Intro to Tech

To quote a great movie: “I guess that’s what happens in the end, you start thinking about the beginning” (Mr. & Mrs. Smith). I find that to be true with every course I take. And not just because most professors ask for your thoughts on the course as a whole, but because it helps me reflect and discover any paradigm shifts that occurred in one single semester. Upon entering this class, I will admit, I thought I might be slightly bored. I know more than the average person about technology and I was hoping that “Intro to Technology” wasn’t another name for “Computers for Dummies.” Surprisingly, not only did I learn A LOT more than I thought I would, but even if I already knew how to use something, I was able to learn how to utilize that tool in a way that will benefit in a classroom. There were so many things that I will be able to take away from this course and actually use in real life. One thing that I have realized, oddly enough because I did my research paper on the topic, is that through this weekly blogging, my writing has gotten better. My grammer, punctuation, capitilization and short hand words have all improved. I can actually hit spell check before posting a blog without having it underline tons of stuff in red!!! Yay for me!! 

Connect

My favorite part of technology is the fact that it helps me connect with people. I just finished having a conference/3-way call with my old roomates from college so that we could all be updated on each others lives. Last week, my friend informed me that she bought a Mac computer and now has iChat. I’m contemplating buying a webcam just so I can chat with her from across the country.

My parents don’t understand instant messager at all. They think that it is a waste of time. “Why not just pick up the phone and talk to the person,” is what my father always says when he sees me typing away. What he doesn’t understand is that I can be talking to half a dozen people at one time from different parts of the state or country. I can stay in contact with people that I wouldn’t normally call on the phone. The Internet makes things more casual, more realxed, and easier to connect with people.

Facebook. Myspace. Blogs. Personal Webpages. All things that make your life more visibile to the world in both a positive and negative sense. Ignoring the negative effects, these types of websites are another way to connect with old and new friends. Despite the creepy fact that people who you normally wouldn’t share personal info with now know every detail of your daily life, it allows acquaintences to get to know you better. As Dr. Ransom pointed out that these blogs allow him to know us on a more personal level outside of class, technology has allowed us to skip the meaningless chit chat of playing “catch up” and read those details online.