Blog 3

A Vision of Students Today

I love the comparison between the student and the desk. No, those chairs can’t talk, but we can. Just after the words were shown they camera moved to the students sitting in those chairs. To me it looked so military-like. Why are we forced to sit still and listen? It’s funny that teachers tell us to put our cell phone up when in fact our phones probably provide us more street knowledge, the most important knowledge, than what the professor is writing on the board. I, along with most of my peers I assume, also feel like I’m reading only 18 percent of actually apply to my life.
I can’t agree more with the hours spent in a day. I don’t think I spend two hours eating or spend 150 minutes listening to music per day, but I do feel like I have to compile 28 hours worth of to-do’s in a 24 hour day. All college students, part or fulltime, have to be multi-taskers to stay sane. I’ve always hated Scantrons. What in the world will that do for me except get my numbering messed up and fail the test? No, the world is not my problem or my fault, but yet I have to live in it and one day solve these problems.

It’s Not about the Technology

I completely agree with Ms. Hines that technology is not the only or first thing to be taught in the classroom. I, as a twenty-year-old, am already overwhelmed. I can’t imagine bringing in blogs and twitter the first week of fourth grade! Also, yes, teachers have to be learners. There are so many new things coming and going in the technology world that can be used in the classroom, in the real world, and in the work place. As teachers, we have to stay ahead of the game; we have to be willing to learn! I loved the following quote and her point: “I don’t know why these kids don’t get it. I’ve taught it a hundred times.” In Dr. Clark’s class, I learned that there are two fallacies as a teacher. The first is that groups of students are mostly the same. The second is that the students should adjust to the teacher’s technique rather than the teacher adjusting to the students’ way to learning. There is a huge difference in teaching and learning!
She also says that technology is not very useful if we don’t teach it well enough. For example, I have always had a Google e-mail account but I never knew anything about Google Documents or the other neat gadgets it offers! If Dr. Strange had told us, “Go to your Google account and there will you find the checklist and comment checklist,” I would be completely frustrated! Even though this is a small example, it is important to make sure students being introduced to new things completely understand the purpose and its ability. I had no idea that the documents by Google existed and I have already introduced it to my dad who will frequently use it at work as an attorney.

Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

Once I saw the title of this post I immediately thought, “I sure hope it’s ok to be technology illiterate!” It is a little scary to go into this profession and know only to use the Smart Board! Obviously this class is helping in the field of technology. I once have used another program at a former college that will help in the classroom. Other than that experience, I have nothing! After this course I hope I will be considered to have a basic foundation of technological capabilities. This is because I agree with his statement that all educators should be at least somewhere literate.
“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.” All I have to say about this is, “Wow!” That completely hit home for me! It is insane to think that knowing how to use technology is becoming as useful as is it to be literate. The world is changing more and more everyday. As educators, and citizens, we have to keep up! We may one day be the reason why one of our students will not get the job versus someone who knows all about using technology. We are a direct result of how students do in the real world.