Technology Life
Opens with the audio of a manual typewriter.
I started out my life adventure in technology in 1975 (grade school) learning how to type on a manual typewriter…. I had to walk with the giant box a mile each way to school and back. The nuns knew what they were about - after all, the typewriter was an innovative tool then and still is; it’s just in a different case….
“Age is a state of mind.” Unknown Author
I thought long and hard about what I learned in my capstone class reflections’ paper, but with this class it was so EASY. This learning environment reminded me of how I really do not fit inside the box of a technological immigrant. Age may be what defines me by the date of the calendar as a technology immigrant, but in my mind I’m a digital native. I say this simply because I embrace technology and am not afraid to use it.
This is evident by the evolution of my moving away from using a comfortable word processor to present my work to finishing with utilizing sound bites, video, and the web. I may not like dealing with the learning curve of using new software or processes, but in the long run, it’s the challenge to accept and begin that change that makes the stereotype of age and use of technology to be a fallacy, at least with me.
Projects, Groups, and Individual
I reflected on the requirements for projects during this class and I feel there is a notable difference from other classes and project assignments. Because of the openness of the instructor to allow the students to pursue a topic that actually interested them as opposed to “required”, I personally believe I have a much better understanding of those topics.
Lucky in this class, I worked with two young ladies that were team players; bright and fun so I had no worries about “unprofessionalism in groups” that I have experienced in the past. They both brought a wealth of knowledge and insight to creating group projects. This afforded me the possibility of learning without conflict or pressure.
Discussion Forums
In previous classes, the discussion forum has been used to help facilitate communication, learning, and involvement for the entire class. I found this tread of conversation to be quite interesting and always a vehicle for my education. It seems everyone involved had great topics and interesting viewpoints, which led me to seek further information. An example is the thread discussion about right brain/left brain learning.
Watching the video and reading articles really led me to look more into the subject. I realize one of the books talked about it, but it wasn’t until I read the discussions that I search for more in-depth research.
Innovations
I was truly impressed with the depth of innovation presented during class. Each group was so different in what they wanted to develop and all were pertinent to today’s current technology trends and for future innovations. I learned a lot from the groups, not only because of their ideas, but also the simplicity of concepts and augmenting an existing idea to take them a step further. I learned I could do that too!
Personally, I might never have initiated making a video with me as the star or to show that clip to a group (self-esteem issues can hold people back). However, this class environment encouraged me and helped me feel comfortable enough to present my video sales pitch to the group. Low self-esteem flew right out the window lol so to speak.
“Age is a state of mind.” Unknown Author
I thought long and hard about what I learned in my capstone class reflections’ paper, but with this class it was so EASY. This learning environment reminded me of how I really do not fit inside the box of a technological immigrant. Age may be what defines me by the date of the calendar as a technology immigrant, but in my mind I’m a digital native. I say this simply because I embrace technology and am not afraid to use it.
This is evident by the evolution of my moving away from using a comfortable word processor to present my work to finishing with utilizing sound bites, video, and the web. I may not like dealing with the learning curve of using new software or processes, but in the long run, it’s the challenge to accept and begin that change that makes the stereotype of age and use of technology to be a fallacy, at least with me.
Projects, Groups, and Individual
I reflected on the requirements for projects during this class and I feel there is a notable difference from other classes and project assignments. Because of the openness of the instructor to allow the students to pursue a topic that actually interested them as opposed to “required”, I personally believe I have a much better understanding of those topics.
Lucky in this class, I worked with two young ladies that were team players; bright and fun so I had no worries about “unprofessionalism in groups” that I have experienced in the past. They both brought a wealth of knowledge and insight to creating group projects. This afforded me the possibility of learning without conflict or pressure.
Discussion Forums
In previous classes, the discussion forum has been used to help facilitate communication, learning, and involvement for the entire class. I found this tread of conversation to be quite interesting and always a vehicle for my education. It seems everyone involved had great topics and interesting viewpoints, which led me to seek further information. An example is the thread discussion about right brain/left brain learning.
Watching the video and reading articles really led me to look more into the subject. I realize one of the books talked about it, but it wasn’t until I read the discussions that I search for more in-depth research.
Innovations
I was truly impressed with the depth of innovation presented during class. Each group was so different in what they wanted to develop and all were pertinent to today’s current technology trends and for future innovations. I learned a lot from the groups, not only because of their ideas, but also the simplicity of concepts and augmenting an existing idea to take them a step further. I learned I could do that too!
Personally, I might never have initiated making a video with me as the star or to show that clip to a group (self-esteem issues can hold people back). However, this class environment encouraged me and helped me feel comfortable enough to present my video sales pitch to the group. Low self-esteem flew right out the window lol so to speak.
Conclusion
I learned in this class, that it doesn’t matter where you are, what job you are doing, what age you are, or what pressures of life may be effecting you, learning something whether it’s a technology or life lessons, you must always accept the challenge and keep moving on and learn.
I learned in this class, that it doesn’t matter where you are, what job you are doing, what age you are, or what pressures of life may be effecting you, learning something whether it’s a technology or life lessons, you must always accept the challenge and keep moving on and learn.
