Like many of my generation, I spend most of my time nestled against the familiar warmth and comfort of the internet's bosom. If I'm not liking your picture on facebook, tweeting my sass to all 21 of my twitter followers or reblogging a picture of a cat in a party hat on tumblr, then I'm probably wishing I were.
As a product of the 90's, I grew up with my nose pressed against television and computer screens (partly due to poor vision), with fingerstips firmly prodding remote controls and keyboards (though not the piano. I barely touched that thing. SORRY SEVERAL WASTED YEARS OF PIANO LESSONS. don't get me started on the clarinet) I find solace in the faint glow of my laptop's screen, revel in the notion of "online friends" and have even taken a stab at the wild and crazy world of free online dating. I am a modern woman, unafraid of technology and full of cool ideas like blogs about bears in space (check this bad boy out Intergalactic Space Bears yeah, that's my handiwork.) However...
GOOD GOD IS THE INTERNET DISTRACTING. I don't know how the minutes and hours roll by without my notice. One minute I'm giggling at a witty comment, the next thing I know it's dark, I'm hungry, and I've gone through every photo album of a friend of a friend of a friend on facebook. How does this happen?! The internet is a gift and a curse. It's basically the one ring. Or the Elder Wand or *insert fantasy/science fiction object of great destruction and power here* But while I've been here in Austria, the internet has also been a huge lifesaver.
Part of my job requires the ability to be really flexible, creative and damn good at a well-timed Google search. My teachers often ask me to lead a class on a topic I know little or nothing about, or simply don't have the faintest clue how to make it interesting. Some topics I've done so far that required extensive cyberspace searching were:
The Differences between Men and Women
Social Media
Weather
Nursery School Activities.*
In all of these classes, the internet saved my life. Do you know how many sweet videos are floating around youtube? Or how many relevant blogs there are? (not like mine.) I briefly worked as a slave (intern) at my father's office a couple summers back and helped build an educational library of cool youtube videos, games, websites, etc. that would be useful in the classroom and now I'm realizing how helpful such a library can be. I was so ahead of the curve. I'm a professional now. Basically, give me a subject and I can find a kickass video, or article or image or soundclip. I OWN THE INTERNET.
Without Google, I would often be at a loss as to how to capture the attention of 15 sixteen year olds.
* I actually have this class tomorrow and am frantically looking for stuff. I know nothing about teaching pre-school kids. Is it even teaching or just song-singing and nap time? But, by 9 am tomorrow I'll have something. Or else I'll make them sing Baa Baa Black Sheep for 50 minutes.
As a product of the 90's, I grew up with my nose pressed against television and computer screens (partly due to poor vision), with fingerstips firmly prodding remote controls and keyboards (though not the piano. I barely touched that thing. SORRY SEVERAL WASTED YEARS OF PIANO LESSONS. don't get me started on the clarinet) I find solace in the faint glow of my laptop's screen, revel in the notion of "online friends" and have even taken a stab at the wild and crazy world of free online dating. I am a modern woman, unafraid of technology and full of cool ideas like blogs about bears in space (check this bad boy out Intergalactic Space Bears yeah, that's my handiwork.) However...
GOOD GOD IS THE INTERNET DISTRACTING. I don't know how the minutes and hours roll by without my notice. One minute I'm giggling at a witty comment, the next thing I know it's dark, I'm hungry, and I've gone through every photo album of a friend of a friend of a friend on facebook. How does this happen?! The internet is a gift and a curse. It's basically the one ring. Or the Elder Wand or *insert fantasy/science fiction object of great destruction and power here* But while I've been here in Austria, the internet has also been a huge lifesaver.
Part of my job requires the ability to be really flexible, creative and damn good at a well-timed Google search. My teachers often ask me to lead a class on a topic I know little or nothing about, or simply don't have the faintest clue how to make it interesting. Some topics I've done so far that required extensive cyberspace searching were:
The Differences between Men and Women
Social Media
Weather
Nursery School Activities.*
In all of these classes, the internet saved my life. Do you know how many sweet videos are floating around youtube? Or how many relevant blogs there are? (not like mine.) I briefly worked as a slave (intern) at my father's office a couple summers back and helped build an educational library of cool youtube videos, games, websites, etc. that would be useful in the classroom and now I'm realizing how helpful such a library can be. I was so ahead of the curve. I'm a professional now. Basically, give me a subject and I can find a kickass video, or article or image or soundclip. I OWN THE INTERNET.
Without Google, I would often be at a loss as to how to capture the attention of 15 sixteen year olds.
* I actually have this class tomorrow and am frantically looking for stuff. I know nothing about teaching pre-school kids. Is it even teaching or just song-singing and nap time? But, by 9 am tomorrow I'll have something. Or else I'll make them sing Baa Baa Black Sheep for 50 minutes.
No comments:
Post a Comment