About myself
My name is Matthew Turk and I suffer from a condition called Spinal Muscular Atrophy presenting with extremely weak muscles. This means my mobility is very limited and I am confined to an electric wheelchair. Due to these limitations obviously I cannot participate in normal activities, I’m sure Arsenal wouldn’t appreciate tyre marks from my electric wheelchair on the Emirates pitch. With special adaptations and programs I can however regularly use my computer and spend most of my time on there. Playing games, writing and chatting to my friends are my adventures in cyberspace. Everyone loves the Internet.
Knowledge is power
The beautiful thing about communication is the exchange of ideas and finding ways to do a particular thing more efficiently. By sharing our knowledge of the programs we operate, we can create new innovations and help others to use software easier. For example, I try to tell people as often as possible that if you triple click a word instead of the regular double, the entire paragraph gets highlighted rather than just the single word. It might sound simple but it can be extremely useful and reduces the need for drag highlighting. The Internet is no different, which is why CEME will be good for teachers and anyone else who sees the video clips because so many ideas have been shared.
New surroundings
When I was at school I wrote a letter to the Broxhill Centre as everyone in my year had to apply for work experience. Thankfully I was offered two weeks experience and thoroughly enjoyed my time there. I helped out with the classes and was even able to do some more there once I had finished college. I learned that the team were going to be moving offices and the filming at CEME was my first opportunity to see the new building. I was very impressed with it, as the accessibility was fantastic and the entire site including the garden/fountain areas makes it a very welcoming and positive building. Everyone was extremely helpful and seemed to have a smile which also made the new location even more friendly.
The next generation
During the discussions and filming, the knowledge of the school children was amazing to me. I keep telling myself that it is probably because the topics they discussed were just never around when I was at school, it doesn’t help make me feel any younger though. These students, and all the others that are classed as the new generation have so much to offer in that they are able to explain new ways of how to get the most out of the Internet. They talked about anonymous proxy servers, encryption, filtering, their knowledge was accurate and they could explain it easily. I find it reassuring in a way because all of them want to know how to use the Internet to its optimum performance, if they encounter a problem they want to find a way around it.
The questions
Before a group was interviewed about the Internet, everyone discussed the issues involved and the questions that might have been raised. During and after the discussion but before the filming, it was great watching all the personalities, the typical teenage “I’m fantastic” attitude and when the filming began how nervous and quiet some of the students became. I love observing little things like that. Most of the questions were relatively simple, how the Internet at school works, their computer habits, any private information and how they deal with it. Youngsters today get a lot of bad publicity but from what I saw they were sensible and mature. Filtering at school, cookies and other technical issues were also raised for the students to share their knowledge on.
My contribution
I thought it was best that I be interviewed on my own. There were a lot of questions regarding Internet use at school, nearly all of which I wouldn’t have been able to answer because those subjects weren’t around when I was at school. I didn’t want to deprive other students of answering those questions and likewise because I’m in a unique situation, I didn’t want to have questions asked that weren’t relevant for them. I answered how I operate my computer, the freedom the Internet brings me, how nearly all stereotypes and discriminations don’t exist in online chatting, the problem with my webcam and a question about the Internet browsing history. I enjoyed it because the only way for people to learn anything new is to ask the question, and I hope not only that myself and the others were helpful but also this event could happen elsewhere and again in the future. It would enable people to share even more knowledge.
A good day
I think it was a very productive day and I’m really glad I was invited to be a part of it. It will be very helpful for all those who see the finished product and I can only say good words about the new building.
