Ma. Kimberly I. Ylanan EDUC 911 – Educational Innovations and Technology Reflection Paper – Assignment # 1 “In a hunting culture, kids play with bows and arrows, in an information society, they play the information.” A long, long time ago, way before any of us was born. There lived creatures very much like us - something with almost exactly the same exotic features of us. We called them the caveman. One day, a caveman threw a rock. “Wow! Rocks can fly when I throw it!” he said. But he became hungry and decided to hunt. He threw the rock in the sky and it accidentally landed on a deer. That unlucky deer died from a broken skull. Ouch! Then, the lucky caveman said, “Yay!!! I will have a hearty dinner today!” Crack! He threw the rock that killed a deer and made history. And this is where the story of long range weapons started. The throwing rock then evolved to the throwing spear, or javelin, then to the slingshot, and then to the bow and arrow and then to the firearms and so on. When we talk about the time of bows and arrows, Paleontologists date its invention way back Paleolithic period, about 71,000 years ago. Based on archaeological evidence of arrowheads and cave paintings, they assume that prehistoric people used bows and arrows to hunt. They used them for survival. Ancient Egyptians, for hunting and who adopted archery around warfare. People used 3,000BC, bows used and them arrows for hunting and violence long before recorded history, and the practice was common to many prehistoric cultures. They were important weapons of war from ancient history until the early modern period, where they were rendered increasingly obsolete by the development of the more powerful and accurate firearms, and were eventually dropped from warfare. Archery was used a lot for hunting. This was known as bow hunting. People also used bow and arrow for fishing. This was called bow fishing. Nowadays, bows and arrows are mostly used for hunting and sports. It is even considered as a sport in the Olympics and Paralympics. As time goes by, where kids no longer play with bows and arrows in the jungle wearing “bahag” and are now at home locked up (because of the global pandemic) playing with the latest iPhones, laptops, gadgets exploring the online world with so much curiosity and enthusiasm. Indeed change is inevitable. As cliché as it may sound, it is the only constant in this world. Now that we are in the information society or what we call the Gen Z (Generation Z) – the newest generation after the Millennials, kids play the information. Not just the kids but all of us regardless of the age. We adapt to the change that is thrown at us. We are creative, imaginative, experimental, and inventive. We try new things. Through the information and the advancement of our technology now, people can innovate and discover new skills. We do not just settle to what is given to us rather we venture more, we conduct research and we find new ways and discover new ideas. To quote John F. Kennedy, change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or the present are certain to miss the future. We cannot avoid it and the more we resist change the tougher our life becomes. We are surrounded by change and it is the one thing that has the most dramatic impact in our lives. There is no avoiding it as it will definitely find us, challenge us and force us to reconsider how to live our lives. Like in the quotation, when it is in the hunting culture the kids play with bows and arrows but when time passes and everything changes they also adapt to it and adjust. In the world run by technology, in an information society, kids play the information. They explore and learn new stuff. They adapt easily to the change and so are we who are young at heart. Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. We can’t resist them. We cannot avoid the unexpected events in our lives, as it is these events that challenge us and force us to step out of our comfort zone. If we ignore or hide away from the challenge of change, we deny ourselves the opportunity to learn and grow. To exist is to change and to change is to mature. Our resilience in life can only grow stronger when we embrace change and manage these challenges in a positive way, rather than hide away and ignore the opportunities that change can bring to our lives. There is no escaping the impact that change can bring into in our lives. Managing change in life is the key to living a life where we are not only surviving but thriving as well.
