My Mom's iPad

My mom is a special education teacher in the Slinger School District (south-eastern Wisconsin). She's been doing it for literally decades. She still does lesson plans by hand on pen and paper. She marks grades down in folders before entering them into the online system. She prints out articles instead of reading them off the computer. To be brutally honest, she's old school.

Two years ago, her school district gave her an iPad to use as a classroom aide. Upon it she could download educational games to use with her classroom. When I first heard about it, I thought it was a great idea too! But then, she brought the iPad home. I never thought that my mom was bad with technology until that point. Never have I ever seen someone look so awkward using a tablet. Instead of lightly tapping on the screen, she would literally pound her finger on the glass. As someone who tries to take care of their electronics, I could not even stand the sight of it. Over the course of a few weeks, I taught my mom, someone who traditionally relied on pen and paper, to use a tablet effectively. Today, she uses her iPad in class to assist in teaching everything from music to math.
Eventually, my mom became so comfortable with the iPad software that she purchased an iPhone for personal use.

Now, when my mom has a problem with her iPad, it's not just her problem; it's my problem. After I taught her everything I knew about her iPad, I thought that I was in the clear. Then, Apple had to go ahead and release iOS 7. When iOS 7 came out it was an entirely new learning process for my mom. Both her iPad and her iPhone changed layouts completely. She called me and talked to me on the phone for over half an hour just to figure out how to close apps. The next day, she texted me about the same topic...

While an iPad can be used effectively as a tool for teaching handicapped children, it requires certain literacies to be used. My mom is, without a doubt, a "digital immigrant". Her iPad certainly enhances her work, it just took a while to get used to. Hopefully, in the future, my mom's experience with her iPad can help her with the transition to fully digital grading and lesson plans.

My mom is technologically challenged

My mom uses computers for her job as a retail manager. The most difficult situation she has encountered is the hiring system that her company has through the computer. They recently created a new system, and it is a lot more complicated than the previous version. Many people throughout the company are experiencing similar issues with this technology. It is more difficult, because there was hardly any training for the new system, and they had to learn it by themselves mostly. It is also hard for applicants to use the technology.

She also uses the computer for payroll and emails. The computer makes doing payroll a lot simpler, because it is automated, and it is a lot easier to figure out. She uses email to communicate with her bosses, instead of having to wait to talk to them on the phone or in person.

Since my mom has had to use the computer a lot work it has taught her a lot more about the computer. Before she had many questions about simple uses of the computer, but she is able to use it much more effectively now. Her employees also teach her new things about using the computer. This has transferred into her home use, and she is more knowledgable about it now.

She said another issue she encounters is having to call Data Advantage if there is a problem with their computers. This makes is more difficult to do business when the computers are down, because they don't have access to the technology that is supposed to help them.

Overall, though, she has found the computer to be very helpful in her job, and it makes doing business much easier. While she is often technologically challenged, having computers in her job has really taught her a lot more about using technology.

My Mom and Her Experience with the Computer

For this assignment, I decided to talk to my mom about her experiences with technology used in her work. I chose her because she used to work at a flower shop, then decided to go to training sessions in order to become a medical assistant at a doctor's office. From these sessions I knew that she developed skills that she would need with technology for this job, which is why I wanted to talk to her.

When asking her about her experiences and her job, she said that the technology that was the most important for her job was indeed the computer. Before this new job and her training, she had little knowledge of computers. She has had experience with them, but not much. She would always ask me for help on how to do things, and she basically only knew the basic functions of computers. After her training, she learned much more about computers and its features. She said that it was not that difficult to get used to and learn, as now she has a lot more knowledge and uses computers everyday at her job. She learned to input data, make documents, and she also learned how to make an email, which are all things she previously did not know how to do.

My mom is good with computers now, but that does not change its role in her workplace. She always tells me of how it is annoying to use computers at her work and how it slows things down. This was interesting to me because I would have thought that computers would make work easier, but according to her, it makes it harder. Because she is a medical assistant, she is required to input all of the information about the patient into the computer during the appointment, and she says that this takes away from the time to address the patient's needs.

From my conversation with my mother, I found that these short training sessions do indeed work. If someone is willing to put in the time and go to these courses, they can come out with an elementary level job and work their way up. The use of computers in workplaces are becoming more popular in many different fields, as they are going to be the future. It is good to have some literacy with computers, as it is important and could be the factor if someone qualifies for a job or not. Overall, I found my mom's experience with computers very interesting, as it has become a skill that she was required to learn, and it has caused her to now love using computers.

Information Technology: The Blackberry

Many are accustomed to using smart phones.  Although they have become an everyday device, smart phones were not always a communication tool.  Back in the early 2000s, my dad could be reached by cell phone or pager.  Often, people paged him with a number to call at his earliest convenience.  This created a two step process which was problematic.  However, when my dad became a chairman on the union committee at Harley Davidson, he got access to a new information technology that would help: the Blackberry.

The Blackberry created what many would call the modern smart phone in 2003.  This phone not only had a keyboard but also allowed users to send emails and text messages.  Other phones were used manly verbal communication and had few features.  From the prospectives of businesses such as Harley Davidson, the Blackberry's features would allow for more productive employees.

For my dad, it took around a year to a year and a half to learn how to use the Blackberry.  He was given no training but did receive a manual.  Instead of reading it, he played with the features he was expected to use.  He quickly learned the basics, and whenever he met someone with the same phone, they shared their knowledge of different features.  He believes that if the technology was too difficult to learn, than it would not be used.  Since the Blackberry has maintained a spot on the market place, its features, along with the time to learn it, must be valued by the public.

Some of his colleagues were hesitant to change technologies.  Many did not view it as a necessity since their devices were still working.  If they could do the same job with the technology they had, why did they have to switch?  It was only when the device broke that they would switch.  However, the new employees did not get the decision on which type of phone they would use.  Other phones faded away as committee members got the Blackberry.

This relates to the idea of technophile versus technophobe.  The company viewed the technology as an answer to increasing communication.  The phone would be a tool to of rationalization: it would increase information flow in a short time, allowing workers to be more productivity.  The employees, however, were hesitant to the change.  Many did not think the technology would change the process and revolutionize their work.

In my dad's opinion, the Blackberry was a great improvement to his work experience.  The Blackberry was one unite that was wireless, allowed instant access, and was convenient.  The Blackberry allowed him to look up contact information for virtually anyone he needed to contact.  In essence, the Blackberry allowed access to a constantly updating Harley rolodex.

Also, getting information instantly was a great asset.  He could respond to questions or problems wherever he was.  This helped solve problems within a short period of time.  The Blackberry also allowed for everyone to be informed of the issue at the same time, keeping everyone "on the same page."  This technology increased the level of information accessibility and, therefore, did not add to any frustrations of the job.

I find this whole situation relating to what we have discussed in class.  The company gave out the Blackberry as a technology to improve the efficiency of their workers.  Also, the employees had different views on whether the technology was the answer to their problems.  Many of these employees are "digital immigrants" so it will take longer for them to learn the technology compared to "digital natives."  Lastly, the Blackberry became a device not only for work efficiency, but for personal as well.  My dad uses his phone to play games, check his personal email and text or call his personal contacts.  So like many technologies, it may have started for improving business, but it has quickly become a personal communication technology.

Reference:
http://www.bbscnw.com/a-short-history-of-the-blackberry.php

Looking back on my blog posts

Looking back on my blog posts for LIS 201 was pretty interesting. It was kind of a shocker to see how much time had passed since I first wrote my introductory post and this one. I doesn't really feel like the semester is almost done.
In regards to the actual posts though, I'm not really sure how I feel about them. I actually write for a personal blog, so the experience was not terribly foreign, but I don't post on that blog very frequently either. When I compare the type of writing I do for this blog and my other blog, I don't really notice much of a difference. It is when I compare this online writing to my academic writing that I notice the differences.
With my academic writing I almost never write in first person, in fact this semester has been the first time I have written "I" in a paper. So, compared to the posts for this blogs, the writing is a lot more personal and informal. I wouldn't say that the academic writing I do isn't personal though. While my blog writing is more casual I don't think it necessarily reflects me better, it says more about my thoughts and opinions but in general I think I keep my writing pretty academic, or at least not extremely casual. Even when I write emails and messages to people they tend to be pretty grammatically corrects and so on.
I think this accounts for why I had a somewhat easy time editing my posts. Of course there were some mistakes, but in general I did not have as many mistakes as I thought I would have.

My Father Still Uses a Fax Machine

The title is pretty self-explanatory, but I still have to write more.

My dad is an electrical supervisor for the utilities in our town. I worked there over the summer and, honestly, I'm not 100% sure what that entails. Regardless, I know it involves a lot of communication, both with the other city workers and outside suppliers, for when they need to order new parts for this or that reason.

He has a computer in his office, and I know he uses it a lot, but he frankly describes himself as "technologically challenged". I didn't have to ask for that knowledge, it's pretty obvious, if not surprising.

Rather, he talked about the machine that gets a surprising amount of use in his office, the fax machine. When I first heard it go off, I thought his phone was broken. In reality, he said it's quite useful. He sends reports to the electrical inspectors with it often and actually prefers to have papers and documents sent to him through that over his computer.

He said it himself, "It gives me what I want in the way I want it right away. I don't have to format it or anything on the computer just to read it."

It makes sense to me. Much of what we've learned hasn't been about the latest technology and how cool it is, but rather about how technology is used. We focus more on the effects of technology and what they do for us in our society. If that means my dad keeps using a fax machine, so be it. It works for him, why should I argue?

Digital Imaging Systems

My mom is an optometrist, so I thought she would have some interesting technology to share with me. She explained to me that as the world becomes more digital, more and more equipment is brought to her. One new piece of technology that she recently had to master was a digital imaging system that allows her to look into patient's eyes through a computer screen after images are captured, rather than manually looking herself. She said that at first, it was quite difficult to master because she had to learn how to capture the images in helpful and efficient ways - a new skill that she wasn't taught in optometry school. She learned about the technology alongside other optometrists at a conference, and her practice decided to take up the new system soon after. She feels that it made her job more productive, however she explains that she uses the system as a support tool rather than an exclusive one. She still manually checks the patient's eyes herself, and then uses digital imaging to take a look later on after the exam. She said it added more work, but it also takes some away - her own notes, for example, don't have to be quite as thorough because she can still take a look at the patient after they leave. She says that by combining the new technology with the old one, she thinks her production increases. As a student of LIS201, I think that my mom's explanation was a familiar one - while it's difficult for new technology to completely replace old ones, the gradual transition into using it through a combination of both makes it easier to adapt to. Both what we've discussed in class and my own experiences support this theory.