Did growing up with Technology make a difference?

We are the generation that grew up with technology. We are the ones who went from the old blocky ariel phones

to the smart phones

that we know and love today. We went from PS1's

to Wii's

and Xbox's

and I have to wonder if it made a difference to how we live today? The current generation of kids didn't see how technology progressed, they were just born straight into a world full of iPads

and touch screens and interactive white boards.

It seems to me that my generation was the last to play on the streets and knock on people's doors asking if they wanted to come out and play. Most kids now will just ring/text asking if you want to play a game on the Xbox and talk over the microphones. While this advance in technology is amazing as it allows us to do our work better, communicate with our family half way across the world, it also seems to be turning children's brain into mush.

Are todays children taking technology for granted? I went into town and I saw a 10 year old with an iPhone and it was hard to believe as I wouldn't have had an iPhone when I was 10 years old, I got my first phone when I was 13 and that was only a Pay as You Go Sim with no access to the internet or any of the gadgets that we have on todays phones. So I have to wonder if todays children are taking the easy access to technology for granted.

Phones or tablets?

Phones or tablets which do you prefer? I love taking my phone everywhere with me and having the internet but I also admit that my phone screen is just too small for everything that I want to do.
I've got both a phone and a tablet so I've got the best of both worlds but I'm wondering if it is the same for other people. If they prefer a tablet or a phone, or if like me they have the best of both worlds.

Phone

or Tablet?

What you have to remember with a phone you can answer your text messages or call someone and then just slip it back into your pocket. However on a tablet, you have a bigger screen for playing games, reading books or watching something you've downloaded but when you're finished you are unable to slip it back into your pocket like a phone you've got to put it back in its case or in a bag and it seems much more convenient to just do everything on your phone.

I have the best of both worlds but I mainly use for phone for everything apart from games or watching something. I prefer using my phone but that's just because it goes everywhere with me and I can be in contacted whenever I'm needed or wanted. It all depends on your personal opinion.

PS1

I just recently found my old PS1

and it is amazing how much I miss playing the old games and how much fun they are. It is really weird to see how blocky the graphics are on the Spyro game

and especially if you compare them to the new Sypro games.

I would really like to see the old PS1 games remade so that we can play them on our new consoles. I know that they have done that just recently with The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

and The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask

as they have redone it so you can play it on the 3DS and I would really like to see that happen to PS1 games as I can imagine the gamers reception would be in favour of redoing certain games.

Becoming a Teacher

I never realised how hard it is to become a teacher. I know that if you want to teach a single subject e.g. science then you have to have a degree in science then an one year teacher training course. When I wanted to become a teacher I decided that I wanted to become a Classics teacher, as that was the subject that called to me most (I did want to be a Welsh teacher but I wouldn't have been able to handle so much Welsh!).

My plan for the future was go to Swansea University, get a degree in Classics and then do my one year teaching course and I'd be away, however my plan for the future was scrapped because I didn't get the grades needed to get into my University as I completely fail at exams. I passed my A Levels I just didn't get the grades that my Classics course required, on the other hand I did get the grades required for my second choice Education Studies at Swansea Metropolitan University or as its now known University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

As such I am now attending UWTSD and have finished my first year. I have reworked my dream so that instead of becoming a Classics teacher, I'm going to become a Primary teacher instead. I believe that this is a better dream because while I did want to be a Primary teacher, then a Welsh teacher, then reverted back to becoming a Primary teacher, which then became becoming a Classics teacher which failed and I went back to wanting to be a Primary teacher. I always knew I wanted to become a teacher (if I couldn't become an actress) but I never knew how hard it was going to be.

I know have three years of learning about legislation such as the 1944 'Butler' Education Act or the 1988 'Baker' Education Act or learning about different types of Racism, Sexism etc. or the different types of Special Educational Needs and the acts about SEN. While some of it can be really really interesting at the same time some of it can be really mind numbingly boring.

While I know some people would drop out and get a job, I'm not going to do that. I am going to stick the three years of Education Studies out and then I am going to do a one year course to become a Primary teacher and I am going to remember every piece of legislation, every SEN, every mind numbingly boring fact because it will help me achieve my dream

A Day at University

This is a normal day at University for me

Animations

Animation is a tricky thing, you have to have a good eye for drawing and a good animation app. While Fireworks is an okay app for beginners you should use a better app and one that will connect you to a drawing pad so you don't have to draw using a mouse.

There are many different types of animation. You have the classical style, drawing each scene with a pencil or pen and manually colouring it in. There are many movies out there that have used this technique, two of the most famous are the Disney movies Snow White

and Jungle Book.

You also have the newer style of 3-D animation on computers that we are seeing more and more in films, such as Disney Big Hero 6

and DreamWorks Animation How to Train Your Dragon 1 and 2

While it would help to be a good artist for the classical style, alongside that for both the classical and newer, you must have a good amount of patience. For both styles of animation you have to make sure that you have the image of the previous scene except for the bit you want changed. It takes a huge amount of time and patience, alongside extensive research to make sure that what you imagined was what you got.

Voki.com Review

After looking at various websites such as Glogster.com, Wordle.com and educationeye.org.uk. I find that the website I like the most is Voki.com. It is a place where you can create an avatar unique to yourself and use it as a learning tool.

While it does seem like a useful tool, there is a drawback. For certain things you can get them for free, however anything more than the basic package and you have to pay for it. There is also the fact that it is in American Dollars which leads me to be 99% sure that this is an American based website.

While it can be useful in classrooms and home settings there is the fact that you have to pay for anything more than the basic package and what could be an amazing useful tool for learning is then turned into expensive and if you want to pay for learning you could just hire a tutor or go to boarding school.