Pencils to Pixels:
The Pencils to Pixels reading and today's discussion made me think about the technological progression that has happened in my family. We have always been behind when it comes to getting the latest technology. We didn't get a computer until I was in sixth grade; my best friend's family had one and I was so jealous that she got to play games on it all the time! I started using it a lot in middle school, mostly for IMing people and for typing papers for school. Even though I would type the papers I handed in, I always wrote my first draft by hand, and continued doing this throughout high school. This seemed like a much easier way to get my ideas down rather than typing them first. Now, I cannot imagine writing out an entire draft by hand. As for email, I had an email account starting in middle school, which my sister set up for me. She really got our family started on email, because one year, she took a five week trip to Europe and that was how she communicated with us. Since then my family has been brought up to date on computers, but we are still the last family to get any new technology such as DVD players or digital cameras.
Writing for School:
I have mixed feelings on writing for school. I think it is really important that we have writing assignments in school, otherwise my writing skills would not be at the level they are at today. Writing for English class, or any class for that matter, is the best way for a student to improve their skills, in my opinion. On the other hand, I don't like that we lack freedom when writing for classes. I hate when I have to read an assigned book and write a paper on it. I would prefer to pick a book of my choice, because then I feel like I had some options with the assignment. For that reason, I am really looking forward to the research papers we are working on right now, because the topic is so broad and we therefore have a lot of freedom in choosing what we would like to research.
3 comments:
I remember that it was a very big decision for my parents when we got our first computer. It cost like $2000 at that time and I remember our first one ended up being struck by lightning and we had to get another one within the first year. Primarily, I first used our computer for games and to write papers for school. But like you, I don't remember using the computer until the final draft. I also used it to chat with my friends. I remember that my older brother had to convince my parents to let me use e-mail when I was like 13 or 14. He had a hotmail account (he was like 18 at the time) and when he told my mom that the e-mail provider was called "hotmail" I remember she seemed concerned that it was some sort of X-rated site. She did eventually agree to let me use e-mail to keep in touch with friends and family. I really don't chat too much anymore. I still e-mail but I mostly use the computer for school e-mail and assignments.
I agree about our current research options. I really enjoy having open ended topics, I really dislike having to write really long assignment on a topic you don't care about. Its so much easier to write about something enjoy, it makes it so much more enjoyable.
If we didn't get to choose our own research topics this paper would be much more of a drag then it is. Writing for shcool like you said is pretty much only enjoyable when you get to pick your own topic. It just makes it so much easier to write when you get to write about something you care about.
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