Technology and Literacy In College:
Technology plays a very big part of my college life
right now. For example, I am making this website, as well as another one,
for my English class. I also communicate almost exclusively through e-mail
and instant messaging, making my technology literacy skills important. I
would say that it read and write e-mail and letters, research on the web,
download music from the internet, design and publish printed documents,
and consult online dictionaries often. I occasionally design websites,
download software and movies off the internet, play computer games,
prepare PowerPoint presentations, and manipulate digital photographs. I
also do some programming, visit chatrooms and listservs, make movies and
greeting cards, and make graphic art designs, but only rarely. Actually, I
was contacted to see if I would be able to create a graphic design for a
high school classmate who passed away this fall, but due to my course
load, I was unable to do it. Mostly, though, I am writing, researching, or
revising essays and papers on the computer. For my English classes, most
of my writing is opinion pieces, or analyzing different written pieces,
while I do a lot of research papers for my other classes.
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Me As A Writer:
As I look back at my writing history, I can clearly see
different qualities about my writing skills. In school, I have done an
incredibly large amount of writing for various teachers, using different
styles. I would say I enjoy doing regular research papers the most, as I
am good at creating arguments and supporting them with evidence, and I
believe most opinion pieces to be what I am worst at. I am a highly
independent, heavy planning type of writer. That is, I plan my entire
paper out inside my head before I write it, and I usually find most
feedback to be either unhelpful or unwelcome. I can write in almost any
condition, but I enjoy writing in a relaxed, comfortable environment,
where I can think about my paper with easy access to research. I would
probably perform worst during essays where one has to prepare notes ahead
of time, then come in and write an essay in one class period. I would say
my writing process is like planting a garden. I think it all through ahead
of time, then just knuckle down and do it. Inevitably, I have to do some
weeding, but the finished product is usually just what I envisioned it.
Writing, as a whole, is probably the most important form of communication,
as it is the easiest, but also the most eloquent, way to convey a message
to a mass of people.
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Me As A Reader:
Similar to my writing history, I can see some trends in
my reading history. I enjoy to read literature on my own time, and I can
usually get the full meaning from it. If, though, I have to read a book on
a deadline, I usually spend most of my time just reading to look for
answers to the questions that inevitably come with the book and usually
miss any real general meaning that the book has. The Great Gatsby,
Brave New World, and To Kill A Mockingbird, three required
books in high school, were permanently ruined for me, because I had to
read them on a deadline. For me to really get insight from a book, I don't
really concentrate on any specific message as I read, and let the writers
words create a very general impression on me about the book. With that
impression, I go back and look at what certain characters part in the
impression was, and what that means. Reading is just as important as
writing, because it is the easiest, and often most profound, way for one
to understand the messages and lessons others can teach you.
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Conclusion:
Well, its been a heck of a ride. From "Ann is sad." to
research projects to John Steinbeck, I have had a literary history that is
entirely my own. I have learned from some of the best and, hopefully, my
learning is not complete. As far as I have come with my literacy skills,
it only illustrates how much further I can go. I've seen what other
classes can teach me, and I believe that if I put the time in, I can learn
that much more.
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