I really appreciate the schedule that I have for this semester. Not only am I taking a course on Technology in Education, but I am also enrolled in Foundations in Multicultural Education. Having both of these courses at the same moment challenges the notion some may have, that technology is not cultural. This is not the case.
After having attended a few classes of both, I realize how deeply cultural technology has become. This brings a challenge of "How do I fit into this?" I am a product of growing up without many of the technologies that are now available. I did not even have a cell phone until I graduated from high school (a tiny flip phone mind you) but did have a game boy, super nintendo, tamagochi, only one computer that was available in our living room with dial-up, and in middle school-a teacher who would physically slap a printer for not printing on those sheets that were connected on a roll. I am an inbetweener. My cultural identity in technology is exactly the point of transition between those who do not understand for what subject lines in an email are used, to those who have to swipe their fingers across every surface, in the thought that everything is touch screen.
I appreciate the challenge of knowing where my identity lies, but fear that I will be lost among those who cannot adapt to the change. I value those concrete skills of handwriting, creating music from something other than a soundboard or computer, and reading hard copies of books. It is not unwillingness but trying to also prevent our future from not understanding how these things factor into their ability to use a computer. I think my greatest fear is that the future generation will use things with technology but not know how to even create something without that aid.
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