In one part of the article he touches upon how different internet-based technologies have become a leading form of "research, a method for community building, [and] a forum for interaction"through the "simulation matrix". This brings me back to last semester when a professor had us create a SecondLife account. Discussions were held through this life simulated program where students could converse with different artists and professors worldwide. Through this form of technology, we are allowed to be a part of the technology, as opposed to simply operating it. Through the use of this program we were able to explore what the world wide web truly has to offer us as aspiring art educators.
Now I ask you to imagine your life without the internet. Difficult right? I feel that through the internet I am constantly being bombarded with information, whether visual or textual. I think that through this constant flow of information, we are able to have more and resources available to us to use.
The idea of SecondLife also attaches itself to the Cyborg Vision in that through a computer screen, we are able to create an identity that can interact with other virtual beings across the world. A Cyborg is defined in Sweeny's article as a cybernetic organism. SecondLife is a little different than Stelarc, who attached electrodes to connect his body physically to the internet. It has no physical attachment whatsoever, yet allows a person to virtually connect to others making different connections and discovering different resources by meeting different people in a virtual life.
The internet allows for an endless supply of information for teachers. It creates a system where ideas can be shared, critiqued, and borrowed in order to present such information to students. Through the internet, teachers are able to travel around the world and with the click of a mouse, tap into different resources that will benefit their students.
While reading this article, the one thing that really jumped out at me was the idea of Stelarc and having a physical connection to the internet. We live in a technological age where we're creating "cyborgs" of ourselves that basically give us a new identity on the internet. The question that I greatly wonder is when is this idea of physically connecting ourselves to the internet going to become a household idea? I don't foresee this being something that's going to be years in the making..When is going to become universally known/accepted in a daily, day to day lifestyle?
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