Observations of a Mature Learner

As of last week, my societal status changed from employee of international corporation to student of media arts, specifically Broadcast Journalism. In just less than two years from now, I will be a real journalist. This transition is the result of a three part concoction: 1 part passion for media, 1 part obsession with news and the world around me and 1 part disdain for working for the man. Don't get me wrong, I believe corporations have a legitimate roll and place in our society and economy, I would just rather not be a part of it. As Ani Difranco sings in her song, Not a Pretty Girl, "generally my generation wouldn't be caught dead working for the man". Meditating on things like this and the fact that I really am "32 flavours and then some", I don't fit so well into a corporate mold. Working as a journalist will satisfy my need for working creatively, working on a flexible schedule and grant me the satisfaction of having the power to deliver information to my community and even the world.

Making the transition from "9 to 5" employee to full time student has been relatively smooth so far. Although I am at least 10 years most of the other students senior, I'm happy that I've been able to connect with a few classmates and after figuring out the maze of hallways and buildings, feel right at home. A week before class, I was invited to a "Mature Learner" session to help with my transition back to learning land. My initial expectation was that it was going to be a little crazy...

The week before school started, my true love and I went to visit some friends and family in Ottawa. We visited the Museum of Civilization. Being a tech/media person, I was interested in seeing the Japan exhibition. Although the exhibition was relatively small, there were a couple cool artifacts that got me to thinking.

CRT televisions are now part of our history. The most common place I have seen these TVs in people's basements collecting dust or on the side of road on garbage collection day. I could be wrong, but I'm going to guess that no one is producing these anymore. They have been replaced with flat screen TVs and projectors.

Seeing a cassette player was awesome. I may have even had this same model when I was a kid. I can remember going through my dad's tape collection and playing them on my walkman. Each tape was like an adventure into an unknown galaxy. That was an education that I hope every kid gets to experience. When I think about it, having to listen to an album all the way through makes me think of slow cooking. Although I would never trade my iPhone for a walkman to listen to music on, there's something meaningful in not being able to switch to the next song with the tap of a button. Maybe the music was just better back then.

Seeing these old pieces of technology got me thinking about what I can expect to see in my school and classrooms as I start my new endeavour. I remember over-head projectors, binders and pencils. Computers were used in a computer lab. There were no video projectors.

Being in media arts, my wing of the school is naturally saturated with state-of-the-art gadgets, but even the lecture rooms are also dressed with relevant technology. Every classroom is equipped with a projector and wi-fi access. Every student has a laptop. I have one Hilroy ring notebook to write in and it's only because the professor of a class made it a course requirement. This concept was foreign to me when I first went to school, but now it just makes sense and feels natural. What would have been considered a distraction (apps, internet access, youtube) is key to our learning and development as writers and information seekers.

However, some things haven't changed. Time still ticks away at 60 seconds a minute and I still feel like I have to rush to get to class on time. This is going to be an exciting and engaging 2 years of my life. What happens after this, I can only suspect will be greater things!