Interactivity #1: Technology as Autobiography

The three communications technologies which have had the most impact on my life have been the internet, the cell phone, and email. After viewing "Olivia's Story" and "Learning to Change, Changing to Learn" I am more aware than ever of how young people use technology much differently than I do. I will elaborate on this later, after I have shared what impacted me in the video clips.

Olivia is an impressive young lady. She favors technology like most young people do, but she is extremely resourceful and creative in both finding access to devices and making them work for her. If I was her teacher and found that only one-third of my students had regular computer access, I would not have been prepared to discover just how technically savvy the students were despite their lack of regular access. Olivia is one of the students without a home computer, but her computer knowledge is superior to mine. She has found that she can use computers at school, in her apartment building, at friends' homes, and even at (my favorite of her resources) the Apple Store! She has developed sophisticated skills on her own, including uploading photos and videos and the ability to design some impressive web pages. While it is important that her teachers realize Olivia's technological abilities, it is equally important that they acknowledge her innate abilities. Olivia is willing to share her skills and knowledge with others, such as her "Big Sister" mentor and her younger siblings. She is a natural innovator, problem-solver and teacher herself, which are qualities that should be recognized and nurtured by her school teachers.

In the second video clip, students describe a wide variety of ways and reasons for using technology. They begin with somewhat obvious reasons, such as convenience, reading and writing for school, gaming, music, and smartphone usage. But then, the students become more thoughtful about how they actually benefit from from having various technologies at their fingertips most hours of the day, even when they are just playing for their own enjoyment. Students are using technology to manipulate photographs, customize social networking pages, and to research and prepare school projects. They are using computers to learn new languages, compose music and create web pages from scratch at very, very young ages. But there were four responses that really impressed me. One student spoke about how using technology helps him edit and self-correct his own work. Another discussed the need to communicate and coordinate with others for success in cyber games, much as he would do in the real world. One young man related technological experimentation as key to the future, just as scientific experiments have shaped the world in which we currently live. A young lady spoke about learning more about one's self through the process of filtering the overload of information available in order to find what holds meaning for you. These four students thought about technology beyond the obvious uses such as texting and listening to mp3's, and uncovered some thought-provoking theories of how technology can be of real use in life and education.

Now, back to the three technologies that have impacted me: internet, cell phones and email. It may surprise some of you that when I graduated high school and began college, the world wide web was in its infancy. I never used Google to research topics for papers or search for pictures to accompany a report, because Google did not yet exist. I actually did my research in the brick-and-mortar library, using encyclopedias, books, magazines, and journals.  You can imagine how convenient it is to have most of this information and more available in seconds, in the comfort of my own home and pajamas. Email is of course linked to the internet, but it is my primary method of communication with people outside of my immediate family and friend network. Email saves me a great deal of time, so that I am able to divide that time among other necessities. If I had to make a phone call to deliver each piece information I sent by email every week, I probably wouldn't be able to keep up with my courses this semester. However, the speed and convenience of email means I do not speak to as many people as I probably should. Speaking of phones, before cell phones were widespread, a group project at school entailed arranging a time and place for meeting and research, and relying on everyone actually showing up or choosing to work without them. I couldn't call or text my friends from the gas station to find out how difficult their Praxis exam had been or to tell my mom that I got a 4.0 in a course, or find out the latest news or traffic on the fly. Now we can conduct internet research, email our professors, text our peers and call our loved ones from one device. The downfall of cell phones and their numerous features is that most of us are seldom unreachable. I do make an effort to leave the phone behind sometimes and just exist the vintage way.

The students in the videos use technology in much more creative and sophisticated ways than I do. I admit that I use it primarily for necessity, for example, for school, work, and keeping in touch with people who are important to me. In my free time I use digital cameras, Adobe Creative Suite, and the internet for artwork and researching my hobbies and interests. But I have never used technology to learn a new language, compose a song, or design an interactive web page. In fact, this is the first time I have ever blogged. Olivia and the other students even think about technology more critically than I do. I never gave much thought to how I was using various technologies or why, or about new ways to incorporate them meaningfully into my life and the lives of my children and future students. Their insights have prompted me to begin doing just that.