Blog #1: The Internet of Things

    For many people around the world the internet has become integrated into their daily lives. With smart phones, smart TV's, smart plugs and smart bulbs I can turn off the kitchen light from my bedroom by issuing a verbal command. The internet has become such a part of my daily life that I forget when visiting peoples homes (pre Covid-19) that I may not be able to call out a question and get an immediate response from a smart home device. Many people have fully embraced the internet of things and have integrated their own IOT into their own daily lives, but there is another group of people who are more leery. It is not uncommon for people to look at me wide eyed and shocked by the amount of smart devices my partner has set up in our home. They ask me, "Are you not scared of them listening to you?" Now I am not someone who has a large amount of knowledge on subjects such as this one. The IOT in my home has been curated and is maintained by my partner, I am simply a beneficiary of the devices. Typically the people who ask me this question are the types of people who fully buy into and believe all the latest conspiracy theories. So in response I usually shrug and ask them if they keep their smart phones in their home. 

    In my opinion the internet has become so fully integrated into society that it is impossible to get away from it. You can either live with it or move to the middle of nowhere to get away from it. When a person is willing to embrace the internet the various applications and benefits are numerous. As much as I love being able to tell google to turn off the Christmas tree when I forgot but already crawled into bed, there are more powerful uses of the internet. Throughout history technology advances were always contested by someone. Typically it was not until there was an increased need for a particular technology that it was accepted. Many people in todays world have never lived without a washing machine or a dryer, but these really only took off during war times when female labor was needed to produce food, not spend a week working through one load of laundry. 

    Technologies like the internet have been finding their way into the modern classroom and many teachers have embraced it. From doing research, to watching tutorials to sharing other peoples perspectives in the classroom the internet has provided so many new and different ways for students to learn. Nearly everything that a person could want to learn they can do so using the phone that is most likely within 10 feet of them at all times. Throughout history information was reserved for the literate members of society, then as more people became literate it was reserved mainly for the males in society. Institutions such as Harvard University denied female students access to the library, the very place that all of the information was stored. In todays world with the introduction of the IOT there are 7 devices within 30 feet of me that I could use to research or learn anything that I wanted. Schools are no longer the only place that information can be accessed. It is because of this that the purpose of schools has moved away from the memorization of facts and theories to teaching students how to become life long learners, a skill that is far more useful in today's world.