Technology
First and foremost it is important to know the rights you have as a digital citizen and how to protect yourself. Just recently I gave a presentation to some women who do not have much experience using the site facebook.com. My main concern for them was protecting themselves from exposing or sharing too much information on the Internet. One of the first things we discussed was how to change the privacy settings on their account. Facebook can be a great site for connecting with friends or networking; it is just important to protect yourself (ISTE Standard 5b, c, and d).
In addition to knowing your own rights, one must respect the rights of others. The digital world allows people to share much more information than we used to. News sites and journals open up their publications for the world to view. As a student, this allows me to find sources at the click of my mouse; however I still need to give credit where credit is due. Citing sources in all of my papers and presentations protects me from committing plagiarism, and provides the reader with credible sources that support what I am presenting (ISTE Standard 5a).
Finding credible sources can be difficult in this technological age. One of my courses was extremely helpful in learning how to research using the Internet. Introduction to Library Strategies built on the knowledge I already had on how to find scholarly information and then developed search strategies; using symbols and exploring advanced search techniques. I already had a working knowledge of how to find peer reviewed articles on sites like Ebsco, but through this class I discovered how to utilize general search engines – such as Google – to find websites that were tenable (ISTE Standard 3).
Having specific research questions are important to search through the massive amounts of information. Seeking out sources that provide both sides of the issue helps one to think more critically. In my research for the paper on child soldiers I found a source that actually disagreed with the book I had read. I knew the article was credible as it had been previewed many times and it allowed me to examine this topic with a new perspective (ISTE Standard 4).
These research skills are also useful in my professional career. Working as an Employment Specialist, I spend much of my time searching for jobs; knowing what fields are in high demand and being able to find labor and industry reports helps me serve my clients that much better. There are many postings that are scams, so being able to research the potential employer is important.
Using the Internet is not the only way I display my knowledge of technology. Western classes frequently use a program called Blackboard. This is a place where students and instructors can exchange useful information with each other. I have participated in discussions and group projects using Blackboard. Communication is another aspect of technology that has been very useful through my education. Instead of have to travel to the campus to attend office hours with my professors I can simply email them with questions. Communicating with classmates has become much easier as well. Google Documents is a place where multiple people can edit a document – such as a Power Point presentation or a Word document. The Human Services Program values group projects but it can be difficult to set up meetings that everyone can attend. Instead groups can do virtual meets by all getting online at the same time and editing a project on a site like Google Documents (ISTE Standard 2).
Having a wide knowledge of sites like Google is very helpful but it is important to know how to use some of the base programs these are developed from. I have created many projects through the Microsoft Office Suite; see Appendixes F, I, and N for examples. Appendix I was originally created using Microsoft Word and N was made in Microsoft Publisher. I have now converted them to PDFs for the purposes of the website (ISTE Standard 6).
Technology is not only useful but also very fun. It allows people to express themselves in ways they could not before. For instance the many of the pictures on this website have been edited to make them more interesting. My main computer is a Macintosh and comes with some great photo editing software. As part of my self-care I often play around with photos and print them out to put in my scrapbook (ISTE Standard 1).
Overall technology has been very useful to my education. It gave me an interesting way to present my knowledge that engaged my audience. I am excited to continue gaining knowledge in this area.
For information on the International Society for Technology and the National Educational Technology Standards go to:
Performance Indicators for Students
Performance Indicators for Students
Reference
International Society for Teachnology in Education. (2007). National eductaional technology standards and
performance indicators for students. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007_Standards.pdf.
International Society for Teachnology in Education. (2007). National eductaional technology standards and
performance indicators for students. Retrieved May 19, 2010.
http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForStudents/2007Standards/NETS_for_Students_2007_Standards.pdf.