My topic is about how the digital divide is not being fixed amongst the older generation. Also about how there are programs trying to fix this problem but about how these programs are not being utilized to their fullest potential. This topic is important not only just to the older generation themselves because they need these skills for communication with family, jobs, and possibly just to enjoy something. This problem also causes the technology producers themselves because they could be held back from making something even better because not everyone is on the same level with technology. This becomes a problem because the technology companies do not want to keep the older easier technology around but they are somewhat forced so that they still have easier things for people. Although this doesn’t seem to be the case, it seems more older people are suffering because they can only get access to the newer harder technology that they are not used to and can’t learn the newest additions as quickly as the other generations who have grown up around these technologies.
This research that is out there for this growing problem strikes up its own problem as well. These sites and journals think they have found all of the reasons why the elders still lack with technology skills and they talk about different solutions that are out there. But none of the solutions that they seem to fix any of the problems they had just listed. If there are all of these programs and solutions out there why isn’t anything changing.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Reflect on your research found to date
The research I have found is pretty good, the tone they set is casul. They are sort of as if they are having just as casual conversation with their concerns of the older generation and what's stopping them from filling the gaps of the divide. The other tone that I can see in this research is concern and worry. The authors are stressing their concerns and trying to push their views onto others to try and get others to solve this divide problem.
Some of the Problems I see with this research is that some of it can be based more on opinion. Not many of these sources are written by the odler generation themselves, so who are these younger people to talk about this problem? In order to get what I need out of this research I will need to see things from the older generation themselves.
As far as my research on what is being done like the classes and programs being offered is great to understand solutions but bad with explaining whether or not these programs are working and if the older generations is even taking these classes and utilizing the programs that are available to them. As well as what is being done to inform the generations that these programs even exist.
Some of the Problems I see with this research is that some of it can be based more on opinion. Not many of these sources are written by the odler generation themselves, so who are these younger people to talk about this problem? In order to get what I need out of this research I will need to see things from the older generation themselves.
As far as my research on what is being done like the classes and programs being offered is great to understand solutions but bad with explaining whether or not these programs are working and if the older generations is even taking these classes and utilizing the programs that are available to them. As well as what is being done to inform the generations that these programs even exist.
Ch. 7&8 quiz definitional vs. fact research
My Core 4 research does fall into both definition and fact. One of my sources was done as an experiment over the course of 16 months with low income adults this research falls into the fact category because it deals with specific facts that they found in this experiment. According to the book Everything’s an argument “Arguments of fact do much of the heavy lifting in our world. Some of them do the important task of reporting on what has been recently discovered or become known.”In this source title Instructional Set and Internet Use by Low-Income Adults, It dealt with the attitudes and internet skills found in the time period based on 2 groups one that was given the internet’s communication tools and the other group was given the internet’s information skills. Although this source doesn’t contain exact statistics it does contain valuable facts found. As far as all of my other research it does not deal with fact but yet the definition and opinions. According to the book Everything’s an argument it states that “Definitional arguments don’t just appear out of the blue; they evolve out of the occasions and conversations of daily life, both public and private.” In my other research they discuss mostly the reasons behind why the older generations don’t want to learn computers and none of their examples are backed up with fact although they seem like common sense and to be true I would still place them in the definitional category solely on the fact that it seems like opinion and conversational. As well as my other research sites that deal with the solutions to the digital divide they are not discussing what is proven to work but merely stating what might work and the programs available.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
Core 1-Why do we rely so much on Technology?
Madison Taylor
Mrs. J Moody
ENC 1102-0112
9 February 2010
Why do we rely so much on Technology?
When asked to recall when and how I learned how to use a computer, I can’t remember. It feels as if I was born with the knowledge, sort of like walking or breathing. When I think about this fact I don’t know if it’s necessarily a good thing or a bad thing. I partially believe that we rely too much on computers, but without them we would be so lost. Computers and technology have truly shaped the world today. All of the advancements we have made are all due to the technological improvements. It seems like every day the companies are coming out with something new or a newer version, such as cell phones. If you don’t keep buying a new cell phone just about every year you will not keep up with the newest technologies, sort of like the QWERTY keyboard or the touch screen. For some who are less fortunate and can’t afford the latest trends or who are not used to these technologies are being left behind because technology is advancing too quickly. Albert Einstein once said “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity”. (Technology). Sooner or later the world will be way too tangled up in this digital world. Or is it already too late?
We start learning about computers when we first learn how to speak. First we started learning by using fun internet games. We would use programs like Zoombinis or Oregon Trail, where you have to do easy tasks like matching the characters to cross a bridge. Although you might have thought it was just a fun game, it was also the start of teaching us basic life skills as well as the beginnings of how to use a computer. Then we advance to using the simple computer programs like Microsoft word to write our school work and take notes and Microsoft PowerPoint to give simple presentations that include pictures and text. Sometime in middle school most kids are required to take a computer class that recaps the programs you already know and teaches you all the programs on the internet so you can do research. This class also tries to improve your skills by teaching you how to type without looking so you can be able to type fast and flawlessly. Then entering high school there are multiple digital classes you can choose to take which will help you become more prepared with technologies you are interested in. They offer classes like photography which advance your skills in Adobe Photoshop, yearbook that teaches you Adobe In-design, or even drafting that guides you in programs like Auto-cad.
By the time you graduate you should be at the technological level that you should have to help you in the future. With all this digital literacy in the world it is almost imperative to have these electronic skills. According to Selber there are three literacy categories known as functionalist where we are users, critical where we question digital literacy, and rhetorical where we are producers of technology. He also states that “students who are not adequately exposed to all three literacy categories will find it difficult to participate fully and meaningfully in technological activities” (Selber, 24-25). But the problem is that these access’ to electronic learning in school were not there forever, which leaves a vast majority of the population, completely clueless of these programs and their capabilities. Older generations don’t necessarily own computers or cell phones because they don’t see the point. Although, the main point of learning these skills is not only for your enjoyment but for the workplace as well.
Just as any other social technology in the world advances, the technologies in any workplace advance too. People often laugh at the McDonalds employees because they feel they are uneducated but when you think about it they are using complicated technologies as well. These employees now have digital ordering systems and even the drive through is based on technology, which may be hard for the people who haven’t learned such technically advanced programs. In my future I want to be a radiological technician which requires a lot of skills. Mainly the main point of their day is to deal with computers and digital machines. X-rays are no longer printed out and looked at over a light. The photographs are taken by such advanced machines that the images remain on the computer the whole time and even can show up in 3-D images on the screen. In this field I will also need to be familiar with the bigger machines we use not just the computer software. I will need to understand how the machines take a photo and process it into an X-ray on the computer. So in order to do this job I will have to be prepared to know the computer programs as well as the machinery involved. The hospitals programs are also advancing with having the ability to put all of the patient information into a digital database. All business’ everywhere are digitally advancing. Now-a-days it is no longer just the business careers that need to be technically savvy it is nearly every job.
Finally, the problem with all these jobs becoming technically advanced is that we do not realize how much of the world is not to this point. This is probably a cause of why older people are going back to college. The digital world has taken over and is shaping us and how we do things in our everyday life. We may look at how amazing this is and how much we have began to do because of it but it is also causing just as many problems. The problem with technology is that they are just machines and can malfunction or break all the time and people have become so dependent on them that they suddenly become confused. Take a calculator for example, the calculators are becoming so advanced they can probably tell you the weather. People rely on them to do anything from hard algebra problems to simple math. But when they break or the battery dies, people suddenly become lost and forget how to add big numbers or count change. So although these technical advancements have become such a great help I still feel like they can be hurting us if we let them control us. I don’t feel like a new technical advancement is necessarily needed every day. People in the past managed wonderfully without all of these devices, so can’t we just go one day without all the machines taking over?
Works Cited
Selber. Multiliteracies for a Digital Age.24-25.
"Technology Quotes and Sayings." The Quote Garden - Quotes, Sayings, Quotations, Verses. 14 Oct. 2007. Web. 11 Feb. 2010.
Mrs. J Moody
ENC 1102-0112
9 February 2010
Why do we rely so much on Technology?
When asked to recall when and how I learned how to use a computer, I can’t remember. It feels as if I was born with the knowledge, sort of like walking or breathing. When I think about this fact I don’t know if it’s necessarily a good thing or a bad thing. I partially believe that we rely too much on computers, but without them we would be so lost. Computers and technology have truly shaped the world today. All of the advancements we have made are all due to the technological improvements. It seems like every day the companies are coming out with something new or a newer version, such as cell phones. If you don’t keep buying a new cell phone just about every year you will not keep up with the newest technologies, sort of like the QWERTY keyboard or the touch screen. For some who are less fortunate and can’t afford the latest trends or who are not used to these technologies are being left behind because technology is advancing too quickly. Albert Einstein once said “It has become appallingly obvious that our technology has exceeded our humanity”. (Technology). Sooner or later the world will be way too tangled up in this digital world. Or is it already too late?
We start learning about computers when we first learn how to speak. First we started learning by using fun internet games. We would use programs like Zoombinis or Oregon Trail, where you have to do easy tasks like matching the characters to cross a bridge. Although you might have thought it was just a fun game, it was also the start of teaching us basic life skills as well as the beginnings of how to use a computer. Then we advance to using the simple computer programs like Microsoft word to write our school work and take notes and Microsoft PowerPoint to give simple presentations that include pictures and text. Sometime in middle school most kids are required to take a computer class that recaps the programs you already know and teaches you all the programs on the internet so you can do research. This class also tries to improve your skills by teaching you how to type without looking so you can be able to type fast and flawlessly. Then entering high school there are multiple digital classes you can choose to take which will help you become more prepared with technologies you are interested in. They offer classes like photography which advance your skills in Adobe Photoshop, yearbook that teaches you Adobe In-design, or even drafting that guides you in programs like Auto-cad.
By the time you graduate you should be at the technological level that you should have to help you in the future. With all this digital literacy in the world it is almost imperative to have these electronic skills. According to Selber there are three literacy categories known as functionalist where we are users, critical where we question digital literacy, and rhetorical where we are producers of technology. He also states that “students who are not adequately exposed to all three literacy categories will find it difficult to participate fully and meaningfully in technological activities” (Selber, 24-25). But the problem is that these access’ to electronic learning in school were not there forever, which leaves a vast majority of the population, completely clueless of these programs and their capabilities. Older generations don’t necessarily own computers or cell phones because they don’t see the point. Although, the main point of learning these skills is not only for your enjoyment but for the workplace as well.
Just as any other social technology in the world advances, the technologies in any workplace advance too. People often laugh at the McDonalds employees because they feel they are uneducated but when you think about it they are using complicated technologies as well. These employees now have digital ordering systems and even the drive through is based on technology, which may be hard for the people who haven’t learned such technically advanced programs. In my future I want to be a radiological technician which requires a lot of skills. Mainly the main point of their day is to deal with computers and digital machines. X-rays are no longer printed out and looked at over a light. The photographs are taken by such advanced machines that the images remain on the computer the whole time and even can show up in 3-D images on the screen. In this field I will also need to be familiar with the bigger machines we use not just the computer software. I will need to understand how the machines take a photo and process it into an X-ray on the computer. So in order to do this job I will have to be prepared to know the computer programs as well as the machinery involved. The hospitals programs are also advancing with having the ability to put all of the patient information into a digital database. All business’ everywhere are digitally advancing. Now-a-days it is no longer just the business careers that need to be technically savvy it is nearly every job.
Finally, the problem with all these jobs becoming technically advanced is that we do not realize how much of the world is not to this point. This is probably a cause of why older people are going back to college. The digital world has taken over and is shaping us and how we do things in our everyday life. We may look at how amazing this is and how much we have began to do because of it but it is also causing just as many problems. The problem with technology is that they are just machines and can malfunction or break all the time and people have become so dependent on them that they suddenly become confused. Take a calculator for example, the calculators are becoming so advanced they can probably tell you the weather. People rely on them to do anything from hard algebra problems to simple math. But when they break or the battery dies, people suddenly become lost and forget how to add big numbers or count change. So although these technical advancements have become such a great help I still feel like they can be hurting us if we let them control us. I don’t feel like a new technical advancement is necessarily needed every day. People in the past managed wonderfully without all of these devices, so can’t we just go one day without all the machines taking over?
Works Cited
Selber. Multiliteracies for a Digital Age.24-25.
"Technology Quotes and Sayings." The Quote Garden - Quotes, Sayings, Quotations, Verses. 14 Oct. 2007. Web. 11 Feb. 2010.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Audience Analysis Article, Lizzy and Madison
Audience Analysis and Persuasive Writing at the College Level
By: Kathleen Black
According to the article, “research suggests that audience awareness, consciously using ideas about an audience to create or revise text could be a key factor in helping explain differences in writing ability.” The article is a study that gave half the participants given information about the audience and not to the other half. The results showed that the higher audience analysis the more persuasive. The author claims that higher levels of education with more audience analyses leads to higher level of persuasion present.
Audience Analysis and Persuasive Writing at the College Level. Kathleen Black. Research in the Teaching of English, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Oct., 1989), pp. 231-253. Published by: National Council of Teachers of English. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40171145
By: Kathleen Black
According to the article, “research suggests that audience awareness, consciously using ideas about an audience to create or revise text could be a key factor in helping explain differences in writing ability.” The article is a study that gave half the participants given information about the audience and not to the other half. The results showed that the higher audience analysis the more persuasive. The author claims that higher levels of education with more audience analyses leads to higher level of persuasion present.
Audience Analysis and Persuasive Writing at the College Level. Kathleen Black. Research in the Teaching of English, Vol. 23, No. 3 (Oct., 1989), pp. 231-253. Published by: National Council of Teachers of English. Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/40171145
Monday, February 1, 2010
Core 1, Part 2
What I would love to do for my career is to be an X-ray technician. This is what I want to be because I love the medical field but not the blood and guts. Although in order for me to have this job I will need to be a lot more tech savvy. I will need to learn how to use advanced computer programs such as the sorting programs that allows you to look at patients files and file the x-rays with the right person. I will need to learn the program that controls what the machine takes an x-ray of. I should also be very knowledge able about how the picture is taken and processed into an x-ray. This field is very digital advanced and will require me to be very familiar with using bigger machines to do the work. Also if I choose to advance in this field to possibly doing CT scans or MRIs I will advance into learning how to further look at 3D digital images on the computer and be able to tell what is wrong with the patient. Or to use programs to look at slivers of the brain as well as other organs of the body. So for the most part I will really advance into the digital programs on the computer that interact with high tech machines. As well as looking at digital images and understanding how the x-ray machines run.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Core 1, Part 1
With my experience growing up with digital literacy I would say I’m pretty strong at computer skills than the norm. I’m skilled more with the functional literacy side such as computer programs and the functions of day to day digital toys, as far as knowing how things work and the behind the scenes that is not my forte. If you were to ask me to set up a Nintendo or to fix anything on a computer I would be completely lost. I have more knowledge in the arts or the faces of the digital programs such as photoshop and facebook, or even how to function every aspect of a digital camera or cell phone. At this point I am mainly content with my skills but If I was to improve on anything it would be to better understand how things work and more of the Critical literacy skills.
Another thing I’ve seen with my skills is that I’m better with the social types of digital accessories. Such as cell phones, fun internet programs, internet games, cameras, and other types of things that are mainly used for fun. My weaker points are the more complex software because I have less of a reason to use it such as Microsoft excel and video games. I would mainly put myself in the category of Functional Literacy because I am a user of technology. I don’t invent anything, I just use these digital programs as tools or for fun.
Another thing I’ve seen with my skills is that I’m better with the social types of digital accessories. Such as cell phones, fun internet programs, internet games, cameras, and other types of things that are mainly used for fun. My weaker points are the more complex software because I have less of a reason to use it such as Microsoft excel and video games. I would mainly put myself in the category of Functional Literacy because I am a user of technology. I don’t invent anything, I just use these digital programs as tools or for fun.
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