One of the things that really frosts me about getting more experienced (an educated way of saying older) is that the world keeps changing around me. If I had been born in 1850 it wouldn't have been such a big deal, but my folks brought me into the world in 1950. As I grew up, the Civil Rights marches,the Kennedy assassinations, the MLK assassination, the Los Angeles and Detroit race riots, the Vietnam War, the Feminist Movement, Watergate, and the Nixon resignation all changed my way of viewing the world. The change was gradual, and I was able to adapt through the lens of a college student, a young wife, a mother, a graduate student, and an employee.
But one day in 1986, a man from the physical plant of the university where I worked took away my IBM Selectric typewriter. The next day that same man delivered an Apple IIe computer to my desk, along with a schedule of classes. Nothing has been the same since. Shift one.
First, I became a student again. Every month--and sometimes every week--I attended a class to learn some new software program. It was easy at first, but then the software started coming more quickly. Each time I changed jobs, a new computer program was on my menu. And then e-mail and the World Wide Web appeared, and after a few stumbles, I still managed to learn.
For ten years or so I worked in media relations, honing communication skills, photo skills, and writing up a storm. My first published articles appeared about this time, because writing and editing them on the computer was so much easier than typing. I began to see myself as a writer, more than just an employee, and my learning was no longer mandated by my employer; I just did it.
Then I went into the classroom to teach and got the shock of my life. Shift two. I thought I was handy with a computer, but I couldn't hold a candle to the digital natives I was teaching. These kids couldn't remember a time without computers. Their handwriting was awful, because they took notes on keyboards. They wanted to read their phones during class. And the more information I could put online for them, the better.
I'd have to say that I think my students like my lectures, but only because I am a good performer. They aren't really interested in my teaching, they are interested in getting my help. All of a sudden (read that "over the past 5-10 years"), students want to get their instruction online, and have me to help them with anything they don't understand. Shift three.
This is definitely a paradigm shift. We used to lecture, then send students off to do homework and turn it in the next today. Today, students want to get their lecture/instruction online, and come to class to do their homework. It's a complete reversal of life as I knew it, and although I know I will adapt, it's really been a shock to my senses.
Need I say that I am looking forward to shift four? Retirement!
But one day in 1986, a man from the physical plant of the university where I worked took away my IBM Selectric typewriter. The next day that same man delivered an Apple IIe computer to my desk, along with a schedule of classes. Nothing has been the same since. Shift one.
First, I became a student again. Every month--and sometimes every week--I attended a class to learn some new software program. It was easy at first, but then the software started coming more quickly. Each time I changed jobs, a new computer program was on my menu. And then e-mail and the World Wide Web appeared, and after a few stumbles, I still managed to learn.
For ten years or so I worked in media relations, honing communication skills, photo skills, and writing up a storm. My first published articles appeared about this time, because writing and editing them on the computer was so much easier than typing. I began to see myself as a writer, more than just an employee, and my learning was no longer mandated by my employer; I just did it.
Then I went into the classroom to teach and got the shock of my life. Shift two. I thought I was handy with a computer, but I couldn't hold a candle to the digital natives I was teaching. These kids couldn't remember a time without computers. Their handwriting was awful, because they took notes on keyboards. They wanted to read their phones during class. And the more information I could put online for them, the better.
I'd have to say that I think my students like my lectures, but only because I am a good performer. They aren't really interested in my teaching, they are interested in getting my help. All of a sudden (read that "over the past 5-10 years"), students want to get their instruction online, and have me to help them with anything they don't understand. Shift three.
This is definitely a paradigm shift. We used to lecture, then send students off to do homework and turn it in the next today. Today, students want to get their lecture/instruction online, and come to class to do their homework. It's a complete reversal of life as I knew it, and although I know I will adapt, it's really been a shock to my senses.
Need I say that I am looking forward to shift four? Retirement!
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