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I am in love with Shaffer(my fiance) and we have been together for almost 5 years. I love to hang with my friends and just act crazy. I love being surrounded by wonderful family and friends.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

Blog Post #3

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today     
      This has been my experience almost to a T. I know that most students come to class and either play on their cell phones or facebook on their laptops but I believe that those are the students who do not have to pay or earn their way in to college because either mommy and daddy pay for it or they are on some kind of scholarship. The students who come to class are the ones going into debt for every class they fail.
     What if though, students were not allowed to bring these things into class and were actually kicked out when the teach caught them using them. I believe there would be a lot less class disruptions. I know technology is great and we need it and use it in a lot of our assignments and homework but until students do what they should with it in- class then maybe some necessary precautions should be taken to ensure that if students do need to use there computer in class then the teachers walk around and check to make sure they are doing their work and require that something be turned in by the end of the class so they can not facebook. The world is technology right now and we need it but we also need to be sure we are using it for what it was made for... bettering our education and sharing with the world what we have discovered.

"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines
      Teachers everywhere should read this because I believe it would be a serious wake up call. It has never 
been true that the technology makes a better teacher and it is about time the school systems woke up and realized this. Like Ms. Hines says when referring to smart boards, "It is not about the board. It is about proper training and mindset of a teacher who is already willing and eager to do amazing things." It has always been the teachers place to make sure they do not get complacent and to always provide many different learning options because there is no way that even 32 students will all learn the same way.
       I know that teachers can and do teach somewhat better with the assistance of technology but it is the teacher who is teaching and not the technology controlling the teacher like a puppet. I am sorry but if you do not want to do the work then why are you wasting your time getting a degree just so you can sit there and let the smart board do the teaching for  you and you sit and press the clicker?


Karl Fisch: "Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?" 
       Yes I do believe that being a technology illiterate teacher now is the same as not being able to read and write back 30 years ago. In this day in age, technology is one of the driving forces in our country and although technology is not everything, it is a part of most of the world everyday life. I do not believe people should be proud either of not knowing how to do something. This does not make anyone look smart or funny but I believe this is merely a copout.
       As teachers we are here to give students the tools and every opportunity that we can so that they can go out in to the world and do great things and succeed. If we ourselves are not the most knowledgeable then what are we doing teaching the future of our country? They deserve to get the best and if we are pleading illiteracy when it comes to technology then we are teaching them to do the same. Imagine a world were we just think it is funny not to know something, I just don't want to. 


Gary Hayes Social Media Count 
        This is absolutely mind boggling. If things like how many people watch youtube and how many people join Facebook can change that fast and almost triple numbers in just 3 seconds, then the knowledge and education I obtain could and probably will be outdated by the time I even get in to a classroom to teach students. 
          Since this is going to be the case then as a technology literate teacher I need to continue staying up to date and current with the information and the technology helps that use to assist in teaching. If I am teaching my students on an outdated program and then they move on and another teacher is using something completely more advanced then I have just hurt my student and held them back for a year. This may be just a count but this is a counter that calls you not to fall behind because if you do the students are the ones who will pay for it.

2 comments:

  1. I think you reversed the meaning of Dr. Wesch's video. You blame the students. The video's intent was to raise questions about how colleges and their employees organize and deliver instruction. The premise underlying the movie was that if we instructed differently students would behave differently!

    You wrote "...it never has been true that technology made a better teacher and ...". Really? I totally disagree. technology is the most powerful tool we have to access and process information. It is essential in every facet of our life that we know and use that information. Schools are supposed to provide a learning environment where learning can occur. Without technology, that cannot happen. Of course, if the technology is at the back of the room - dusty and forgotten - it is worthless. But if it is not there to be used by eager learners then the learning environment is severely handicapped!

    Yes, we all need to be technologically literate, have access to the best possible technologies, and use them!

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  2. I agree that technology is a "tool" but it is just that, a tool. I do not believe that it makes a better teacher because teachers, even when I was in school, did not use great quantities of technology and I feel that I received a great education all the same.I never saw a Smart Board until my senior year of high school and I did not even know what a podcast was until this class. It would have been nice but it is not everything. The quality and substance of a teacher is measured by how much they put in to teaching their students and not wether or not they use a Smart Board and Podcasts. Technology is great but teachers teach the class and have been doing this for years and defiantly before technology was even invented.

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