1: computers in the classroom and living as a digital native

The prevalence of technology in this day in age, especially in the United States is astounding.  Even the youngest of children seem to be experts when it comes to the latest gadgets, which is why it's unsurprising that technology is used widely in classrooms.  Students work on computers, information is projected onto the walls for them, and they have resources such as audiobooks, video, and podcasts.  

Technology in the classrooms present opportunities and challenges for both teachers and students.  On one hand, technology helps teachers to present knowledge to students in new, innovative ways, that are easily accessible, which couldn’t be done before.  On the other hand, it takes time for teachers to learn the technology, and even more time to teach it to the students before it can actually be put to practice.  It requires funding and constantly upgrading to the next best thing in order to keep students ahead.


I have no doubt in my mind that my classroom will be full of electronics and technology, probably far more advanced than where we’re at currently.  While my time in a classroom is probably not that far away, there’s endless possibilities as to how much technology could advance between now and then.  Every student will probably have their own computer, surely taking advantage of the wide range of resources on it.  I think that even though there will be a curriculum to follow when it comes to technology, it’s still important to know how to research and use books or other resources, so I’m sure I’ll incorporate that into my classroom as well.

While I’m not the best when it comes to technology, I am classified as a “digital native”, since I’ve never known a world without technology.  Because of this, I don’t think I will fall too far behind as technology keeps progressing, even though I’m sure my students will be better with it than I am, in the same way that many students now are more able to work technology than older generations.  I definitely remember classmates in high school having to show teachers how to work the projector or how to do some nifty things on online programs.  I think that’s just how it goes.  As digital natives grow up with the progressing technology, they’ll be able to use it, since they don’t know anything else.  Ironically, they’ll always be the ones teaching it to the digital immigrants, their teachers.  Funny how it all works out.


-Keri

0: a tech blog from the least tech savvy girl you'll ever meet

Despite the title of this post, I'm not completely helpless when it comes to technology - but I'm pretty darn close. I took the mandatory computer classes in elementary and middle school, resulting in a quick typing speed and very general knowledge of keystrokes and Microsoft products. In high school, I was the editor of our school yearbook, so I'm slightly familiar with Adobe products such as InDesign and Photoshop, and that's pretty much the extent of my experience.

 Even though I use it almost daily, I still have to Google search the keystroke to screenshot anything on my desktop, every single time. I've never even glanced at half of the tools and applications on my computer, for fear of doing something wrong and causing my laptop to be wiped or spontaneously combust.

 I'm hoping that this class can prove that I'm actually not entirely incompetent, and reach into the depths of my being to pull out some technology skills. While I'm not hoping to switch my major to Computer Science anytime soon, (seriously, both of my parents majored in it, and I'm still lost,) I do think that being able to cover the basics of technology is an important skill to have, especially in the world of education.

 Today I found out a bit about my learning style, such as the fact that I learn better by doing something with it, like explaining it to others. I also like to focus on possibilities instead of hard facts, prefer learning visually, and learn in large jumps rather than detailed steps. I think I already knew all of that about myself, but it's still pretty neat to be told what it all means. Check out my nifty results below:

Hopefully this post isn't too rough. I've been on blogger since 2011 and have two other blogs with zero posts, (shocker, I know,) because as I said before, I'm pretty inept when it comes to technology. Both of the other times that I tried, I got half way through the initial design before giving up. However, I'm excited to keep up with this since I've been wanting to bring my writing to a public forum for quite a while now.

 -Keri