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.
Arielle, welcome to the class! Glad to see you have been working ahead! I like how you have made a connection to the videos. Thanks for pointing out that the purpose of technology is to make us better learners. Hope you have a great class experience this semester!
ReplyDeleteHey Arielle,
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post. I'm a little old-fashioned, so your post definitely helped me to put certain things into perspective. Like.. I hate lugging around my laptop and I also HATE text messaging and facebook- but I've never thought about the idea that maybe someone else isn't really in a situation as to whether or not they can talk on the phone at the time (pretty selfish of me, I know..)! I guess I just like to hear the tone of peoples' voices when they reply to a question or something that I have in mind, but in terms of an educational environment where groups are working together and need to stay in touch for things like that: it makes all the sense in the world!
I also agree with the fact that the video didn't really give us much insight about what exactly Olivia does with her knowledge of technology to help and contribute the classroom. It talks a lot about her personal usage and her understanding of how to copy & paste HTML codes into text boxes on a website that says "Paste HTML here:"...but it doesn't really tell us how she utilizes that information for anything that is based on educational needs! Do you think there are ways where she could have used all the information she knew in a classroom setting for an educational purpose?
You bring up something that's really important: service. You could have the best cell phone available, but it still would not work in most areas on campus. When I'm at school I sometimes forget about my phone because I know it doesn't work, so I tend to ignore it unless I have an important call or email coming. It's weird to leave something that's almost become another part of my body behind when it stops working. Likewise, when I was in Hawaii this summer, I experienced the time difference; being six hours behind, most of my friends back home would stop texting before dinner in Hawaii. This made me leave my phone in our unit every day after about 4, because I didn't expect to get anything. It truly is a different world living without a phone, and I kind of like it.
ReplyDeleteScott: I agree with you that it is a completely different world without a phone. I like not being chained to my cell phone (mentioned this in my own blog). I'm trying to decide whether technology really makes us better learners or more effective people though. On one hand, there are all the perks of technology that make things more accessible. But on the other hand...didn't people live and learn before the types of technology we're discussing? I am not saying that we shouldn't use technology in the classroom, only that there is a time and place for it, and some things that should be done "old school." Sorry if this was a bit of a tangent...
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