Blog Post #3

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

This video does not necessarily capture my experience since I have been at college. Some things are similar, but I think it relates more to some of my friends then to me personally. I can count on one hand the times I have had to have class in an auditorium. Most of my classes have about 25-30 students in them. My major is Health Education and I am lucky enough to have most of my professors more than once. Most of them know my name, and I feel like I do have a personal connection with them. However, I have a lot of friends with different majors and they would tell you the opposite. Most of them have classes in auditorium's a lot and their professors do not know who they are. It is frustrating to them and I can see why. I can say that I do see a lot of students using their laptops for things other than class. This is a common occurrence as well as playing with their smart phones.

When the student held up the sign about books and how much they cost I could absolutely relate. They cost so much money and a lot of the time I open them once or twice. A lot of people I know have this problem and I would love for it to change. If the course does not need a book, and the test information comes from the slides then why do professors tell us to buy the book? It really is a waste of money. Most teachers post their slides online anyway. Not very many of my teachers use a chalkboard or a standard white board. Most of them use a smart board or their power point slides. From my experience, more teachers and schools have made the switch to more technologically efficient devices in their classrooms.

"It's Not About the Technology"

I think that Kelly Hines makes some very valid points in her writing. I believe that there is more to a better education than just the switch to more technological devices. We as teachers need to have a specific goal in mind when it comes to transforming and bettering the classroom experience. Without this goal the expenses on our new resources will be a waste. They will also be a waste if we do not know how to effectively use the technology we are incorporating. I agree with Kelly Hines when she says that teachers should be learners. We should constantly be learning the new trends as well as information available in our society. By doing this we can productively teach our children in a way they will understand and enjoy.

As teachers we need to be consistently open-minded. We need to learn from our students and embrace the new culture and generation. In doing so we will have endless possibilities to learn, as will our students. When incorporating new technologies into our classroom we should use them to their fullest capacities, even if this means taking the extra time to learn how to do this. In the long run, I think this will impact the students learning in a positive manner.

Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

I think Karl Fisch makes a very interesting point in this blog. I have seen many of my friends already get turned down for a job because they are technologically illiterate. When technology is such a big part of the world that we live in, and is only growing, how can we think that it is acceptable to not grow with it? I really liked the point he made about communication. The fastest and most convenient form of communication is technology. As teachers, are we not trying to communicate different ideas to our students? We are, and we should be doing it in a way that they can relate.

Like Karl says, technology is only improving and expanding. I cannot even imagine what kind of technology will be in our world in 2020! If we cannot keep up with these new technologies it will be very difficult to find a job. Why would a school hire a teacher that cannot use the most effective ways of communication with their students? To the generation after us, these technologies will be almost common knowledge to them. We need to make them the same way for us. By doing this, communicating with our students and the ways we teach them will not suffer.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

Gary Hayes Social Media Count made my head hurt! I could not even read half of the statistics because they were changing so frequently. Watching the numbers in his media count shoot up in just a matter of seconds should prove something to us as future educators. We need to get, and stay with the times! This means investing our own time in learning how to use these technological devices and services, and how to use them well! These numbers show us just how popular technology is and how often it is used. These numbers are not going to reduce as we further in our careers, most likely they will rise.

I think it seems overwhelming to a lot of people, including myself, because of how quickly new technologies are found. It should! This should also push us to stay on top of the game, and motivate us to improve our knowledge of the our changing world. The world does not stop developing and improving its ways, and neither should we.