U-Blog 6

As the semester winds down, everyone is worried about final projects and and final exams. I would admit that i am one of those people freeking out and depriving myself of sleep to get everything done. But doing the chapter 8 assignments maes me wonder how my learning style and preferred teaching style relate to how i study and plan for exams. I know that i procrastinate for just about anything, which is a bad quality. The best way for me to study is to cram before the the test or the final. The way i like to do projects, is to not wait to the last minute but actually start on it early. And i prefer to teach in an interactive environment. I wonder how these variables affect the way i study. But anyway, good luck to everyone who is also struggling with final projects!

U Blog 5

Well, we did our assignment at the Heritage on April 8, and it went better than i expected. It was a very enjoyable experience. The people there were very nice and polite. They also knew more than i thought they knew. They were very excited to be learning about instant messaging. Over all the project went well . We did have a hangup when trying to get screen names, one person had a problem getting a screen name that was not already taken. But it was very nice to see how excited they were to learn about what we were teaching. The lady i was helping told me that she signed up just to learn how to do emails because she has a granddaughter that is a missionary in Russia, and a grandson in Iraq. She also said that she has gotten really good at emailing and she is learning a lot of other things also. I'm just so glad we they actually learned and all this wasn't for nothing. I just enjoy helping people, and I'm glad i could be part of this project to help others.

U-Blog 4

So... as the date slowly gets closer for my groups turn to go to the heritage the nervousness increases. I'm not that comfortable around people i do not know especially older people. Call me shallow, but i believe this fear stems from visiting my great aunt in an nursing home and seeing old people who are very sick, physically and mentally. Even though i know that the Heritage is not a "nursing" home and that folks there are not the people at the "nursing" home that i use to visit, that old fear which was installed by visiting that place starts to creep back up. But i am jot scared just nervous how this is going to go, and how easily the folks will grasp what we are going to teach them. I mean i know they are not just going to get it after five minutes, but just wondering how difficult our job is going to be. But i guess that's why it is recommended for us to visit a workshop before we have to teach our own, to get acquainted, and to get a feel for what you are going to be doing. I will attend one workshop before my groups workshop if my work schedule will allow me to do so. Until that fateful day when it is my groups turn to do our workshop, i say i will not let my fear of strange old people get in the way of teaching the folks at the heritage how to instant message in style with AIM. ¡Liva la tecnología!

U-Blog 3

So.. i realized today while i was at work that we are suppose to teach elderly people how to use a computer when many do not even know how to use a ATM card. On that note probably only 10% of elderly people even have an ATM card. We are suppose to teach people with not even this basic level of knowledge. I know it's not their fault, just a result of the times and how rapidly technology advances. So ,we are going to have to possibly going to start from the very beginning and work our way up to email. This is just a thought. Their are probably a lot of elderly people that do know a little about computers and a good majority that know a lot about computers. This is probably not going to be as bad as i am making it out to be, but it's just the thought of the unknown thats making me think the worst. We also need to get together as a group and discuss what needs to be done for our team to be prepared.

U-Blog 2

I just watched a you tube video about the future of technology. According to the video technology is advancing at an amazing pace. Soon the radio and television as we know it will no longer exist and everything will be on the internet accessible by a computer. Also, by this time just about everything will have some sort of computer technology embedded and able to communicate with other appliances within your house. All this technology could be a good thing for he future, but is it really? If computers get that advanced, how many people will lose their jobs? Besides the loss in jobs, the biggest lose is going to be anonymity. If technology advances as many people believe it will, you will no longer have a private life. Everything in your life that use to be private will be available on the internet for everyone for see. From companies accessing your appliances and determining patterns in your behavior, and what you buy and how often. One thought is your refrigerator will be able to order groceries because it will be able to tell what is in your refrigerator and how long it has been there. Loss of a private life is a scary thought for me how about you?

U-Blog 1

Internet learning, is this where our educational systems are headed? Will the internet eventually phase out the traditional classroom? Would everyone be able to learn from the internet or would their still be those who need face to face? I think that their will still be a need for face to face learning. A computer cannot teach you. You can read a computer, but if you do not understand what you are reading then you are screwed because the computer cannot explain it to you or help you understand. Their are some people who could learn by themselves with just the internet. It seems that internet learning is a new trend with many colleges offering distant learning programs, and some offering programs you can participate totally over the internet. Maybe needing face to face learning from an instructor is a learned experience from attending public schools for thirteen years of face to face learning. I do not think that internet learning will not completely replace face to face learning but it will probably make a lot of ground and become a popular choice for college students, but not totally replace teachers.

Workplace Learning

Learning in the workplace is essential to the growth of a company. Their are many companies that will help with training employees. Their are some companies that will even create custom software for your company and help train your employees on that custom software. Hiring other companies to train employees instead of internal training seems to be a trend. Competency based training and education have re-emerged to develop a more flexible workforce. Also, sexual harassment training has been on the rise. Training of this sort is necessary to keep an proficient workforce and to keep away from employee lawsuits. According to one site, eighty-nine percent of employers train supervisors to prevent sexual harassment. Each industry has there own training requirements, such as construction workers are trained not to get hurt using the machinery; and cooks are trained how to use all the kitchen appliances without getting hurt. Some training such as sexual harassment and related training will benefit all industries and help the overall workforce.