I really enjoyed the “Teaching and Learning Internet Skills” even though it maybe just a little too old for my taste, but you get the feel and atmosphere of how people felt about the internet’s beginning and growth. The article itself is a bit long, so I’m just going to summarizes and reflect on my favorite parts. I wish the author would have defined “adults” a little better.
The very beginning paragraph got my attention right off the bat. The part about his mother using the internet should indicate that everyone is going to be on the internet. Throughout my life I have enjoyed computers and the internet greatly and I never saw why people could care less about the internet or computers. My grandparents, who now use the internet, once avoided any technology say it’s a nuisance, complicated, or interferes with the “back in the day” methods. Although more people in the 60-99yrs of age are getting involved with the internet, the fact that they did not grow up around this technology causes resistance.
The very beginning paragraph got my attention right off the bat. The part about his mother using the internet should indicate that everyone is going to be on the internet. Throughout my life I have enjoyed computers and the internet greatly and I never saw why people could care less about the internet or computers. My grandparents, who now use the internet, once avoided any technology say it’s a nuisance, complicated, or interferes with the “back in the day” methods. Although more people in the 60-99yrs of age are getting involved with the internet, the fact that they did not grow up around this technology causes resistance.
Okay, back to the subject. I’m going to pass on talking about the explosion of the internet in 1990’s, because what is there to really talk about, other than more and more people began using the internet.
Here’s my assessment on “Overview of Internet Skills” section:
This section is rather depressing but true. The more we learn the more we realize that we can know everything about computers. If someone was able to know everything about them today the next day a new idea is created tomorrow. It’s harder for adults to adapt to new technology so they tend to rely on already known “functional set of skills.” A part of us would like to have things stay the same because they are “comfortable.” I am guilty of this concept too, even though I love new technology and progress. Whenever I finally learn something a newer way, method, and idea comes out and it’s obsolete.
The net truly is vast and infinite.
Skills for the internet are not the same as skills on a computer. For example: My brother barely uses his computer for anything other than use of the internet to keep up-to-data, entertained, and out of habit. He doesn’t know his way around the computer as well as he does on the internet. You can easily tell the difference from a person who uses the internet for work only then from a person who spends their free time exploring the internet. Skill acquired out of pleasure will always out do those who do out of force or payment.
Review on “Strategies for Learning and Teaching Internet Skills” section:
“Self-directed learning” is a perfect phrase to describe the internet. Sure there are classes, groups, and tech people but most of all the internet experience is gained by once self over exploration of the internet. Adults are use to the self-directed learning via newspaper articles, books, and magazines so they tend to be the ones buying books about how to do something with the computer or internet, since the internet is not as organized as they would like it to be. But the internet also has tons of information to help just as much as any old book, but the thing is you have to find it. Adults would rather buy a book without the hassle, then look for it for free on the internet. So basically there are a few main ways to learn skills about the internet: classes and teachers, internet, printed material, and social networking.
I would have to say that the rest of the article is total nonsense. It just talks about classes presently available in 1999 and what they have to offer.
My Conclusion:
The impression I get from this article is that adults are not willing to step into internet, unless backed into a corner. And if they do, they want formal training. Sure formal training is good but it just teaches you about the process not the desire and will to do it. I have to admit that there are some things like learn a particular computer language, would be very useful. No one can learn everything about the internet and technology because the advanced social networking and conglomerate amount of information on the web creates new ideas; and new ideas create new possibility and reality. Knowing something one day is obsolete the next. That’s what makes the internet great; it’s not the same old thing over and over.
Overall I think the author did a great job examining the methods on how people are progressing to the internet. The article made me reflect on my progress of exploring the computer and the internet. I can only dream what other great things will happen in the future.
http://www.georgiacenter.uga.edu/idl/internet/skills.html
Do you believe that adults are just afraid of change..... or have good reason to be afraid?
Sincerely ,
Joshua Settle
Joshua,
ReplyDeleteI also felt that the article was rather dated, since it was 10 years old. If it were written today, what concepts do you think it would need to address? The advent of faster connections? Social networking? (That's what I picked out, anyway!)
I didn't address this, but my grandparents also have picked up technology. My grandmother is not mechanically inclined; my grandfather is, but I still have to help him with cell phones and Internet searches. The article helped me understand why.