Would really like to vent!

For this week I am not sure what I want to say.  What I really want to say I think I shouldn’t say due to it not being positive.  I would really want to vent or get off my chest about this week, and how certain events have made me feel.  The events of the week have me feeling discouraged, and I have had a lot of thoughts on why. The discouragement is partly on what some teachers have said about my work, and about the way I ask questions in class. The discussions have given me a sense that I am not quite good enough, or that I shouldn’t be in graduate school.  In an effort to turn the negativity around into something positive, I have decided to focus on my service learning experience. I keep thinking, about what kind of helper I should be.  I don’t want to be the type to discourage students in the learning process.  I don’t want the students to walk away feeling like they will never get it, or that they are just plain stupid. In my effort to understand where all the discouragement is coming from I looked up what a positive learning environment should be.  The following are just some things I found geared specifically for the adult learner:

 

ReproLine: Reading Room

 

http://www.reproline.jhu.edu/english/6read/6issues/6jtn/v6/tn0305trng.htm

The effective trainer helps to create the positive learning climate by using a variety of techniques for providing positive feedback. To provide positive feedback: 

• Give verbal praise either in front of other participants or in private 
• Use positive responses during questioning 
• Recognize appropriate skills while coaching 
• Let the participants know how they are progressing toward achieving learning objectives 

Be sure to treat the participants as individuals. To do this you can: 

• Use participant names as often as possible 
• Involve all participants as often as possible 
• Treat participants with respect 
• Allow participants to share information with others 

To maintain the self-esteem of your learners, you can: 

• Reinforce those practices and beliefs embodied in the course content 
• Provide corrective feedback in an appropriate manner 
• Provide training that adds to their sense of competence and self-esteem 
• Recognize participants’ own career accomplishments 

 

Camden County College:

http://www.camdencc.edu/teachLC/archive/Positive%20learning%20environment%20panel%20discussion.htm

 

To create a positive learning environment the instructor must create a learning environment where the students feel comfortable, non-threatened, stimulated, challenged and important.  They need to feel that they can ask questions without feeling stupid; they can laugh at their own mistakes and realize they can move on to discovery.  Certainly the instructor needs to make every effort to keep the classroom lively and certainly the instructor needs to present material that will challenge the students’ intellectual abilities.  Furthermore, they need to feel that they are important, that they have control over their outcomes.

Class discussion

This week I looked further into the Salvation Army for a service learning experience, but their equipment was damaged so there will be no classes coming up for the seniors. After class this week, Professor Shulman mentioned something about working at Vintage a senior citizen community. I contacted the person, and I am waiting for the class to start. The class is still in the planning stage, but hopefully will start in November.

Final thoughts on this week’s lecture:  The group discussion was great on internet access provoked an interesting discussion. While I was talking to another student, she happened to mention that all she knows is the internet, and she wouldn’t know what to do without it especially finding news worthy stories online.  I thought about it for a moment, and thought that without the internet, she could access television news programs, newspapers, magazines, and word of mouth to find out what is going on in the world. This does make a person think what will young people do without computers since that is all that most of them know?

Another topic that may not seem important right now is the health concerns related to long term computer use? Or is this topic not important as Digital Divide as of right now. Should we think about this after the Digital Divide is closed?

For Lucy’s talk, I am not sure I want to give criticism, because I feel at this moment that a person can drown in too much criticism.

But I am glad that we know were we stand on the readings; however, the readings are getting a bit tedious. 

Looking for a program & ICT

This week was spent looking for a possible service learning program. I started by calling the East Liberty branch of the Carnegie Library, but they had no programs going on for seniors at this time. I then had the chance to read other classmates’ blog. Dee had a possible program, but it was in Harrisburg which is to far for me. I also looked for possible programs on the United Way website but with no such luck. I contacted UNC, but you had to live in North Carolina. I did read Piotr’s site, but I will wait to see what happens with that. Today I asked a friend from my church if she knows of any computer classes for senior citizens, and she mentioned the Salvation Army. Therefore, tomorrow I will contact the Salvation Army.

As for ICT, I looked it up online, wiki, and Pitt’s library journals. I found a lot of information, and different meanings for ICT. However, through my searching I did not come away with a real sense of the importance of ICT, and providing for it in the community.  The readings I feel speak of the importance of providing ICTs in the community especially where it is needed the most.

Week 1: Sept. 9 – Sept. 15, 2007

Okay this is my very first time using blog software.

As for this week in Digital Citizenship, I listened to the Coursecast for this week. I am not sure if I saw the whole thing, but I did watch it.  I also posted to the discussion board with my response to the ‘have’ vs. the ‘have nots’ etc.  In my response I feel that I had a personal experience dealing with someone who is in this paradox of having access to computer technology.  This person needed to access information online due to the fact that it was the only way she could access the information.

It has been a long week for me, and so far I don’t see a break for the next twelve weeks.

Sept. 23 – Sept. : long week

Along week for me. I want to say I read a research article on the Digital Divide. The following is a citation for the article:

Nahyun, Kwon., & Zweizig, Douglas L. (2006). Use of community information and communication technolgoies (ICTs): explaining the use of community networks with demographic factors, psychological factors, and alternative service accessibility. The Library Quarterly, 76(1): 81-106.

The purpose of the study was to redo a previous study to examine how demographics, psychological characteristics, and alternative internet access services effect community-based information and communication technology (ICTs) service. The researchers set out to show that there is a Digital Divide.

I also tried to find a program to conduct my service learning, but no such luck so far.

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