In my elementary, middle, and high school years, I believe that my teachers prepared me to work with a technological world decently, however they didn’t go into enough detail and broaden their usage of programs. The only programs I learned how to use were Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. As far as any sort of blogging or video making, I pretty much taught myself. By Facebook being so popular in my generation, I believe this was a helpful tool in learning how to blog; that’s why it was so easy to catch onto in college. If I were to write my teachers an email of advice, I would tell them that our world outside of grade school is becoming much more digitally literate. I would suggest that they use programs other than PowerPoint for presentations so that the kids can get a sense of something a little more modern. That way they will know a stronger tool to use in college and with their future presentations in their career.
In my career, Psychology, I know I will be using Word a lot for reports. It’s a good thing that I have already had a great amount of experience with this program in my earlier times. I also will have to create presentations if I run a research study of any kind. It will useful to know the correct way to use newer video or presentation programs rather than just a plain PowerPoint so my audience doesn’t get bored and stays focused. I believe that Oakland will give me many opportunities to broaden my usage of technology and to create presentations. With the many Psychology classes I am bound to take in the upcoming years, I know there are presentations waiting for me to present modernly.
I write a lot more relaxed in a blog or an email. I feel this has to do with Facebook being huge in our society today. Since I am so used to blogging on a public site, it feels just the same when I blog for school. I don’t feel as limited on what I write and it comes out a lot more personalized. Sometimes writing essays are not a good representation of my true writing ability because they are so formalized. In a blog, however, I feel more comfortable so my true thoughts and ideas always come to me more quickly and more clearly. I would much rather write a long blog than a boring essay that sounds the exact same as a thousand other people. I like to be original in my writing.
If I were a teacher, I would most definitely be working in the computer labs more. Not to research so much, but to learn new programs that express writing in the same way an essay does. I have a lot to learn about technology as well, so as far as which programs I would want my kids to know, I am not so sure yet. However I would want them to be extremely modern because times change quickly in our society now. It’s not fair to say that technology is irrelevant just because most adults don’t understand it. Pretty soon, it’ll be our only source of communication and presentation.
From the reading, I sense a tone of frustration since a lot of people over the age of 40 do not think that technology is as important as it truly is. I agree with Virginia Heffernan when she says, “Simply put, we can’t keep preparing students for a world that doesn’t exist. We can’t keep ignoring the formidable cognitive skills they’re developing on their own. And above all, we must stop disparaging digital prowess just because some of us over 40 don’t happen to possess it. An institutional grudge match with the young can sabotage an entire culture." I think older adults need to open their eyes and realize that things change. Just because our source of communication and presentation has changed since their time, it doesn’t mean it’s wrong. We have to adjust to whatever will get us by, and in this case, technology is our world, we have to get used to it.
No comments:
Post a Comment