Virginia Heffernan's "Education Needs a Digital-Age Upgrade"

                Virginia Heffernan wants the reader to remember one number: 65%. According to Cathy N. Davidson, these are the chances that today’s grade-school children will do work that hasn’t been invented yet.  She says that even a lot of current digital-age careers will be old by then. She believes it’s time to redesign education. Davidson says we are ignoring the cognitive skills that grade-school kids are they’re developing on their own. Most importantly, people above 40 need to stop disapproving of the digital-age. For example, many professors are wondering why the papers their students turn in are terrible. They need to take a look at their students’ online blogs; they have less errors, plagiarism and better prose than their classroom assignments. The classroom needs to teach the array of complex skills involving digital literacy. All of these ideas are from Davidson’s book “Now You See It” and Heffernan really encourages people to read it.

                I believe my teachers in elementary, middle, and high school could have better prepared me for the tech requirements in college by having more online work. I would suggest to them that they should have utilized technology a lot more; using smartboards weren’t enough. They needed to use technology that was interactive with the students, not just for themselves. They should have posted online assignments on moodle or blackboard. They also should have taught us how to use wordle, prezi, animoto, etc.

                I am also anticipating using a lot of technology in my chosen career field. I am aspiring to be a doctor. I may not know what my specialty will be, but I know that I could use many different types of technology. For example, I could use computers, x-ray machines, electronic medical records, laser surgery, and many more different types that aren’t even invented yet. I believe Oakland will do a good job of preparing me for any of this because Oakland has a medical school and I think OU would want to prepare students for its’ own medical programs.

                I feel that I write equally as well in a blog, email, or paper. It just depends on how I feel about the topic I’m writing on. If I love the topic, I tend to write much better than if I’m just forced to write about something I have no opinion on.

                If I were a teacher, I would utilize as much technology that is available to me. I know that technology changes, but if we’re constantly trying different technology then it will be so much easier to adapt to future technology.

                Lastly, I think the tone of Education Needs a Digital-Age Upgrade was very persuasive. I strongly agree with Heffernan’s and Davidson’s opinions on moving toward the digital-age. It is so important to utilize all technology around you and constantly be learning new things. The world is constantly changing around us and it is necessary to adapt to changes. Some people are unable to adapt and it makes using technology so much more difficult for them. I believe we should prepare our future generations for anything that could be thrown at them.

My Literacy Timeline

Before I started school: I began talking at a very young age and I spoke full paragraphs right away. I had a huge imagination and lots of imaginary friends.

Kindergarten: My dad always read books to my brothers and I at night. We loved all the Shel Silverstein poems and I remember loving “Goodnight Moon” and “Love You Forever.” My dad has inspired me a lot when it comes to reading.

1^st grade: I read more on my own, but my dad continued to read to me because I loved it so much. As I got older, he would read stories and he’d change the words to make them funnier. All through elementary school, my dad would take me to book fairs and I would buy tons of new books.

2^nd grade: I would read ALL the time. I remember being one of the only kids in my grade that was allowed to read the books in the older kids section at my elementary school. I felt so smart.

3^rd grade: Over the summer my mom’s best friend lent me 100 books. Some were long and some were short but I was so proud of myself for finishing all of them by the end of the summer.

4th-7^th grade: I continued to love reading, but as I started getting older I read much less and I began reading just what was required for school.

8^th grade: Really started to read magazines like “Seventeen” and “People”

9^th grade: I had pneumonia and read all the “Twilight” books that were out in less than a week. This was the first time in quite a while that I read any books on my own.

10^th grade: Don’t remember reading much at all.

11^th grade: Read for AP Lit and hated every book except “The Color Purple.” “Crime and Punishment” was a nightmare.

12^th grade: Read “The Hunger Games” and any required books for AP English. My dad started recommending books to me and vice versa.

1^st year at OU: Over the summer I read 50 Shades of Gray and the sequels. I absolutely loved them and I highly recommend them!! Since I started school, though, I’ve only read required books and I haven’t had a lot of time to read on my own.

"Superman and Me" By Sherman Alexie

To summarize, "Superman and Me," was about Sherman Alexie. He was a Spokone indian living on the Spokone Indian Reservation in eastern Washington State. His family was considered middle class on the reservation, but considered poor by society's standards. His father loved books, which influenced Sherman Alexie's love of reading. He taught himself how to read at an early age, which made him an outcast on the reservation. He didn't let that stop him, though, and now writes novels, short stories, and poems. He also visits the schools on reservations as much as possible. It is his goal to encourage the children to read and write creatively, just as he did when he was a young boy.
Sherman Alexie's literacy narrative really drew me in. I can connect to his love of reading because I have always loved books. I especially loved books when I was young, so I can understand that he taught himself to read at an early age. I think it was much more important to Alexie, though, because he didn't care what anyone thought about him. He knew he would be judged and treated as an outcast, but reading was important to him and nothing else mattered. I really admire that and it was very inspiring.

Why Writing Is Important

In almost every career it is necessary to use writing and communication to become successful. I am aspiring to be a doctor. In doing that, I will need to communicate daily with patients and other people in the health profession. There will be many occasions where I’ll need to refer a patient to someone or I’ll need to write a report on their condition. Specifically in the health field, there are many medical words that are difficult for patients to understand and I will need to put them in layman’s terms it so that it’s easier for them. I will need to continue to improve my writing and communication skills so that I am able to write clearly and thoroughly. At some point in my career I will also be likely to do a lot of research on specific diseases and conditions. If I want any of my work to be published, I will need to improve my writing so that it is organized and easy to understand. It is also important to write well if I want to be taken seriously by other doctors and my patients. As I stated before, it is important in any profession to have good writing and communication skills and I am aware that for most people it will take a lot of hard work and practice to get there.