I currently
rely heavily on digital technology as a course designer and student. In the
past as a course designer I would find myself developing courseware and then
printing it out for proofreading and editing purposes. Now days I find it so
much easier to run it through online proofreading programmes designed
specifically to pick up known errors. Additionally
when developing courseware online I never have to worry about formatting, spelling,
and vocabulary errors as I can just delete, retype and reformat instantly.
As a
student I rely on digital technology for every aspect of my studies. When I was
studying towards my undergraduate I remember obtaining hardcopies of research papers
and physically highlighting areas of interest and accruing a mound of paper
which was very hard to organise. I absolutely love the opportunity as a student
now to be able to classify and organise information using digital technology. Hartnett
et al(2015) calls it e-learning. E-learning has been infused into educational
culture that positively allows a students to use e-learning capabilities to augment
their learning whilst creating unique digitial posrtfolios that illustrate their
depth of learning.
I also
run an informal playgroup and virtually all my information, tasks and crafts
are easily accessible online and from other mums groups. It is amazing how
ideas for some crafts have their origins in a random playgroup in America, and
thanks to the power of connection of the internet, we have the ability to use
those very ideas in a random playgroup in New Zealand.
Interestingly,
my daughter’s kindergarten has recently changed over to an online version of
those hardcover portfolios. Whilst they still keep the hardcopy (every child
has their own portfolio) and update it with stories, their new online programme
is absolutely amazing, parents can write and share their thoughts and comments
on stories that the teachers post. There is an element of privacy as well as
only stories shared with a child is seen by the parents unless it is a
community post. It is colourful and most importantly it is interactive. Gee
(1996) speaks of this sociocultural new literacy, that sharing if meaning is a
new literacy. Sharing of meaning in information is apparent when parents for
example are able to meaningfully share stories and commonalities of their kids
on an online based learning platform, it is called storypark.
I have
a ten month old baby too and I really hope I won’t be judged for this but I let
him explore and play with an ipad. It is amazing to see his development and
interaction with apps that are appropriate for his age. He has actually learned
cause and effect from pressing buttons and acknowledging that there is an
outcome from the button being pressed. The app that he uses is a little mobile
phone and when he presses buttons they take him to the next screen where a song
plays according to the number he presses. My four year old knows how to navigate
her way around the ipad as well. It is unbelievable how advanced they are.
As for
non digital technology, I would go as far as to say that I have almost
forgotten what my handwriting looks like. Lists for groceries are made on my
mobile, social media like whatsapp and emails have taken over.
I am
a proponent of online technology because nothing can get lost in a drawer! Surprisingly
though I don’t have facebook but my reasons are not based on the convenience of
facebook but because I prefer more private platforms of personal information
sharing.
Hartnett, M., Davis, N. E., &
Fields, A. (2015). Editorial: Back to the future—predicting possibilities in
open, flexible, and distance learning. Journal of Open, Flexible and
Distance Learning, 19(2), [1–7].
