"...knowledge of an early 1980s word processing system offers only a modest start at understanding current authoring technologies and how to use them."and
"Most of this material seems to be poorly covered in present curricula at all levels: elementary school, high school , and college."As for the first quote, this is why I am taking this class. I know how to type and have a basic knowledge of most new technology, but I have never had to use them. I still don't know quite how to make a Power Point presentation. I just missed this when I graduated college and have never needed to use this up until now. This leads me to the next point. It is now expected that you know how to use Power Point (for example) because it's been around and we are now in this technology age. In working in a high school library, students have no idea how to research and aren't necessarily taught how to research correctly in this Wikipedia age.
MUDDIEST POINT
I am confused over the "downloads" part of this class. I have a Mac and, from what I understood, I don't need to download the Ad-Aware?
Also, do we need to write notes on every reading for the week or is it whatever reading we'd like to talk about throughout the semester as long as there are at least 10 separate readings?
Also, do we need to write notes on every reading for the week or is it whatever reading we'd like to talk about throughout the semester as long as there are at least 10 separate readings?
I think it is tougher for older students or workers to get the chance to be taught how to use such programs as Power Point. In schools today students as young as third grade are taught how to operate and effectively use it for presentations in front of their classmates. They LOVE it!
ReplyDeleteHi Cheyenne! I'm a Mac user, too. I looked around and found that you can download the trial version of a program called 'MacScan' for free. Though it expires after 30 days, you can run scans without 'authorizing' the program for that 30-day period. I hope that was helpful! js
ReplyDeleteThanks for your reply, Gemma. It seems that in the high school library I worked in ALL of the assignments were done in Power Point. No one writes papers anymore.
ReplyDeleteThanks, John. That was helpful.
Hi Cheyenne I believe that the use of Power Point proves to be effective in the sense of using it as a tool to complement a lecture, class or conference paper. If the student knows the complementary role that it can have in your research papers, essays, etc, I don't think it's a problem. The problem with Power Point presentations is that most people don't know how to build an ideal one. The majority just paste big paragraphs, and it tends to get boring and with too much information. I'm not aware if is required but in my opinion, is one tool that is best if you have at least a basic knowledge of how it works. I know it seems really scary at first but when you get the hang of it, you'll love it, at least I do. There are a couple of online tutorials and books that can help you with this.
ReplyDeleteI hate to buck the trend and move away from the power point discussion, but I just wanted to touch on your comments about high school students being unable to conduct simple research. After having worked for three and a half years in a public library in a university town, I am sad to report that a number of college students are among the ranks of those who are completely unable to navigate the excess of information out there too.
ReplyDeleteFor some reason, many people assume that IT literacy is a function of age. I, however, would like to argue that it is not. The young may have always lived in a world where the internet is available, but that doesn’t mean that they understand how search engines mine results or where their emails are really stored. I think in most cases, rates of basic IT literacy have improved, so we all pat ourselves on the back and go on our way. However, it seems as though we are failing to cultivate the critical thinking skills necessary to navigate this information rich terrain. Equating exposure to technology with proficiency or fluency is really jumping the gun.
I guess it doesn't surprise me that students today (high school or college) do not know how to conduct a good search when researching a topic, I often wonder how I could improve my skills in this area (On a side note: I have been taking the computer workshops offered by the LIS library and they have been great). However, I think Lorraine brings up a good point about how students also lack good critical thinking skills; is this not integrated into the school curriculum? I remember being required to take a typing classes in middle school, are there basic IT courses that are required for students today? I am asking because I've never worked in a school.
ReplyDeleteEmily, in the school district I worked in, it was not required. You could take it as an elective but, who would take typing when they could take art or drama?
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