Tuesday, January 14, 2014
Focus Question:
What roles does technology play in the lives of students and teachers?
Technology plays a major role in the lives of students and
teachers nowadays. Everywhere I turn I see people on their smartphones,
laptops, tablets, and eReaders. It has turn into an every-day thing. Technology
enables people to browse, create, and communicate. I’m really interested in
technology and programming. I’m willing to learn how to code and build software
myself.
Today, children are born into a digital world. They are
surrounded by advanced gadgets and learn how to use it rather quickly. These
youngsters experience a “digital childhood characterized by television watching
and increasing use of computers and other digital media” (Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards,
S. A., & Woolf, 2011). Schools have begun to allow students to bring their
mobile devices and use it for web search. Most teachers assign students to
create a PowerPoint presentation, which exposes them to technology. College
students register for classes through computers at home or in school. Most of
their assigned work requires the use of technology.
Teachers
incorporate the use of technology into their lessons plans. It reinforces their
lessons by enabling them to show digital photos and videos. Educators use
technology to communicate with the students as well. If a student doesn’t
understand their homework, then they can contact their teacher online.
Technology forms part of an every-day life for both students and teachers.
Tech Tool link: Tablets, Smartphones, and Laptops.
As a college
student that enters into the teaching profession, we will be using computers in
the classroom. It’s a good idea to get familiarize with how to access, manage,
and share information with students. The article discusses about what types of
technology a teacher can use for school. It also explains each gadget and what
it does. Tablets would be used for maps, dictionaries, and research just like
smartphones and laptops. As a future teacher, we need to choose what kind of
devices we will need for our professional work.
Photo credit to Cybercorrere Departmental Digital Agency on
Flickr
Summary & Connection:
The first chapter
introduces on how to become a 21st century teacher. It tells the
reader what skills and technologies teachers need to incorporate into the
classroom. I’m excited to learn more and expand my skills with technology. The
chapter further discusses that teachers use technology in three primary ways:
inside-the-classroom instructional tools, outside-the-classroom use by
teachers, and inside-the-classroom and outside-the-classroom use by students.
It’s amazing how teachers and students discover how technology is a powerful
learning tool.
I believe that
digital identity is important when becoming a teacher. Digital identity refers
to their technology talents and competencies. They should learn how to “maintain
websites and blogs, use computers to compose and calculate, research trends and
information online, make electronic presentations, and perform countless other
activities technologically” (Maloy, R. W., Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A.,
& Woolf, 2011). Educators need to have personal commitment in keeping up
with technology and incorporating it into their curriculum. There are three important
goals when building a digital identity: building a multimedia resume, learning
resources and teaching tools, and modeling technology for students.
Resources:
Maloy, R. W.,
Verock-O, R. E., Edwards, S. A., & Woolf, B.P.
(2011). Transforming learning with new
technologies. (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.
Wow - you have incorporated multimedia in various forms on this first blog post - awesome! Like the music and the photo (though, for the future, you will want to hyperlink the photo's home on Flickr so that a reader can find it's original digital page). You hit upon the major points of the chapter and begun the process of engaging in the material. Nice job! :)
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