Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Virginia Heffernan Response on Digital Literacy


1.       My college experience thus far has required much more technology based knowledge than I was ever expected at my high school. It would have been very helpful in high school to learn more detailed techniques, like how to format an outline easily, in programs such as Word, or Powerpoint. I feel like I was relatively prepared for what I have been hit with here at OU; I was familiarized with Moodle in high school, I know how to type, emailing teachers was encouraged. The more advanced stuff was left on the wayside, and while it could have been very helpful to me in the long run, I don’t think it has caused me any great trouble.

2.       In the Health Sciences career field I am expecting to have interactions with computers, in order to contact people, and type up reports and other documents for patients. I am also expecting to have to be familiar with technology that is used only in a health related setting. It could be machines or computer programs that test the body for heart rates, measurements or anything else associated with that. I feel that I will be properly trained to some degree here at Oakland University. The new Human Health Building seems like it is equipped with many tools that I will benefit from.

3.       Writing in a relaxed setting like a blog or an email helps me come up with many ideas easily. I find that I have an almost overflow of things I could write about, and how I could present all of them. The problem with that is, the finished results are usually unorganized and don’t focus on a few main topics, instead they cover a range of topics, but don’t go into very much depth. I feel like my writing ends up better when it is in a educational setting where I know there are some guidelines that need to be followed in order to stay organized and get my points across.

4.       According to Heffernan, there are expectations that 65 percent of jobs that the upcoming generations will have are not even invented yet. This idea puts a lot of things in perspective, especially in terms of education for these upcoming generations. If I were a teacher in this time period, including technology in the classroom would be very important to me. If children are exposed to technology from early on in their life it could help in the long run for how they handle technology, even if the technology isn’t invented just yet. It may be true that having technology in a math, or science class would make more sense, but having technology used in English class is also very important. The world is on an upward journey involving technology, so preparing the future generations for the future they will have is almost a duty for educators.

5.       The tone of Heffernan’s piece on digital and pop culture is informative, convincing, scholarly, factual and confident. I agree with Heffernan’s argument that today’s classrooms need an upgrade in order to sufficiently educate the children who are learning in them. If it is true that 65 percent of jobs in the future will employ the kids today, then we need to make sure they grow up learning in an environment that they will be utilizing as adults. By providing children with this technology based education we could readily prepare students for their further education and their life beyond that. 

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