I grew up in probably what most people would call a transition stage. What I mean by that is, I grew up with technology but it wasn’t as prevalent, I grew up with only one computer in the house and if you had to talk on the phone someone could not be on the computer. The main things I remember doing on the computer in the world of literacy was playing computer games like Where in the World is Carmen San Diego?, Arthur, and possibly many others. The Leapfrog learning pad was probably the biggest thing that helped me with literacy. I and possibly many other kids that grew up through the 90s we were able to survive without all the technology that kids have today. I remember when you could not be on the phone while someone was trying to get on the computer, thus timing was a big thing. There are many different aspects and people that helped me get to where I am today in respect to my digital literacy. My parents are the biggest part my digital literacy because they bought all the things that I would need to be literate in the world of technology, even though they probably did not know how big technology was going to be, my teachers for allowing me to use the computer as a different outlet to do projects. Teachers were/are a big influence in the realm of my literacy in the aspect that they encouraged the use of the computer when it came to projects and other extracurricular activities.
It all started with my parents, they bought all the computer games and books. My parents are the biggest part of how I feel about literacy in general. My mom used to make us read every day during the summer for at least 30 minutes, thus starting a love for reading. I remember hating having to read, so much that I remember changing the time on the timer so that I would have less time to read and more time to do other things, probably watch TV (sorry mom). I think what the biggest thing that lead to my love of reading was having my dad and my grandpa read my sister and I bedtime stories when we were little. Hearing stories of princesses and other fairytales that was the beginning of a love for the fantasy genre. Having just that basis of a love of reading is what lead me to be the reader I am today. I think having that basis in reading allows for a better understanding for the digitally evolving world and allows me to better adapt to the changing world around me.
The digital part of my literacy did not arise until I started playing computer games after my homework was done. My favorite game to play was most definitely Where in the World is Carmen San Diego? because it was a history game and you were a spy (I had a major spy phase after seeing Spy Kids). The game had you traveling through time to try and capture Carmen San Diego and replace artifacts that she had stolen. So in the aspect of digital literacy the game had you using critical thinking skills to figure out where she was and what she took. In that aspect I needed a general knowledge of world history and the basic knowledge of the workings of a computer, like which keys to press on the keyboard in order to move around the scene. With the Arthur computer game, if I remember correctly, it main focus was on learning, so that it had a basis on learning with math, reading and basic problem solving skills. The Leapfrog Learning Pad was the biggest toy to have when I was kid. The learning pad was probably the first piece of “technology” that I was able to call my own. How that helped with my digital literacy was the fact that it helped with reading, history, money, and English. It had a pen that when you touched it to a word or phrase the learning pad would say the word or phrase that you pointed out. In one of the books, there was a section on the human anatomy, where when you tapped an organ with the pen it told you what it does in a silly voice. Having that tool in my life was probably the smartest thing that I had and the best way to introduce me, personally, to the digital world.
Another person that helped me with my digital literacy are probably my teachers in elementary school. In elementary school I remember having computers in the classrooms to do activities during the free time or indoor recess. Some of the games that the school had were based in learning mostly math and writing. One of my favorite games to play when we were in the computer labs was the math game, Math Blaster, the story behind the concept of the game was to save the main characters side kick from the evil alien dude by solving math problems. So with the game I needed to be literate in the world of math in order to solve the problems and beat the game and save the little alien dude! When it came to science fair projects I used the computer at home to research how to do certain experiments and the use of Microsoft Word to type up ( had my dad do it cause my skills were minimal) my findings and the use of WordArt came in handy. Those skills help me navigate Word for writing papers for classes later on in my school life. The concept behind Microsoft Word is easy to understand thus giving an elementary school aged me an easy start into the world of typing. The allowed time in the computer lab as one of our class activities, introducing us to the world of technology at an early age thus allowing us to be semi immersed in the world of computers.
In middle school the ability to properly navigate a computer was key for doing projects. The majority of my projects had to be done for my history classes, especially in my 7th grade history class we had an alphabet book project due with chapter we studied. The alphabet books required me to think creatively when it came to finding words or phrases that went with all the letters and also fit into the chapter we were studying at the time. What I used for the books was Microsoft PowerPoint with different fonts and slide layouts to set the pictures to the best possible lay out that made it look cool and really creative. The basic ability that I had with PowerPoint has helped me in many ways as I got into high school and college with presentations and with that knowledge I am able to help others with their presentations. PowerPoint also opens up a world of possibilities in the world of presentations whether it is being able to become more clever with the presentations or expanding into a completely different world of software for the specific use of presentations, branching into different presentation applications.
The ability that I had acquired from messing around with that application helped with the class I took last spring that involved teaching the use of Microsoft Office applications in the workplace. In that class we learned the how to work with the different parts of Microsoft Office in ways that would be useful in an office based workplace, thus making us more marketable in this aspect of our future. In my opinion that class was tedious and a waste of my time because I believed that it was too easy, but the class has given me the necessary skills to work in the every growing, technology dependent world. With the growing abundance of technology the more necessary the need to be able to work with the formats that are given to you is every important if you wan to advance in the world of technology.
The fact that when I was starting out in the world of having to write papers for school my parents typed up my papers for me because I had inadequate typing skills. So my sophomore year in high school my parents had me take a keyboarding class to help me learn how to type efficiently. I hated that class, but taking it helped me with my ability to type, so now I type a lot faster. That skill helps me when it comes to writing papers when it comes down to the wire, which is unfortunately quite often. The keyboarding class helped with my literacy by allowing me to understand the ability that I have to type in order to do research and write my papers. Without this vital class, my college career would probably not be in the same place it is now, I could be behind because of lacking the ability to properly type and therefore getting papers done on time. The ability to use this skill is a skill that will help me in the years to come, in college or in the workplace or just for personal purposes. The use of those applications make you more marketable in the world of business.
Today I have a smartphone and a laptop. These pieces of technology are always in reach and are lifeline into the world of technology. With these I am able to combine what I have learned into being able to use my iPhone to help with all the things that I have to get done. With having a smartphone I am able to download apps that help with my productivity and my digital literacy with the use of Microsoft Office apps and apps like Blackboard in order to keep up with my school work and know when things are due. Also with the downloading of other apps that are focused on helping college students be successful and have good study habits, for example Study Room which connects you to other students in your classes so that you have the ability to share information with others in case that someone missed a class. The fact that there are such applications focused on the market of stressed college students and to make our lives easier is refreshing. Being in college is stressful enough but having companies that have apps that are targeted for the specific purpose to make an otherwise stressful four plus years a little easier.
Having the ability to understand the basic operations of a computer and the applications that have been put on it have increased my ability to work properly on the tasks that are given to me. With multiple people helping me become the person I am in respect to my digital literacy. I am thankful for my parents so started me out with computer games and the leapfrog learning pad. Just with the exposure to, what nowadays might be viewed as simply and primitive in the world of technology, has lead to a semi tech saavy person I am today. With all the skills I have acquired over the years have helped me in school but also helped me help others try to understand how technology works and to help them with their problems. Having this skill is key when it comes to trying to keep up with the ever evolving world that we are now a part of. As the world embraces the rise of technology, we as a human race need to be able to adapt with it but not get too caught up in the greatness that technology (in certain aspects) is becoming. Ultimately I believe that how technology is heading and how advanced it is becoming I fear for the up coming generations becoming so dependent on it. In the words of Robert S. McNamara, “A computer does not substitute for judgment any more than a pencil substitutes for literacy. But writing without a pencil is no particular advantage.”