History of American Technology and Culture

I feel that my school did a pretty good job of teaching me the basics of technology. I took a keyboarding in class in middle school to learn how to type and use basic programs like PowerPoint and word. Then in high school, I got to learn to use some basic video editing software in a journalism class. Through classes as I began to writer more complex and different papers I picked up some more skills in Word and PowerPoint and others that I had not gotten a chance to work with like Publisher.

I do wish that we had learned to use more academic technology. Zotero is the first thing that comes to mind. Knowing how to use that in high school would have made my life a lot easier as it has helped me greatly in college. Excel is something else that I did not learn how to use in high school that is very much a part of my life now and I would have liked to at least have a basic knowledge of how to use it so that I would not have fumbled as much with it. Overall, I feel that my high school did a pretty good job exposing us to technology, I think that could just add in a few more things.

I attended a catholic private school from kindergarten through 8th grade. This school did a great job at teaching us different technologies. Starting in probably 3rd or 4th grade I would have computer class once to twice a week. In this class, we would do a program called Mavis Beacon where you would practice typing. This was extremely helpful because I still know many people who cannot type properly but I took a course on it so I am very comfortable with it. We also learned how to use excel, Microsoft, clip art, and more. Most classes we would have a new task to complete and the teacher would go through and show us how then we would do it. This was a lot of fun but also helped for projects being able to know how to use excel spreadsheets and powerpoint.

I know that many of my friends who did not go to my elementary school did not have computer classes like mine so I am so grateful that my school taught us lots of skills that I can still use today.

Once I graduated 8th grade, I attended a public high school. Most of my classes did not use much technology. In my Spanish classes, we had to use the computers to record ourselves and do some activities and that was about it. Otherwise, we did not use technology in most of my classes. When I took econ we were in a computer lab but really only looked at powerpoints and our last project was to make an Excel spreadsheet that many students did not even know how to do.

I wish that we would have had more activities and projects using technology because now that I am in college I find myself having everything online; papers being turned in, blog posts, assignments, tests, story maps, all kinds of different things to do that I was never taught.

Technology is very important and becoming more important every day and I think it is so important that schools start teaching students at a young age to become comfortable with different softwares and technologies.

While I think the knowledge I accumulated in grade school was important and necessary, I wish I had been taught more skills about life outside of school. I think each subject plays a significant role in critical learning, development, and simply general knowledge, all the stuff that makes someone “book smart.” It is the “street smarts” that I wish had played a role in my early education, in addition to all the other subjects. To this day I do not know how insurance or personal credit works, how to pay bills, how to handle car/home repairs, how to operate taxes, and other essential life hacks. The transition from grade school to college is abrupt and I think learning these things early on could help make “adulting” a little less overwhelming.

This project will be separated into three parts, each one overseen by a group member: Military Significance, Cultural Significance, and Documentary.

Daryl will be in charge of the Military Significance section. He will do the research, write the pages “Antecedents” and “Cold War”, contribute to the “Cost” and “Legacy” pages, and find and cite pictures/videos relevant to his pages. He will post and cite two or three pictures/videos per page.

Lindsey will be in charge of the Cultural Significance section. She will do the research, write the pages “Cultural Impact” and “About”,  contribute to the “Cost” and “Legacy” pages, and find and cite pictures/videos relevant to her pages. She will post and cite two or three pictures/videos per page. She will also be in charge of creating the website layout.

Nick will be in charge of the Documentary. He will write the script, direct and shoot the film, give his group mates parts to participate in, and do any video editing necessary. He will be in charge of the “Documentary” page as well as the “Bibliography” page. He will also contribute to research as his group mates need him.

Heather Taylor: completing all pages under the “Future of the Mouse” tab, about page, website layout; helping with planning, producing and editing documentary

Megan Palmer: completing all pages under “People of the Mouse” tab; helping with planning and producing documentary

Anna Collins: completing all pages under “History of the Mouse” tab; helping with planning, producing, and editing documentary

Heidi Schmidt: completing all pages under “Antecedents of the Mouse” tab, bibliography page ; helping with planning and producing the documentary, citations for the documentary

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1sN7wBSaqv5y-ftmi6TwGXXGd68DpIFSysYDvrQppjMQ/edit?usp=sharing