1st Blog Post

I learned that I am far more capable than I had anticipated when it comes to working with technologies. (Albeit a serious work in progress!) The new territory attempted in this module was my first, rocky foray into the realm of Second Life. I have had no prior experience in creating an avatar or exploring a virtual reality – online or in any form of gaming. That was a definite challenge, but I came out of it feeling a lot of relief that I am overcoming the anxiety associated with learning how to navigate through this new territory. It also contributed to a greater sense of self-efficacy in knowing that I can figure out these types of technologies. I also had a number of technological challenges upon entering this course simply by having to wipe the malware off my computer and make sure I was up to date on the tech requirements  – an excellent learning experience in and of itself. I have created a blogger site for my other course this term and look forward to adding one for LETTP as well for the next blog post.

Reviewing the work of my classmates has provided me with great examples for the areas in which I need to improve my own work with new technologies as this course progresses. I have been giving quite a lot of thought to whom my audience will be and how I can incorporate emerging technologies with informational projects related to sustainable agriculture, as well as my own personal goals of starting up a small profitable farm. It is becoming abundantly clear that technology has a critical role to play in the growing slow-foods movement that I have chosen as a (partial) career path. I think it is an intriguing, and potentially very successful topic of interest to address by finding a balance between the modern technological world and the small farming practices that were utilized long before the web was even a preconception in the human psyche. I look forward to incorporating the two to provide emerging technology tools and access to cohesive information that can be used to support sustainable farmers and educate the public on the benefits of moving away from the “big agriculture” paradigm that our food culture is currently dominated by.