Since the last Literacies class which was two weeks ago, I have found myself thinking about the project that Becky and I will be working on for this course. When discussions arose relating to this project idea during week 6, I found that there were many directions we could take our research in. Becky and I have options, and while that's a good thing, it also puts pressure on us to explore an avenue that will be both beneficial and worthwhile. A quick google search relating to technological support for seniors returns numerous results, which is to be expected, but even so, I wanted to venture further.
The next logical step in my mind was to look up literacy initiatives in general. An interesting video on YouTube entitled "The Global Literacy Project" through Center MIT was one such video that I delved deeply into. In this video, various speakers address the fact that a lack of literacy on a global scale is contributing to missed opportunities for sharing knowledge and experience that can in turn better communities. In the video, one of the speakers ascertains that by making resources available to improve the literacy skills of those that are deemed to be illiterate, global poverty will be reduced by close to 12%. The crux of this video is then that these speakers have addressed the need for improved global literacy but are grappling with how to reach those that are in need of these resources. Further, in the video it is deduced that the paradigm of learning needs to shift and occur outside of the classroom, because it may be outdated. In response to this, technology is deemed in the video to be an important factor essential to facilitate learning practices aimed to improve literacy. In this experiment, twenty tablets with pre-loaded literacy applications are dropped in a remote area within Ethoipia, without any accompanying instructions. Within a few days, the people of the community were already beginning to interact with the tablet and learn through it.
I think this video was an important example to stumble upon as this project idea slowly begins its formation. After watching this video, I am left wondering: instead of using a teacher to instruct seniors about technology practices relevant to their lives, would it be more beneficial to house the entire program on a tablet device and have the tablet act as the teacher for the subject. If tablets were used in this way, learning could be very independently managed in that each user could move at his/her own pace, while collaborative in the sense that users of these resources could interact online and essentially learn together. Watching the video, I quite clearly recognize some of the glaring differences between the Ethiopia example in the YouTube video and this project about seniors, mainly because in Ethiopia tablets are a rarity to see, and so when the community was given them, they were inspired to use them because they saw them as a tool for self improvement. On the otherhand, as a very general statement, seniors tend to have an aversion or apprehension to technology because they are not properly introduced to it. Watching this video has added an interesting component to my brainstorming and research because I hadn't considered placing a larger emphasis on the resource or software itself and less on the sponsor of that literacy opportunity. Looking at this video has brought into question interesting components that I will revisit later as I continue to build up my research.
The next logical step in my mind was to look up literacy initiatives in general. An interesting video on YouTube entitled "The Global Literacy Project" through Center MIT was one such video that I delved deeply into. In this video, various speakers address the fact that a lack of literacy on a global scale is contributing to missed opportunities for sharing knowledge and experience that can in turn better communities. In the video, one of the speakers ascertains that by making resources available to improve the literacy skills of those that are deemed to be illiterate, global poverty will be reduced by close to 12%. The crux of this video is then that these speakers have addressed the need for improved global literacy but are grappling with how to reach those that are in need of these resources. Further, in the video it is deduced that the paradigm of learning needs to shift and occur outside of the classroom, because it may be outdated. In response to this, technology is deemed in the video to be an important factor essential to facilitate learning practices aimed to improve literacy. In this experiment, twenty tablets with pre-loaded literacy applications are dropped in a remote area within Ethoipia, without any accompanying instructions. Within a few days, the people of the community were already beginning to interact with the tablet and learn through it.
I think this video was an important example to stumble upon as this project idea slowly begins its formation. After watching this video, I am left wondering: instead of using a teacher to instruct seniors about technology practices relevant to their lives, would it be more beneficial to house the entire program on a tablet device and have the tablet act as the teacher for the subject. If tablets were used in this way, learning could be very independently managed in that each user could move at his/her own pace, while collaborative in the sense that users of these resources could interact online and essentially learn together. Watching the video, I quite clearly recognize some of the glaring differences between the Ethiopia example in the YouTube video and this project about seniors, mainly because in Ethiopia tablets are a rarity to see, and so when the community was given them, they were inspired to use them because they saw them as a tool for self improvement. On the otherhand, as a very general statement, seniors tend to have an aversion or apprehension to technology because they are not properly introduced to it. Watching this video has added an interesting component to my brainstorming and research because I hadn't considered placing a larger emphasis on the resource or software itself and less on the sponsor of that literacy opportunity. Looking at this video has brought into question interesting components that I will revisit later as I continue to build up my research.