Blog Assignment 3

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Student’s Today

This video is dead on. The facts presented from their surveys may be frustrating, but I definitely believe them to be accurate. One of the issues touched upon that really stuck in my memory was of the girl who sits next to a person who paid for the class, but he or she never shows up. I have definitely had people in my class who pay for the class and even buy the book maybe, but they never come to class or participate in labs if they have a lab component. I don’t even understand this, because it is such a waste of time and money. For the kids who do come to class, I definitely think distractions such as Facebook are extremely tempting. I have even sat through a boring lecture before and been very tempted to get on the internet or pull out my phone to check Facebook.

However, I don’t think ALL of the blame can be put on technology and the professor’s lack of creativity. If students aren’t motivated intrinsically, they will find any sort of way to distract themselves. It won’t matter how innovative a professor is. It may seem unrealistic, but I think elementary educators could have a huge role in improving this problem. If we as teachers encourage our kids to enjoy learning, maybe they will be more likely to take responsibility for their education.

It’s Not About the Technology by Kelly Hines

I’m glad to hear this point being brought up. While I absolutely believe in technology’s positive influence on learning, I agree with Ms. Hines’ opinion that it’s not all about technology. She raises four great points that she believes are the most essential for teaching a new generation of children. Basically, to teach the new generation of kids, teachers must still value the fundamental characteristics of education. I think her assertion that teachers must be learners is one of the most important things to remember. Ultimately, we are role models for our students. If we are trying to teach them things, then we should value education ourselves and continue to try and learn new things. If we are trying to be innovative with technology in our rooms, I think it’s important to remember this assertion that teachers must be learners because I think a great way to learn about technology is to experiment with it teach yourself.

Ms. Hines’ assertion that technology is useless without good teaching is one of the most important things to me. I definitely think it’s too easy to create a cool lesson using all of the technology possible, but to lose the objectives you are trying to teach your students. Also, the fundamental aspects of teaching must still be present in order to teach. Hopefully, talented educators who can help the students learn and can teach the value of good communication skills will never go out of date.

Karl Fisch: Is it Okay to Be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

Mr. Fisch asserts that “If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write.” He then asks a question: is this extreme? At first, I thought it was definitely a little extreme, although I did see the logic behind it. Then I thought about it a little bit more. What would make a teacher who is technologically illiterate (and unwilling to learn more any more) qualified or more knowledgeable than a teacher thirty years ago who couldn’t read or write? The answer is nothing. While the modern day technologically illiterate teacher may have basic reading and writing skills, he or she still sets unacceptable standards for the student. The teacher should set good learning examples for the student and encourage the student to keep up with every learning tool possible.

A good point that Mr. Fisch raises is that technology is often viewed as socially unacceptable. It’s strange that everyone wants the newest cell phone, TV, or computer, but a lot of people wouldn’t consider themselves very interested in technology. We need to make is socially acceptable for people to like technology and work towards becoming more technologically literate. This is where our role as teachers could come in again. We not only need to bring technology into the classroom, but we also need to make it cool and acceptable for students to enjoy and be interested in technology.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

This is absolutely amazing to me! It’s crazy to think that in just a few seconds, so much has changed in the world. This is something we as educators must take into account. Obviously, the popularity of such devices and programs is astounding and the likelihood that our students will be involved is very high. While we as educators may feel like we know a lot about technology know, how will we feel in ten or twenty years? Hopefully, we won’t just be teaching for a few years and then going on to other jobs or retiring early. If we are lucky, we will be teaching for many years and witnessing many new technological advances. It’s important for us to stay as technologically literate as possible throughout our whole career so even our students twenty years from now will have teachers interested in technology and who use the technology they are familiar with.