Facing Tech Challenges of Returning to College

“The opinions expressed by the Tabor College EML student bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of Tabor College. Tabor College is also not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information in the post.”

 

Edith Buller-Breer

 

Whether you are 40, 50, or 60, there are many things to be gained from entering the world of academia again. I completed my bachelor’s degree while in my 50s and enrolled for an online master’s degree in my 60s.

 

old-person-computer

The challenges of technology for older adults is common knowledge. Many prefer to ignore the digital world completely. Others enjoy posting on Facebook. One of the greatest benefits from my online master’s degree is that I am up to date with technology.

 

 

Yes, I have been afraid. But encouragement from articles such as this one helped: http://www.educationcorner.com/fear-of-returning-to-school.html

 

Taking an online master’s program required stretching my basic computer skills. Thankfully, there were no quizzes or exams with the degree I enrolled in: .

 

For one online class, we used a platform called Zoom. Student ‘met’ in an online ‘room’ to listen to a guest speaker. One time our speaker was in India.

 

Students were scattered throughout the United States and one lived in Thailand. Sometimes a student was riding in a car or at an outdoor coffee shop. Yet we were all participating in class through a video chat.

 

Because of our shared capabilities, we created a space for each person in the ‘room’ to participate. We engaged in dialogue and built a sense of community because of the opportunities that today’s technology provides.

 

As a student, ordering textbooks online saved money. Learning to download books to my Kindle was easy. I discovered that searching for a word or phrase in the Kindle book was fast, easy, and very helpful.

 

Several class assignments required me to make a video. I was fearful of the Voice Thread and Windows Movie Maker technology. But I knew it was important to learn because today’s culture focuses so much on images. Now I am exploring YouTube videos. I am eager to develop more skill for sharing my story through video.

 

For one class, our professor had us write several blogs and post them online. Now I understand that if my message is important, utilizing social media to share what I want to say is a great idea.

 

tweet

One of the more challenging class assignments was to tweet daily. I knew nothing about Twitter. I was afraid. It was difficult to post comments using less than 149 characters (one long sentence). It was even more stretching to post to such a public forum. But I did it. I learned.

 

 

Using social media has been life-changing. I did not change my mind quickly.  Transitioning from being private to being more open was difficult. Pushing through my fears was even harder. But by participating, I grew. I gained many rich experiences and online friends.

 

Technology is amazing! Yet the digital world is continually changing. The foundation I have from tackling the tech challenges of my online degree will help me continue to adapt as new tools becomes available.