Literacy Skill and Communications Technologies
I consider communication technology literacy to be concern with the understanding of the infrastructure of technology that deals with the modern life. It is involves mastering the tools that technology offers and how this technology interacts with infrastructure. Literary skills are concern with communication and content, which encompasses information analysis, the process of research, evaluation and organization of information. The content may serve purposes like education, entertainment, research, news and art. Literary skills are more than just the textual and traditional literacy.
Both forms of literacy are essential for me to function and succeed in the modern world because they are related. This is because communication technologies mediate the means of finding authoring and organizing information. Communication technologies also outline the dissemination and access of information and publication channels. With such skills, I can operate the computer, for example; I can launch computer programs and manage computer files. I can also use internet tools like electronic mail and web browsers. I also familiar with programming language and I can trouble-shoot and debug. I can not only use simulations, but also understand how to construct and analyze them. I possess an apparent understanding of the principles of how a technological world operates.
Suppose, I have to perform a research, and the only resource I have available is the internet. The internet will provide me with all the information I need to conduct my research. For instance, search engines like Google, Bing and Ask can bring the information at the click of a mouse. These search engines are programmed in a way that they can search for all the information that is available regarding the topic or title of the search. For instance, if I search for a topic on how to treat epilepsy, these search engines will bring all the information that is available from all websites in the world regarding epilepsy. From all the available options, I can select the option that best answers my question. Although these search engines offer the same service, some are more effective than others. This is one of the ways in which communication technologies are significant in research.
Each day when I wake up, I have to talk to someone, right from my parents, sisters and brothers in the family. I have t ask my mother if she had prepared breakfast, I have to say goodbye to my little sister before I leave for school and I have to ask my father for some pocket money. To do all these things, I have to apply my literary skills in communicating with my family. This is just one of the fundamental reasons for having literary skills. My literacy skills span from family communication to communication with the world. I am also familiar with a number of languages like Spanish, Latin to American English. All the languages are essential for me when I want to learn something, get something or simply pass a message to people. Literacy skills are not only significant for me in communicating with my friends and relatives, but it also helps me in business. I love doing business. With my literacy skills of linguistics, I can speak with people from diverse backgrounds and cultures while I sell products like electronics. In this way, I am able to make my clients understand me in the language that they are most familiar with. I am also able to explain to my clients things that they would not understand in English, which is my native language.
With my literary skills, I can also communicate with people through writing. Writing of letters, assignment in class are reporting of information are all elements that require literary skills. With my skills in computer technology, I can draft letters an email them in the internet through Gmail, Facebook or Yahoo mail. These are all interrelated computer technologies that go hand in hand with literary skills. There is now way one can type a document in Microsoft word and not know how to use the internet to pass that information to another party. I also do my class assignments and forward them to my lecturer through electronic mails. My literary skills also help me when am chatting with my friends through Facebook or Twitter.
It would be almost impossible for the world to move without communication technologies. It would be cumbersome for people to pass information from one point to another without the mobile phone technologies. With the modern world communication technologies, I can communicate with my friend who lives in South Africa, while I am in the United States. If there were no mobile phones, this would not work. Another critical communication technology that enhances long distant communication is the internet. With the internet, I can pass a message through electronic mail to any one any in any part of the globe, despite the distance.
Television is also a form of modern communication technologies. With the television, I can get to be informed about what is happening in Africa without having to the place. If there is war or crisis in a certain continent, I may be informed about that through the television. There are numerous companies that report news, and they include CNN, Aljazeera and BBC. All these companies take advantage of communication technologies to pass information to people in all parts of the world. Just by watching television at the comfort of my room, I can be informed of what happening, locally and globally without having to go to the destination.
Consider a situation whereby I am to address a multitude. In such a case, I believe a microphone would be convenient to pass the message without having to yell or speak at the top of my voice. Microphones are communication devices that amplify sound for a wider audience. For example, in the next couple of days, my sister will be having a wedding and I am going to be the mc. I will use the microphone to speak to a number of people. This device will help me in reaching several people while I also entertain them with my sweet voice. For these people to listen to my voice, they microphone has to be connected to a loud speaker that will amplify the sound the large audience.
Communication technologies are also vital in the world of entertainment. Hollywood is the world’s biggest entertainer and collaborates with multinational companies like Paramount pictures, Disney and Warner Bros to produce the best films. Hollywood utilizes communication technologies to produce the visual, color and sound effects to produce films. I know that the film producers have to do a lot of work to produce the best films and they have to use communication technologies like microphones, film recorders and computers for the graphics and visuals. These communication technologies are also used to produce the best music recordings that I listen to with my iPod at the comfort of my room. I buy film tickets to watch movies in big screens or 3D. My best experience is the 3D films which virtually brings me to the scene of the movies. The reality that this technology brings to my experience is just amazing.
I love listening to music, especially vocally sound versions. I know that it is dangerous to listen to loud music, and my mother has warned me several times to avoid loud music. One thing for sure is that I cannot resist loud music, and I thank God for the technologies like home theatres that bring that entertainment effect to my ears. It is indeed true that technology has advance so much that people can walk with devices like iPods to listen to music. Music puts me in the mood all the time. When I am sad, I always listen to sorrowful music. When I am happy and excited, I always listen to exciting music like hip-hop or rock. All these music genres put me in my mood. I believe that, without the communication devices, I would be incapable of listening to music at my desire and comfort. With all these technologies available to make communication efficient and effective, I believe that a world without communication technologies is like an ancient world that has no form of civilization.
