Closing Thoughts on the Semester

This post is exclusively about my experiences in "Information 3.0: Exploring Technological Tools," an I-series course offered at the University of Maryland, College Park, that I took during this past Fall semester. The only way to describe it is "unlike any other." It's a course that teaches you how to examine the advantages and disadvantages of using various Internet and mobile applications, learn about people’s general attitudes and behaviors with regard to this type of media, and answer some tough questions on the future of technology and the spread of information. Moreover, it helps you get a grasp of some of the functions of technological tools that currently exist as well as predict at least some of the near endless possibilities that advancement in this field will bring.

            My mind has perpetually been in a state of conflict when it comes to understanding what being “technologically literate” really means. Does it mean having all the latest gadgets there at your disposal? Or does it mean having a reasonably good understanding of their operations and usefulness? Should I even care? On the one hand, I don’t want to feel pressured into purchasing the “classiest” devices in the market, but on the other, I don’t want to be left behind. I presume many people feel the same way. This was one of the many reasons why I decided to take Info 3.0. Now, I’ve understood that assessing the actual worth of a device or application is essential to making a cost-effective decision on whether or not to purchase. This doesn’t only apply to purchases, but even to tools that are free, such as many social-networks. Throughout the semester, my classmates and I have been engaging with Twitter and Facebook to upload technology-related news and personal events real-time. In relation to my blog-topic, I had also taken a survey to analyze the effects social-networking is having on college students in India. (A more elaborate explanation of this is provided in one of my previous posts). Thus, almost every project and discussion we’ve had in this class has led us to this question – Are we becoming too dependent on technology? While the answer does vary from individual-to-individual, the fact of the matter is that there will come a point, most probably in our lifetime, when every aspect of our life, from our work to our family to our entertainment, is digitized. Therefore, it is imperative that we prepare for this by evaluating technology at each step of the way and identify the features that are more useful to us than others.

           Our classroom discussions this semester have spanned a wide variety of topics including online privacy and security, netiquette, searching vs. surfing, Internet and cell phone dependence, mobile applications, blogging, photojournalism, social-networking, education and gaming. Some of the most interesting aspects of this class were that we were allowed to use laptops for every class and we got an iPod Touch towards the end of the semester on which we took a couple of interviews using a recording app. Overall, I recommend every student to take this class so that you can find out for yourself what it means to be technologically literate!