First of all, I must admit that I am not up to speed when it comes to digital literacy. I am a very conservative married woman, and a mother to two teenage girls who are both at college. My husband and I are both from Guyana, and we are of Asian Indian ancestry. I have decided to go back to school to continue my education. Presently, I am pursuing a bachelor’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies.
My journey with digital literacy first began about ten years ago when my husband bought a computer. I had a login ID and password to the internet, and I also had an email address. I used email to correspond with my sisters in Guyana, and brothers in Canada. As for the internet, I used it occasionally to read news reports. Later on, I began to use the email to communicate with some friends. That was all I knew about digital literacy because I was busy raising my two children, and caring for my mother-in-law who had Alzheimer.
When my younger daughter was five years old, I decided to return to the workforce. I was fortunate to find a job at an investment company in New York. I worked as a supervisor in the filing department for fifteen years. All customer accounts and other known information were kept in hanging folders in the filing cabinets. In other words, my assistants and I ran the department manually. Thus, I was not fortunate to increase my knowledge about digital technology at my work place.
My self-esteem was not affected by technology because my job did not require it. Five years ago, my family and I moved to Clermont where I attended Lake Sumter Community College. It was at this college where I began to learn about Word, Power Point, and Excel. I was first introduced to Blackboard by my English instructor. I learned about communicating with my instructors and peers through various posts and threads. It did not take me long to understand how to use Blackboard. I learned about communicating with my instructors and peers through various posts and threads.
After graduating with an Associate’s degree in 2008, I enrolled at the University of Central Florida where I am presently in pursuit of a Bachelor’s Degree. It was at UCF where I began to take online classes. I did not know much about blogs before, but now I do because some of my online classes require us to blog.
Whenever I look back at how I first acquired digital literacy, I will have to say that it was my husband who taught me how to use email and the internet. I took typing classes since I was in high school, and that enabled me to use the keyboard on the computer as well as surf the internet and send emails. It never occurred to me to change my identity or mask my appearance because I never had any reason to. My two teenage daughters have Face book accounts, but I decided against having one because I did not have the time to spend on it. I used technology to address a certain discrepancy made by the Inland Revenue Department via electronic filing to claim some additional revenue.
I define Digital Literacy as the understanding and the ability to use the computer to communicate and connect with other people, information, and resources around the world. The computer also has software programs that enable the user to transact business, to assist in education, and for personal use at home. Digital Literacy means a lot of things to me. My two teenage children know a lot about digital technology. They taught me how to take pictures with my digital camera, download them to the computer, and email them to others on my contact list. I have also learned how to text on my cell phone, and pay certain bills via the internet.
Digital Literacy is empowering. I can now drive my car to various places with the use of a GPS. To me, Digital Literacy means working smarter, not harder. Digital Literacy also means the ability of an individual to be able to apply for a job using a computer. It means having knowledge about a webpage design, browsing of a website, and using a search engine. Digital Literacy also includes digital audio, digital video, digital cameras, and MP3 players. Digital Literacy has completely revolutionized the twenty-first century. Industries, both young and old, should make a serious attempt to learn about Digital Literacy. I am happy that my knowledge about Digital Literacy is increasing daily. At my present job, I have to use the computer on a regular basis, so I am constantly learning more about technology.
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