Blog #9: My Final Project.

WooHoo we have come to the end of the semester!!

The proposal for my project will be Stuttering.  The research I will do is what is stuttering? How people live with the stuttering disorder. How do they live their lives and how does it affect everyone in society. I will do research on associations, brochures, videos, conferences, interviews and the different levels or forms of stuttering.

Mgoodwin



Blog #8: Does Technology Change Literacy?



When I first began this course, I did not know that I would see or view language and literacy in different ways. We see language and literacy as reading and writing but it is much more than that. Technology has come a very long way in that we now cater to many individuals to assist them to speak daily, in many different ways.
For example, if you pull up to a ATM machine and it has Brail to cater to people who might be blind. Or if you are hearing imparied, there are TDD or TTY machines that can help you talk on the phone or on the computer. We no longer need to pick up a phone, everyone is text messaging and talking in chatrooms. The world of text messaging even has its own language with OMG, TTYL, ?ru, and the famous MIR whic means mom in room for all of you who have teenagers. Technology has come a very long way in how people communicate on a daily basis. No more going next door and knocking to ask your neighbor if she has 2 eggs you can borrow till friday. No more writing "I will not cheat on my test" 100 times for the teacher in pencil when you can copy and paste it on the computer. No more Kodak Instamatic cameras where you take the photo and then wait for it to develop. Do you know anyone who does not have a cell phone with a built in camera and video recorder? Either we have all gotten smarter and communicate better, or we just got lazier with the new technology and now we just sit behind the desk and text, type, or skype.

Even books are on audio. Technology has changed literacy in that we have more access. But I dont know
if it is for the good, or the bad - just yet.

Mgoodwin

Blog 7 - Basis for Second Paper

Th-th-th-that's all folks!"

When I was younger I use to watch Looney Tunes cartoons every morning, and I loved saturday mornings bcause they would play non-stop for a good 3 or 4 hours. We didnt have television like we did today, I would have to get up and chang the channel or adjust the antenna. But that did not matter. Me and my sisters would turn the TV on and sit there for hours laughing. My favorite was Bugs Bunny and Porky Pig. I laughed at how he talked all the time. It was funny to me.

That was until my cousin Rosa was born. And she was a stutterer. We never understood why she talked that way. We just knew that she did. And all the kids would tease her, and she would start to cry. Then me and all my cousins would come running and beat the kids up for teasing her (I know that was not nice, but we did). As I got older, I was introduced to more and more people who talked this way. People in my neighborhood, the man who ran the corner candy store, and even one of my school teachers.

When I grew older and decided I wanted to go to college for Social Work, I once again was introduced to Stuttering but now it was because I attended a seminar that was talking about what stuttering is, how many people are affected by it, and as a society how it is dealt with and looked upon. When I came to find out what stuttering truly is, it changed my life and perception on what stuttering truly is.

The issue became important to me because through a few of my clients who dealt with stuttering, I was able to identify just what they were dealing with and how as a professional, I could assist them with what they needed. It was an eye opening experience for me and now I study it more, attend more seminars, make contacts with people who deal with the disorder. To me it has become a language.

Research that I have found so far is the National Stuttering Association http://www.nsastutter.org/ and I have made friends. I also do more reading on the subject. And in the future I am looking to join a support group so that I may better understand how people cope with stuttering and educate myself more.

Now Porky Pig is not only my favorite, he has become my Hero.

Stuttering, A life Altering Condition.

Mgoodwin