Our readings this week made me think
about my own experiences with online research and comprehension. In chapter 15 from Best Practices in Teaching the New Literacies of Online Research and
Comprehension, the authors state that “the ability to read and use online
information effectively to solve problems defines success in both life and work”
((Leu, D.J., et al, 346). This sentence
gave me an immediate flash back of an incident at work:
I had just arrived at work – the office
of a company that makes labels for electronics, medical devices, etc. Logging into my computer, I could feel the
eyes of the girl who sat next to me watching my every move even as she squinted
intently at her screen, scrolled, and clicked.
“You’d better hurry up and look at your email!” she laughed.
My heart started beating. “Why?” I wondered out loud as I threw my purse in the
drawer and began clicking. Our boss had
sent us an email:
A new customer
needs the material in the attached drawing and we don’t carry it. Our sales guy doesn't know what the material
is or where to find it. Your task is to
find out what it is and who carries it. Whoever finds the material first will
get lunch. Ready - Go!
She gave us a price range the customer
needed along with the drawing of the part.
“I just started” my co-worker said
gleefully as she picked up the phone. “I
already found one company and maybe another.”
I ignored her as I began my search.
I knew that a lot more than lunch was on the line. A reputation in the company as someone who
could problem-solve not only effectively, but also efficiently was something
that could carry you far here. It could
be the difference between keeping your job or losing it when things got slow
there.
Disoriented by the whir of my thoughts –
all a jumble from being thrown into this task without even having had my coffee
– I scrolled through the info that came up in answer to my search, trying to
quickly evaluate it to make up for the few minutes head-start my coworker had. It took me longer than her to locate sources –
longer to evaluate the incoming info, which means she was able to communicate
her findings first. I have the basic
literacy skills necessary to complete the task, but they were less practiced
than hers where – perhaps out of date and therefore not fully adapted to the new
technologies that had evolved since I first learned my skills.
Of course, I use my computer all the
time for my class assignments, but that’s about it. My coworker uses her technology all the time
for everything; she is constantly creating
and participating. I brush off that part – who has time for that when you attend classes full time and are
a full time mother? But the truth is, it wouldn't take so much of my time up if I would practice it and interact with it
on a consistent basis. Then I would be
there for the evolving process – I would be there to learn the changes as they
come along and they wouldn't be so intimidating – or time consuming for that matter. It is worth the time – my success
depends on it. 
No comments:
Post a Comment