1. cell phone
2. laptop
3. mp3 player
By having the ability to send a text to almost anyone at any time I'm able to better stay in touch with family and friends. But I find that it is also a fast and easy way to stay up to date with group project members for classes. As long as I have my phone with me and have a decent signal I can talk to anyone whose number I have in my phone, and most of the time I can get an instant response. So if I'm working on making a powerpoint for a class and I need to clarify a piece of information I can just send a quick text and then continue. I don't have to wait for them to check their email or call them and hope they are able to answer their phone. Getting a laptop before I started college was also a major benefit to my learning experiences thus far. Because so many aspects of college require the use of the internet (research, webmail, blackboard, online courses, hybrid courses), being able to bring a laptop to campus and go online anytime I want to has made me get more out of my learning experiences. I don't have to wait until I get home at night to be able to work on homework assignments or projects. And since I'm usually on campus from 8am until 8 or 9pm and work part time, being able to access the internet between classes helps keep me on track, organized, and allows me to take my time and not rush through anything. Finally, because I am a musician, I'm constantly listening to recordings or solo clarinet, band, and orchestra pieces. If I had to log onto my laptop every time I wanted or needed to listen to a piece and study it more, I'd be a little frustrated. Having my iPod on me at all times lets me do some of this studying while I'm walking to and from classes, driving in the car, or maybe just not near my laptop for some reason. Having constant access to the music I need really helps me get a piece of music stuck in my head so I can really learn it.
Olivia didn't really discuss what specifically she uses her iPod and phone for other than just listening to music to keep her on track, texting, and checking her MySpace profile, but I believe her and I are connected just simply by the fact that we use the same technology. However, Olivia often shared her knowledge with others. For example she set up multiple MySpace profiles for friends and family. I usually just stick to my own personal things with technology. If someone asks me for my help and the request is pretty simple I'd be happy to oblige, but because I only know what we would consider "the basics" nowadays I can't do much to help others. Like Olivia, I learned everything I know about technology mostly through trying it out myself. Neither of us sat down and took a course on all the different technologies that the modern day has to offer. A lot of the people in the second video talked about using their devices (laptop, phone, and otherwise) to stay organized for school and communicate with classmates for group projects just as I talked about above. A big point to why they use technology was that it helps them express who they are and gives them the ability to do the things they love. For example, one person learned a new language, another started trying to produce music, and another created her own webpage. I know that being able to post anything on my Facebook page helps me express myself and make life a little more bearable so I know what they all are talking about. One of the biggest points in the second video for me was the idea that using all these different technologies make us better learners. I never really thought about it before, but I definitely agree. Having use of the internet gives us the opportunity to explore anything we want or need. By constantly finding new places online to help us with a certain subject in school, explore new interests, or find out about our ancestry, we can load so much information into our brains even in just an hour. And by doing this consistently, I know it definitely helps me be able to retain more information on a daily basis.
