was able to enjoy video games at my friend’s houses but my real passion was for nature and real life adventure, hunting, fishing, exploring, and so on. I probably would not be anything close to the person I am today had my father not been so strict on this subject. Now that I am an adult and free to do as I will, I play video games often and enjoy them quite a bit however they don’t satisfy my real needs for real experiences.
My high school experience with technology was limited to using the computer to type papers, research a few things on the web, cell phones, and video games. I enjoyed games but my natural inclination towards most other forms of technology was one of resistance and reluctance. When I went to collage I found that with the maturation of the internet and its usefulness, it made school les difficult for me and I really began to embrace the change. I took courses with teachers that had us turn in papers on line and meet in group discussions in chat rooms and much more. I would say that the university system is much farther ahead of the high school and elementary school systems as far as submitting to the irreversible change that has occurred in our culture and especially our young students.
I did not need any convincing on this subject I am right there with Prensky when he says that “students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors”. As an art teacher I will have the opportunity to incorporate all kinds of technology in my class room and I fully intend to do so.
10/24/09
I am not a digital native, I can’t even figure out how to get on to the WebCT thing. The strange thing is that many of my closest friends are digital natives and we are the same age. I graduated from high school in the year 2000, a transitional period in digital history. Some of my friends were born into a world of digital technology but I certainly was not. I don’t view this to be a disadvantage in any way other than my ability to participate on the same level as the digital native.
I grew up in the country on 40 acres of forested land that was my personal playground. My father would not let a Nintendo in the home and I am glad he had this rul. I was able to enjoy video games at my friend’s houses but my real passion was for nature and real life adventure, hunting, fishing, exploring, and so on. I probably would not be anything close to the person I am today had my father not been so strict on this subject. Now that I am an adult and free to do as I will, I play video games often and enjoy them quite a bit however they don’t satisfy my real needs for real experiences.
My high school experience with technology was limited to using the computer to type papers, research a few things on the web, cell phones, and video games. I enjoyed games but my natural inclination towards most other forms of technology was one of resistance and reluctance. When I went to collage I found that with the maturation of the internet and its usefulness, it made school les difficult for me and I really began to embrace the change. I took courses with teachers that had us turn in papers on line and meet in group discussions in chat rooms and much more. I would say that the university system is much farther ahead of the high school and elementary school systems as far as submitting to the irreversible change that has occurred in our culture and especially our young students.
I did not need any convincing on this subject I am right there with Prensky when he says that “students think and process information fundamentally differently from their predecessors”. As an art teacher I will have the opportunity to incorporate all kinds of technology in my class room and I fully intend to do so.
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