Technology
Technology is used to apply knowledge of life, society and the environment by the use of technical means. Although technology has been around for centuries, since the boom of the computer and Internet in the late 80s and early 90s, our world has rapidly advanced and become a place that is dominantly ruled by technological devices. Most jobs and careers use some type of technology in the work place and rely heavily upon it, including human services. Through course work and internship experiences, I have enhanced my technological competence, which will benefit me in my human service career.
Being a teenager during the boom of the Internet, I’ve been fortunate to grow up using technology in the classroom and at home. Although I came into the human service program with previous knowledge of technology, my experience in the program expanded my skills in many different areas, especially in research. , I wrote many research papers in my freshmen and sophomore year, before being in the human service program. I used the library research sites such as EBSCO, or PYSCH INFO, but it wasn’t until Applied Research Methods (HSP 385) class that I learned how to effectively use these sites to find substantial, relevant articles in correlation to my topic to put together an annotated bibliography and literature review (annotated bibliography) (literature review).
I learned how to do an advanced search that found articles written after a certain year, was peer reviewed, and rated relevancy according to my subject. I also learned to insert a * at the end of the root of the word. This signals the search engine to find articles that have this word in it no matter if it’s in a different form such as plural or past tense. For example, if I were searching for articles based upon food availability, I could write food avaliab*, which would find articles that talk about availability or available.
Throughout the last two years, I have written many research papers, and in the process I have learned how to use different databases and short cuts to locate articles, and then go over each article and highlight important facts for use in my papers. Once I organized my research, I could then analyze the information and synthesize it into a strong research paper (ISTE, standard 3).
Another way I used technology in the human service major was to communicate and collaborate with classmates (ISTE, standard 2). Almost every core and internship class used the online discussion board in Blackboard as a tool for students to write their ideas and experiences of class readings, fieldwork, or topics relating to human services. Discussion board has been a major part of my college career and has proven to be an excellent tool for interacting with classmates by reading threads and providing feedback to peers.
Using discussion board has also come in handy for group projects. In Small Group Systems (HSP 305), we were assigned a group project that required a 40-minute in-depth presentation about a current political issue. Since there were seven group members that had very hectic and demanding schedules, it was almost impossible to find a time to meet with the whole group (group health care presentation). Thus, using Blackboard was a great way to work on group assignments and collaborate PowerPoint slides for a finished product (ISTE, standard 3).
My school years before college, I had learned how to use different programs, including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel, but my experience in class and internships enhanced my technical skills using these programs. In Applied Research Methods (HSP 385) and Program Planning and Evaluation (485) we spent a substantial amount of time working with Excel by putting information into spread sheets and using program codes to change information into statistics in order to evaluate data. These skills helped me in my internship at Allied Arts where I was doing mostly administrative work, including working with Excel. One of my jobs was to create, update and generate Excel spreadsheets. I was able to use what I had learned in class while completing these tasks and was also taught more short cuts from my supervisor (ISTE, standard 6).
Along with using Excel, I learned how to navigate and update Allied Art’s website. I had never worked on a website before which made me realize how complex technology can be in creating and changing websites. I was also taught how to create brochures and flyers for upcoming events using Publisher. I created a couple of flyers that provided information and illustrations about an event I was working on called the Children’s Art Walk. I learned how to use different tools on the program to create different text and picture box dimensions as well as where to place text so the overall product is appealing to the eye (final intern reflection).
The human service major has various courses demanding the use of technology, which has sharped my computer skills in numerous programs and research findings. Whether I will be doing direct or indirect service in the human service profession, both fields use technology on a daily basis, whether it is using Word to write up a memo or using programs to update client files. Although I am not sure what my future will hold, I am thankful that I am proficient in using technology and have the ability learn new computer skills quickly for jobs in the human service profession.
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) (2007). The ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Students. Retrieved April 10, 2012 from:http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Student_2007_EN.sflb.ashx
Being a teenager during the boom of the Internet, I’ve been fortunate to grow up using technology in the classroom and at home. Although I came into the human service program with previous knowledge of technology, my experience in the program expanded my skills in many different areas, especially in research. , I wrote many research papers in my freshmen and sophomore year, before being in the human service program. I used the library research sites such as EBSCO, or PYSCH INFO, but it wasn’t until Applied Research Methods (HSP 385) class that I learned how to effectively use these sites to find substantial, relevant articles in correlation to my topic to put together an annotated bibliography and literature review (annotated bibliography) (literature review).
I learned how to do an advanced search that found articles written after a certain year, was peer reviewed, and rated relevancy according to my subject. I also learned to insert a * at the end of the root of the word. This signals the search engine to find articles that have this word in it no matter if it’s in a different form such as plural or past tense. For example, if I were searching for articles based upon food availability, I could write food avaliab*, which would find articles that talk about availability or available.
Throughout the last two years, I have written many research papers, and in the process I have learned how to use different databases and short cuts to locate articles, and then go over each article and highlight important facts for use in my papers. Once I organized my research, I could then analyze the information and synthesize it into a strong research paper (ISTE, standard 3).
Another way I used technology in the human service major was to communicate and collaborate with classmates (ISTE, standard 2). Almost every core and internship class used the online discussion board in Blackboard as a tool for students to write their ideas and experiences of class readings, fieldwork, or topics relating to human services. Discussion board has been a major part of my college career and has proven to be an excellent tool for interacting with classmates by reading threads and providing feedback to peers.
Using discussion board has also come in handy for group projects. In Small Group Systems (HSP 305), we were assigned a group project that required a 40-minute in-depth presentation about a current political issue. Since there were seven group members that had very hectic and demanding schedules, it was almost impossible to find a time to meet with the whole group (group health care presentation). Thus, using Blackboard was a great way to work on group assignments and collaborate PowerPoint slides for a finished product (ISTE, standard 3).
My school years before college, I had learned how to use different programs, including Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel, but my experience in class and internships enhanced my technical skills using these programs. In Applied Research Methods (HSP 385) and Program Planning and Evaluation (485) we spent a substantial amount of time working with Excel by putting information into spread sheets and using program codes to change information into statistics in order to evaluate data. These skills helped me in my internship at Allied Arts where I was doing mostly administrative work, including working with Excel. One of my jobs was to create, update and generate Excel spreadsheets. I was able to use what I had learned in class while completing these tasks and was also taught more short cuts from my supervisor (ISTE, standard 6).
Along with using Excel, I learned how to navigate and update Allied Art’s website. I had never worked on a website before which made me realize how complex technology can be in creating and changing websites. I was also taught how to create brochures and flyers for upcoming events using Publisher. I created a couple of flyers that provided information and illustrations about an event I was working on called the Children’s Art Walk. I learned how to use different tools on the program to create different text and picture box dimensions as well as where to place text so the overall product is appealing to the eye (final intern reflection).
The human service major has various courses demanding the use of technology, which has sharped my computer skills in numerous programs and research findings. Whether I will be doing direct or indirect service in the human service profession, both fields use technology on a daily basis, whether it is using Word to write up a memo or using programs to update client files. Although I am not sure what my future will hold, I am thankful that I am proficient in using technology and have the ability learn new computer skills quickly for jobs in the human service profession.
International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) (2007). The ISTE NETS and Performance Indicators for Students. Retrieved April 10, 2012 from:http://www.iste.org/Libraries/PDFs/NETS_for_Student_2007_EN.sflb.ashx