Week 1 Assignment 2

Of all the technologies you use on a daily basis, pick the two you would not want to live without and explain why. Provide examples of how these technologies improve your life. How would your life change without these technologies?

I cannot live without my desktop computer.  This is the computer that I use at work.  I know, I know, most of you are probably going to say that your tablet or your cell phones are your most important piece of technology.  However, my desktop computer is gold to me.  I work in a Learning and Organizational Development department for a major Health Care system in North Carolina.  Since we work in Learning and Organizational Development, we work a lot with graphics, graphics software, learning management software, and etc.  I am lucky to have a fast computer that has double monitors and has a vast array of software that allows me to be highly functional.  My double monitors improve my life because I can multi-task.  I can look at two screens at the same time, which saves me time and allows me to be more organized.  Some of the technology in this computer such as Microsoft Office 2010 also improves my life.  Some of the Office software I use every week is Microsoft:  Word, Excel, Publisher, Outlook, PowerPoint, and SharePoint.  Without this software and my desktop computer, I can’t imagine how I would function.  I am completely dependent on everything I mentioned above.  My life would be drastically different without this technology.  I cannot imagine going back in time and using a word processor or a type writer.  If I lost all of the technology I use daily, my company would have to recruit at least two to three people to do the job I am doing now.

My other necessity is my laptop computer at home.  This computer allows me to complete all of my school work at Walden.  It also enables me to fiddle with my craft blog and my other hobby-photography.  Just this week, I learned how to put a watermark on a photo in Photoshop.  This is something I have wanted to learn for years.  My laptop goes with me when I travel, so it allows me to be mobile.  Last summer, I was in the middle of taking college algebra, and was able to complete the semester on the road from North Carolina to Michigan.  My husband’s family lives in Michigan, so this gave me an opportunity to still go on vacation and study at the same time.  Mobile technology has improved my life to the point that I would not have been able to go on vacation otherwise.  Students in a traditional classroom setting do not have that luxury.  Without my laptop and the mobile technology that goes with it, I would not be enrolled in an online school.  I would have been forced to attend a traditional classroom type of college, and may not have ever finished.  Being forced to go to traditional classroom college would have slowed down my progress in school, due to the fact that I would only be able to take one class every three months, versus, every six weeks as I do at Walden University.

Next, reflect on this week's required Learning Resources and share two insights you gained regarding technology and learning. What did you discover this week that you did not already know? Be sure to cite the Resources in your response.

I think one of the biggest insights I have had this week was correlating the printing press to literacy and teaching masses of people at the same time.  It never occurred to me that the printing of books and newspapers would have such a profound effect on education.  Jennifer Bussell discusses this in her article, “This invention had wide-ranging implications.  More significantly, increased access to printed texts created the opportunity for broad-based literacy.”  J. Bussell, 2006.  The fact that using the printing press to provide consistency so that everything printed was the same was a major feat.  This led to consistency with school texts and education.

Another insight that perhaps I hadn’t given much thought is that of Internet dominated instruction.  Randal Carlson writes of the 1980 and 1990’s, “These two decades saw the refinement of previous theories and models.  The advent and rapid development of the microcomputer and later the Internet dominated instruction.  Perspective began to shift from teacher as expert to teacher as facilitator.”  R. Carlson, 2006.  With the rapid change in technology since this time, internet dominated instruction has come to the fore-front.  At the turn of the century, seeking out classes online started to become a reality, and now, there are many options for college students that want the convenience of going to school online versus the traditional classroom.  Also, to refer to teachers as facilitators for the first time, is an important milestone in the development of learning and technology. 

References:

Bussell, J. (2006). Technology. In M. Bevir (Ed.), Encyclopedia of governance, 953–956. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

Carlson, R. D. (2006). Instructional technology. Encyclopedia of educational leadership and administration. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.