Digital Literacy Blog Post

            In elementary and middle school my teachers didn’t do much of anything to prepare me for the technological requirements in college. In high school, a program was offered called Flex where students could take one or two of their classes online. I participated in this program both my junior and senior year of high school. I feel as though it prepared me for what I’m expected to do this year on Moodle. I think I now have an advantage over students who didn’t take online classes in high school because I’m already used to all of the pros and cons that come with it. I’ve experienced many tech issues and I’ve learned to check my assignments online often and ahead of time just in case any problems should arise at the last minute. With my other four classes that I didn’t take online my teachers didn’t do anything to prepare me for the online aspect of college classes. This semester every single one of my classes has an online component and even though I have experience with online classes it’s still an adjustment. I would suggest to elementary, middle and high school teachers to do what they can to make their students turn their assignments in online and get them familiar with doing school work on the computer.

            I will often use computers in my career as a nurse. Recently, most hospitals and doctors’ offices have chosen to go “paper-less”. This means every patients’ medical charts are online and doctors and nurses use iPads or other tablet devices in order to access them. Not only has technology made things easier for the doctors, nurses and other staff, mainly because charts are no longer misplaced, but it’s also been good for the environment and for the economy. Office supplies tend to be expensive and that aspect has been cut out using the new online system. The time I spend here at Oakland University will undoubtedly prepare me for the technology I’ll be using while I work. By being familiarized with an online system I’ll already be comfortable doing that when I go to work for a hospital or doctors’ office that uses computerized medical charts.

            I write better in a less formal document, like a blog or email. I feel stress and pressure to be perfect while I’m writing a formal paper and those constraints don’t exist with informal writing.  When I’m writing a paper I feel like if every comma isn’t in place and I’ve removed every conjunction then I’ll be penalized and that anxiety tends to give me writer’s block. When I’m writing informally the words tend to flow and I tend to worry less about structure which in the end produces better, more authentic writing.

            I would not want the responsibility of being a teacher in this day and age. It’s too difficult to try to prepare kids for the known future let alone the unknown. I would do my best to prepare my students for the real world by preparing them for all of the technology they’ll be using by letting them practice with it.

            To me, the tone of the piece seemed cautionary. It warned that teachers and parents should be preparing kids for a new world, not the same one we’re living in today. I fully agree with the thesis and have experienced the problem first hand. Technology is such a big part of the world now and kids aren’t being taught how to use it properly for educational purposes, even though it’s a great tool, because the generation teaching them doesn’t necessarily know how to use it. Now more than ever kids aren’t prepared for the real world when they leave school. Technology has the capability to better prepare students for careers and life in general if taught and used properly.   

Personal Narrative – Literacy Essay

Timeline

Born in August 1994

Father’s Day, June 1995 – My very first word was “Dad”

Every night before bed my dad would read me bedtime stories because my mom worked at night…we always read the same books, Little Bear, Curious George, Go Dog Go and No Jumping on the Bed

December 1999 – My little brother was born, I was 5

My dad read to us both, even though my brother couldn’t understand the books yet

Around this time my Dad and I had been reading the same books for so long that while he was reading to me I would say the next sentence in the book before he could say it.

That’s when I first remember reading being fun because when I would tell my dad the next sentence in the book he would laugh and that made me happy

2^nd grade – I read Charlotte’s Web for the first time

I checked it out in the library and I brought it home and for a few weeks, every night before we went to bed my dad would let me read to him

4^th grade – I had a teacher who was from Germany

She didn’t speak English in a way that little kids could understand her because her accent was so thick

This was the first year I felt discouraged about school but my parent’s always encouraged me to keep working hard

6^th grade – We were required to read a certain number of pages every quarter in school

This is when I first read Monkey Island although now reading felt like a punishment

8^th grade – I took an aptitude test in school that was meant to determine our placement for high school classes

I scored very high in the reading and writing categories so I was placed in Honors English classes

9^th grade – Looking back now, I had the best English teacher I could have ever asked for when I was a freshman in high school

He was a tough grader and he was particularly harsh on my essays and at the time I didn’t understand why

Now I realize when I was in ninth grade I wasn’t as focused on school as I should have been

My teacher, Mr. Szymanski, realized my potential and always expected more from me

I believe this was a shaping year for my literacy history because even though I didn’t see it then, I realize now my teacher didn’t let me give up and be mediocre, he challenged me so that I might challenge myself

*Mr. Szymanski made every student that took his class not fear reading Shakespeare

I remember we spent months on Romeo and Juliet, reading, writing, listening, acting and watching it, so that when we left his class we better understood Shakespeare as an author and the story of Romeo and Juliet in its entirety – theme, meaning, purpose and all

10^th grade – This year I left the Honors English program, to Mr. Szymanski’s disappointment

I regret the decision sometimes

I’m also thankful for this decision because I was in Mrs. Grossman’s English class and she left an impact on my life, both personally and academically

Mrs. Grossman was an elderly lady, one year away from retirement

She loved her job, and loved American literature and transcendentalism in particular. (Walt Whitman, Henry David Thoreau, and Ralph Waldo Emerson)

She rekindled my love for books that I hadn’t felt since the days when my Dad would read to me

She brought Fahrenheit 451 and the Crucible alive

Funny memory: Mrs. Grossman had a crush on Arthur Miller and so she would always talk about the Crucible and relate things back to that, she loved when you made those references in your essays

When we would read in class she would read the book aloud with such fervor, emotion and excitement that I looked forward to hearing her read the next day – even the boring short stories from our outdated literature books were intriguing and worth-while when she read them

I know it sounds silly, being read to when you’re 15 and even though I wouldn’t have admitted it then, I miss the days of hearing Mrs. Grossman read those novels and I often think about trying to get in touch with her - to thank her for changing the way I looked at English literature, mainly transcendentalist authors, and for the kind words she spoke on the last day of school before summer vacation

11^th and 12^th grade – I started taking English classes online and I didn’t read a novel for two years

The stories I was supposed to read for my class didn’t make sense because I couldn’t understand them and I didn’t take the time to “un-pack” what I was reading

The transition to this college English class has been difficult so far because I haven’t been in a formal English class with essays in 3 years

Summary and Response –

“Superman and Me” by Sherman Alexie

            To Sherman Alexie, an Indian child growing up on the Spokane Indian Reservation in east-central Washington State, being literate wasn’t just about being able to read and write; it served a greater purpose. In his personal literacy narrative, Sherman Alexie brought to light the low expectations that were placed on the children on the reservation. Most people on the reservation live at or below poverty and education isn’t greatly valued. No one expected them to amount to much because of their circumstances but that standard wasn’t good enough for Sherman Alexie. His dad was an avid reader and when Sherman was old enough he picked up the habit. Sherman Alexie first learned to read by matching pictures with what he thought was being said in a Superman comic book. In this way he learned that books are oriented from left to right. He considered himself intelligent, lucky and maybe even better than everyone else. Sherman Alexie used this revelation to be better. He’s now a successful published author and a positive figure for young Indian children to look up to. He visits classrooms on Indian reservations to teach kids about creative writing and hopefully plant a seed for future success.

            I think Sherman Alexie has a positive message. It’s no secret that everyone isn’t given the same chance in life and not everyone has the same circumstances. Sherman Alexie’s message to the students he teaches on the reservation is to rise above those circumstances and to not be a victim of your environment.   

Why Writing Is Important

Writing is one of the most important ways to communicate with one another. As students, writing is a skill we've been developing since our very first days of school. I've found that writing is not only important in academics but also in relationships, jobs and for enjoyment. When I reach my career goal of being a nurse, I will use writing often in order to communicate with my peers, colleagues, patients and doctors I work with. The most obvious way writing will be important when I'm a nurse is when I have to create care plans for my patients. It will be important for me to be able to effectively convey my thoughts and intentions in order to protect the well-being of my patients. If I were to be misunderstood because of my poor writing skills it could potentially be life-threatening. In addition to writing care plans, I will inevitably be sending professional emails or memos while I work as a nurse, especially if I choose to work in the hospital setting. Writing will be a fundamental skill I use throughout my career.