Decoding the Students of Today

After viewing “A Vision of Students Today,” I was motivated to write about my initial decoding of the clip. I found it very relatable in the sense that people my age both participated in creating the text on both sides of the camera. Furthermore, I related to the statements on the posters displayed in the video. The video focused on the voice of the student as the future of the technological world. The voice of the student was compared to both technology and the idea of the more prominent professor figure.

During the opening of the video, the camera pans across an auditorium blackboard with the words “The information is up here. Follow along.” The blackboard symbolizes the professor figure, who by social norms, is expected to convey all of their knowledge to their students. Interestingly, all of the information imparted in the video is by students sitting in auditorium seats across from the blackboard. Throughout the clip, everyday uses of media and technology in relation to the educational system and social realm are featured. The closing of the video touches on complex world issues such as economic inequality, debt, information rich vs. information poor and inflation, with the suggestion that “technology can save us.”

However, directly after these issues are recognized, technological advances such as the Internet and Facebook are acknowledged for inappropriate uses such as in-class surfing. The video demonstrates that the student voice understands issues that are contributing to the economic instability on a global scale but chooses to ignore them. As members of the up-and-coming generation, it is imperative that we begin to take action using the evolving technology exposed at our fingertips – as has been done with the creation of this
video.

Click here for "A Vision of Students Today" clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dGCJ46vyR9o