Core I

Technology is an integral part of daily life, especially as a college student. Every day it seems as if another part of our lives is moving to the internet. Math classes here at the University of Central Florida including: college algebra, precalculus, and trigonometry require all homework, quizzes, and tests to be performed on the internet. I was surprised at how widely technology has been integrated into the college classroom. While a high school student, I was required to write essays and create presentations and projects using a computer. However, I did not expect that some of my classes would be taught completely online in college. My accounting class, for example, is taught via video stream and requires all assignments to be submitted via the internet. Technology can be a useful tool in making life easier but it should not be taken for granted and become all consuming.

In my personal life, technology has always been important to me. My first computer was given to me by my grandfather when I was only six years old. It was kind of old, but I didn’t care. I really enjoyed trying to figure out how to do use it. A year or so later, my grandfather set me up with internet access. This access was probably a mistake because I would go online and download all kinds of programs just to see what they would do. Unfortunately, my computer did not appreciate my tinkering and would crash a lot. Much to my grandfathers dismay, he would pick up my computer and fix it or pay to have it fixed. I probably should have felt bad about causing my grandfather so much frustration, but I believe the resourcefulness I gained from the experience has helped shape me to become the person I am today. Because of the experience I gained, I am now able to figure out how to repair, build, and use computers efficiently. In my career as an accountant, I will have to use a computer everyday to create crunch numbers, create financial statements, and prepare taxes. Therefore, it will be very important to be digitally literate in accounting software, microsoft excel, and other programs.

While I believe technology can be used for the good of mankind to make our lives easier and more efficient, there are some boundaries that I do not think it should cross. For example, I do not think books should be available online. For one thing, if books are uploaded online only with no other medium, I think it would be too easy for someone to send out an e-mail to all of their friends and family with the book attached. Therefore, no one would be paying for the book except for the first person who purchased the rights to view the book. Jay Bolter believes that people “may come to associate with text the qualities of the computer (flexibility, interactivity, speed of distribution) rather than those of print (stability and authority)” (3). This statement shows that books will most likely become obsolete and give way to a more electronic way of learning and reading because people will like the fact that the computer can be more interactive and flexible than a book. I on the other hand, like the stability of having a book in my hand. For example, my math and accounting books can be purchased in normal book form or viewed online. I prefer to use a book in my hand, however because it is much easier to try to find things. Also, I believe my eyes experience strain after staring at a computer screen for a while and this would become uncomfortable for reading some books such as novels.

Even though I may not like the fact that books may become fully digitized, I do believe it is extremely important for students to be digitally literate. In the college of business administration at the University of Central Florida, computer fundamentals of business is a required course which is, “designed to teach undergraduate students how to use computers (hardware and software) in business, including business applications, commercial packages, and the Internet” (Freund 1). Since computers are becoming such an integral part of the business world and the world in general, it is crucial for everyone to know how to use a computer and for computers to be integrated into the classroom. As Barbara Jones-Kavalier states in her article about Literacy of the 21st century, “a common scenario today is a classroom filled with digitally literate students being led by linear-thinking, technologically stymied instructors”(1). This problem is haunting the educational system because even though new technology may be available for use, older teachers may not know how to use it nor know enough about it to attempt to teach their students about the technology and integrate it into the curriculum. If there is no training for teachers to learn how to use technology appropriately in class lessons, the students will have to reason to try new technologies or become more resourceful.

Technology is a wonderful tool and I believe it has its place. However, I feel as if society in general is becoming too dependent on it. Everything seems to have moved online and we go crazy if we lose internet for a few minutes and have to be without Instant Messaging, e-mail, or facebook. I believe facebook can be a great tool for reconnecting with old friends who may have moved. However, when people begin to use it as their only means of communication or try to friend everyone on the network and claim they are “real” friends, it begins to take away the intimacy of true friendship.

In conclusion, I believe technology has been a tremendous help in shaping who am I today. I think technology should be more incorporated into education, but at the same time I do not believe our society should become too dependent on technology. Since it is man-made, anything could go wrong with it and we leave ourselves wide open to cyber attacks on our infrastructure and our way of life. However, I must admit that I am fairly addicted to technology myself since I check my e-mail and facebook several times a day and feel lost without access to my cell phone.

Works Cited
Jay Bolter's An Introduction to Writing Space (Chapter 1)
Steven Freund-UCF CGS Website Syllabus
Barbara Jones-Kavalier Connecting the Digital Dots in the 21st Century

Audience Awareness article

In the article I found, the author performed a study on the topic of audience awareness in a technologically enhanced classroom. The class was composed of 4th grade students who each had a computer at their desks and had many other technological resources at their disposal in the classroom. The author claims that the use of technology in writing helps students to establish a better sense of audience awareness because during the presentations of the information they gathered in groups, the audience was allowed to ask questions and seek further clarification of the material presented. This questioning helped the students presenting to focus on what they needed to explain better..

Also, the students were asked to write essays about the topics they researched. When the students were asked to share with a few classmates before they turned in the assignment, their writing improved because they "had more of an awareness of what needed to be clarified"(406).

Link to article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10862960009548086

I found the article on Google Scholar, and used the library website to actually receive the full text. Hopefully, the link above works. I saved the article in PDF format on my computer.

Part II of Core I

I am currently an accounting major and will hopefully become a CPA once I have graduated and pass the CPA examination. In this field of work, Microsoft Excel is one of the most important computer programs. The software allows all kinds of manipulation of numbers and calculations to be performed for creating financial statements. While I do know how to use some basic functions, I will need to brush up on all the functions and learn how to use Excel more efficiently. Also, the rest of the Microsoft Office suite will be necessary for preparing forms, presentations, and databases of information for clients.

Other proprietary tax software will need to be used and I will need to learn how to work with the programs and have the information transferrable between the software I will use and the software my clients will use to input their business transactions. A lot of training will be required to learn all of these functions. However, UCF has required all business majors to take a course teaching the Office suite, so I should be fairly well versed with the software when I have completed the course.