Before coming into this course, I never really thought about the connection between humanities and technology. When I thought of humanities, I thought of hard cover books and reading articles that discussed different cultures. I thought of people analyzing the way people lived by using hands on materials and artifacts to due so. When I was introduced to this class, I began to see humanities in a different way. Using digital humanities, instead of normal humanities, makes it easier for people to stay connected. One way people can do this is through social media. People can share ideas back and forth with each other within a matter of seconds. Conversations can occur between people, which would encourage people to share thoughts and gain other’s insights. There is also access to blog posts and online articles that give people more of an insight into what the humanities involves.However, I think that the relationship between computers and humanities can have negative qualities. For instance, using the internet gives anyone the opportunity to post whatever they want and the information that they post can be false or misleading. I think it’s important to make sure that when using the computer or internet to learn about humanities, that it comes from a reliable source. Now looking at the relationship between computers and humanities, I think that it provides people with easier access to information, making it easier to stay connected and learn about those around us.
Coming into this course, I did not really know anything about computing. I have seen people use different networks and apps that allowed for basic computing but I never really experienced using it for myself. In high school, I took a computer class in which we created our own websites. We got to design the layout of our websites and determine what material we wanted to feature. Creating our own website got us familiar with how to navigate the internet, as well as creating our own web addresses. Besides for the experience with creating my own website in my computer class, before this course I have not been introduced to any other form of computing. Throughout this course I am hoping to increase my knowledge on computing. As an education major, I think that it’s important to have a general understanding of computers and how to use them. With the advances in technology, it is likely that the students in my class someday will use computers, therefore I hope to have enough knowledge about computers so that I can support them.
When I first came into this class, my relationship with my computer was very minimal. I used very few apps on my computer, mostly just Chrome, Spotify, Safari, and Microsoft Word. I mostly used my computer for school work and when I wasn’t using it for school work I was using it to watch Netflix or online shop. I very rarely explored the different features of my computer and would only stick to using the basic features. Now being a few weeks into this course, I have begun to explore the different features my computer offers. I like being able to use different apps and networks, such as Slack and Virtual Box. I never knew that these networks existed, therefore it is exciting to explore something new. I hope that through this course I am able to expand my knowledge on computers and be able to use my computer in ways that I have not been able to before.