Tuesday, January 19, 2016

#1 Computers, Technology, and ISTE, OH MY!

Growing up in "the digital age" I have seen first hand how important technology is and the positive ways that it can facilitate learning. Now a days, almost every classroom you walk into has one or multiple computers in it. This causes the question to arise "Are computers beneficial to a child's learning experience?". I believe that there are two sides to this argument. I think that computers are very important in a classroom setting. Computers can be used in the classroom to conduct research, create projects, and make learning more active and hands on. Teachers can use computers to create their lesson plans more efficiently and they can also create informative PowerPoints that can appeal to most learning styles. On the other hand, computers can have a negative affect if used improperly. The use of computers makes it easier for students to use short cuts instead of actually learning, ie: sparknotes, mathway, wikipedia, etc. In my personal experience, computers have been beneficial in my learning experience and I think that as long as it is used correctly, it can greatly impact a learning environment.

While reading the ISTE standards for teachers, one standard really stuck out to me. The standard "Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity." This standard really gladdens my heart because I think technology is such a wonderful tool that is extremely beneficial and I think it inspires creativity. Technology allows students to explore a creative side of themselves. Whether it be while working on a project or while researching. One standard that seemed a little outside of my personal comfort zone is "Model digital age work and learning". This is slightly outside of my current skill set cause I am not a tech pro at this point. There is many programs and technological things that I would not be able to use or demonstrate if it came down to it. I have a lot of work to do in my tech learning experience before I am able to properly model it for students.

I do agree with the term "digital native" for today's youth. Technology is everywhere you turn now-a-days and it seems every time I see a child out now they have some sort of iPhone or tablet in their hands. This showcases the definition of digital native, because these kids were born exposed to technology, it is native to them, almost like its an innate ability. A situation that almost confirms this "digital native" concept is a recurring conversation that I have with my dad. My dad is an attorney and he is probably one of the smartest men I have met, but almost on a daily basis he is asking me questions about the computer, his phone, and social medias. This is also true of my teachers. In high school if anything ever went wrong with the projector or computer my teacher would always ask one of us to try and fix it. I think that because there is always so much technology coming out and theres always something new, eventually I myself will become a digital immigrant and my students will be the digital natives.

5 comments:

  1. Parker, I agree with the part where you said Technology in the classroom can be a form of "short-cutting." BTW love your title for blog post #1

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  2. Super cool title!! It caught my attention right away and made me want to read your blog!

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  3. I agree that kids everywhere always have a phone in their hand. Also, anytime there was a tech issue my teacher would always ask a student for help with it, most of the time he did not know how to fix it himself, purely because he was unfamiliar with the program.

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  4. I agree with Lindsey that the title is super clever! I like that you pointed out that while you might consider yourself a digital native now, one day you might be considered a digital immigrant because of the way technology is rapidly growing.

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  5. One of my favorite ideas is that if students cheat on an essay/project, the fault is with the teacher. Design higher order assignments that don't allow cheating. And perhaps embrace online tools that make learning more efficient. There was the same debate about calculators when I was a child.

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