Growth

I feel that my comfort level with technology has increased. I no longer feel afraid to try new things and realize that most of the things that used to appear so complicated to me really are simple to do. I had many moments where I exclaimed to myself, "So that is how you do that!" I always thought it must be incredibly complicated to make images fade in and out or move around in a powerpoint, for example. I didn't know that it was as simple as choosing "animations" and clicking on a choice that the computer provides. I guess I thought I'd have to program the computer to do it like I did in high school when I was instructed to write line after line of computer language to get a picture to move, none of which I now recall. Most of all, this course has taught me that working with a computer takes messing around and trying things out until they work. I realized that the reason I am not a "computer geek" is that I don't have the patience to keep clicking buttons to get something just the way I want it. Or rather, I might have the patience if it is an assignment I have to do, but I just don't enjoy it. I get annoyed. I probably won't spend much more time on the computer than I used to just because I know more now, but at least when I need to complete a task that requires technology I won't be nearly as intimidated.

Web Tutorials

This page explains the process of downsizing photographs for blogs or emails. It details a three step process using Microsoft's Paint program. I just learned something new (besides how to downsize a photo): how to post a link using a word rather than the entire web address. I always wondered how that was done, so when my blogspot wouldn't let me copy the link directly as I have been accustomed, I had to find out!




Here is a video link to YouTube about image downsizing. It is done by a foreigner in English, so some of the wording is awkward. The directions for linking to a video didn't work for me, so my husband had to show me how to work with html code. The way we did it was to work from youtube, asking it to embed a video. This is the first time I've ever done anything like this.

Classroom use of Technology

I have taken quite a few online courses through Marylhurst, mainly for the sake of convenience. I find that while the majority of my professors at Marylhurst have been very engaging and interactive in the classroom- technology or no-, that has not been the norm with my online professors. I have only had two online professors who either: 1- Knew how to teach in an online environment or 2- Interacted sufficiently with the class. Because of this, I avoid online classes when possible. I suspect they are more of a challenge for the professor than for the students. For example, I dropped one online course before the end of the first week because the professor could not write. I think that no matter what subject is being taught, the professor ought to be able to compose sentences reasonably well. Otherwise the appearance is remarkably unprofessional. I sympathize with typos, but in this case these were assignments that ought to have been proofread. Even if the subject is math or science, I feel it is imperative that the professor be a better communicator (in written form) than his or her students. I have had other professors who can write, but who seem to put minimal effort into maintaining a classroom environment online. I have great admiration for those who successfully engage their students. The way they have done this is by reading our posts and then summing up our discussions a couple of times a week. Often they post thought-provoking comments to the discussion and try to answer any questions that come up.
Even so, I find that the most active online environment can't compete with the classroom for intellectual stimulation and personal interaction. Some of my professors have made use of technology in the classroom; others have not. I would say that it hasn't mattered to the learning environment one way or another. I appreciate this course in technology because I am learning life skills, some of which I will apply in the classroom. However, I think that taking a basic computer skills class online might be too difficult for students who don't already have basic computer skills.
The classroom professors who have assigned work that required me to use technology have stretched my learning. But just because a professor uses technology to present their material doesn't mean that I am learning any more than I would have had they simply stood up and lectured. I should perhaps mention that I haven't yet taken any hybrid courses. Overall, I don't feel that technology has been a major factor in my learning at Marylhurst- smart professors have been. Smart students . . . Great authors . . . The library . . .

Course Outcome

"Identify and appropriately utilize content from the Internet, digital media, software applications, and hardware systems and tools to address academic, professional, and everyday tasks and problems. Demonstrate an understanding of and ability to respond to the benefits and risks of applied technology, including networked computing, ethics, and personal security in an ever-changing technological context."

I think this outcome sounds great, and hopefully is what I am learning to do in this class. I might add "confidently" to this somewhere, as previously I have done some of these tasks and aspired to others with some degree of trepidation. I do feel that I ought to be able to work the ethics and personal security out for myself, but then again, I haven't completed the reading for this week. Maybe I'll learn about dangers I wasn't aware of.

Sir Ken Robinson and Creativity

Sir Ken has a lot to say about education. I have heard some of his anecdotes in the past and generally enjoy his views. In this talk, he touches on the importance of creativity to education. He claims that creativity is as vital now to education as literacy is. His idea is that creativity can be taught, although he doesn't even begin to explain how. He does claim that it is lost as children mature. He tells the story of a six year old girl who is drawing a picture of God. Her teacher asks how she can do that as no one knows what God looks like, to which she responds that in a minute they will. Ken then makes the comment that children have great confidence in the way they view their world and that they lose that confidence as they age. On the surface one might agree that this is true, but why? Children have confidence in the way they see things because they don't know any better yet. They don't have enough knowledge to know that much of what they believe might be wrong. The more a person learns the more they realize how little they really know. I think that knowledge and literacy are a base for creativity, not the other way around. And they certainly aren't on equal footing. Rather, knowledge gained becomes a foundation upon which to build. Literacy is absolutely vital to sparking creativity. Creativity is essentially a manipulation of information. The old proverb, "there is nothing new under the sun," is applicable when pondering creativity, because it takes one concept or idea to spark another. Nothing is made completely from scratch. We don't create ingredients, but acquire them. In the same way, creativity springs from gathered information and literacy is essential to gathering information. Consequently, in my mind imagination is not as essential to education as literacy. Knowledge and literacy come first. A good example is this class on technology. Without the basic tools of technological literacy, it is impossible to create anything using a computer. Once a student has acquired some basic skills, he can manipulate what he knows in a way that might appear creative.

Reflection on Unit 1

What have you learned about yourself during this unit?
What triumphs did you celebrate? What challenges remain?
How will your new or transformed experience help you in your learning?

I have learned that I get very impatient and frustrated with my computer when it doesn't react the way I expect it to. I am usually an easygoing person, but while trying to complete last week's spreadsheet assignment I became very stressed and had to call on my husband for help. I had completed the first document and was trying to save it, but my computer wouIdn't let me do anything with it and I didn't understand why. So my husband had me go back to the beginning of the assignment and found that I had simply opened the template document, not saved it to my computer, so I had to redo the entire thing. So, if I had only followed the directions exactly without jumping ahead, thinking I knew what I was doing, I would have saved myself some time and frustration. Also, I am glad I had someone to ask.

I was intrigued when I went to Google docs and found that I already had documents in there. I had no idea they were there! Evidently someone shared them with me because I have a Google gmail account. I am glad that I know about Google docs now and can use it. Also, I was happy to find that, although I was terrified of spreadsheets, they weren't as hard as I thought to work with, though perhaps I should check my grade on those before I make a definitive judgment. Overall, everything has been easier than expected once I have gotten over my initial anxiety. I think that this course is helping me to become more comfortable with computers and less scared of just poking around and figuring things out.

Learning with Technology

Prompt: Technology has been hailed as a mechanism to promote learning and facilitate the free flow of information around the world. Reflect on how technology has both aided and hindered your ability to learn. Use an example if you can to illustrate your point of view. In many ways learning has become easier through the use of technology. Peer-reviewed articles are available with a few clicks of a mouse. I can lug my laptop around town and type while my children run or dance. Online classes are certainly a convenience. And yet . . . I still prefer to learn in a classroom. I believe I learn more from the person to person interaction that takes place in a classroom. When I take online classes I spend a comparable amount of time studying, but the lack of possibility for an immediate response that is a natural part of a discussion or lecture in a classroom seems to me to be a less desirable way of learning. Personally, I believe I retain more from the classroom environment, perhaps because it demands my full attention and quick and thoughtful response with the need for constant give and take. It engages my intellect in a way that the online environment does not. Of course, not all classes on campus are intellectually stimulating; a great deal rests on the professor. Incidentally, I took Literary Theory online, a choice that I regretted since it was such a fabulous class. I can only imagine what it would have been like in the classroom. I have even entertained the idea of taking it again in person with the same professor. In any case, the professor was involved in that class in a way I hadn't encountered online previously. He took the time to comment meaningfully on our posts, to teach us from his comments. Each week he wrote a summary of what we had discussed and learned that week. Unfortunately, in other online classes the professors have only been involved as assigners and graders. That is why now I choose only to take classes online such as this technology class that don't require much discussion or lecture and to save literature classes for on-campus learning. Another aspect I wish to point out about learning online is that even though we have a wealth of information at our fingertips, if we aren't careful, and sometimes even if we are, the use of the internet leads to a lot of shallow learning, leaving less time for really exploring a topic in depth. Even typing, though it is so much easier with a computer than a typewriter, demands a different way of using the brain than writing by hand. One of my professors looked into this and found that people write completely different thoughts depending on whether they are handwriting or typing. She required a significant amount of writing by hand in composition books to encourage deeper reflection and processing. In summary, a faster pace of learning and more available information doesn't necessarily lead to deeper and more profound thoughts. Knowledge gained freely doesn't necessarily translate into knowledge retained. The old adage "no pain, no gain" seems to apply to the new era of quick and easy information.