Blog Assignment 3

A Vision of Students Today- Michael Wesch

When I watched this video, it hit me pretty hard. I know what sounds sort of crazy, but being a college student on a budget, I know exactly what those students were going through. When I first started watching the video, I honestly didn’t think it would be as true as it was. I, like many students, I’m sure, feel like I’m cramming 30 or more hour days into 24 hours. With school, and a job, and homework everyday, I feel like I have to be a "multi-tasker" just to make it through the day.

However, I know that staying online on Facebook and watching a lot of TV and listening to music (which are all things that were mentioned on the video) are personal choices. If they make it harder for kids to handle their school work, to an extent, it is the students own fault. I don’t, by any means, think that a person should do nothing but school work and internet work and read books all the time, but I do think that if its affecting someone that negatively and making things so miserable, people should make alternate choices which could make their schedules easier for them. I know I have had to make choices like this to make sure I’m successful in school.

I feel that a lot of things we learn about in school now days are NOT necessarily important for the future. I too, like some of the people said on the video, have spent hundreds and hundreds of dollars on text books that I may have only looked at once or twice, if that much. I, also, have had many classes that have well over 100 students. In these sorts of classes, teachers never get to know their students. I believe the whole "18% of my teachers don’t know my name" part of the video. I know one semester I had only 1 class where a teacher actually knew who I was. I know some people don't think too much about stuff like that, but I believe it’s always easier when you have a more one-on-one connection with your teacher.

All together though, I think this video pretty much sums up how my education has been so far. I know that it may not be like this for all people, but for me, it has been. I know I’m facing most of the problems that were stated in the video. Whether it is lack of sleep, going in debt, buying un-needed books, or having HUGE classes with no teacher-student time, I feel like I have been there!



It's Not About the Technology by Kelly Hines

I agree with Kelly completely on this argument. Although technology can be a really useful tool for children, it is NOT the most important, and students can get a quality education without the most up to date technology. Like Ms. Hines said, if you have a teacher who misuses the technology, it really serves no purpose at all to the students. It definitely won’t give them a better education this way.

Things do need to be changed in the classroom, and I agree that it is up to the teachers and their teaching methods to do this, not technology alone. In my opinion, it all boils down to the creativity of the teachers. I believe that all teachers should begin to pay more attention to her his/her students individually. Like Kelly said in the post, teachers can teach all they want, but if they are not passing on the information to their students, they are achieving nothing at all. Teachers should keep an open mind in their teaching, and they should be able to change their methods to be able to get all of their students to understand.

Technology alone will not be able to teach the students. I believe that technology is helpful. But I also believe that it will take well educated, open minded teachers to pass on information to ALL students in the classroom, whether it is being taught with the most up to date technology, or whether it is being taught with a book and a chalkboard.


Is It Ok to Be a Technology Illiterate Teacher?

While reading the comments after the post itself, I caught myself reading and re-reading one comment in particular. This comment stated “What is does technologically “illiterate” actually mean. I think for me to completely understand this whole blog, this is something that needs to be cleared up first. Does it mean someone who has NO idea how to turn on a computer; someone who has NO idea how to work one? Or does it mean a teacher that does not know how to use all the latest and up to date technology, like twitter and Skype?

To an extent, I completely agree with what Mr. Fisch is saying in this post. I don’t think that all teachers necessarily have to be technological geniuses, but I do think that ALL teachers need to have a little bit of background in the field of technology. I think it may be a little harsh to say that teachers who are technologically illiterate need to find new careers. I think this depends on whether or not a teacher is WILLING to learn the new technology. Yes, I do agree that if a teacher says, “I don’t know how to use a computer, and I don’t want to learn,” they should not be allowed to teach, especially not now days where everything is surrounded by computers and upgraded technology. But I believe if a person is willing to learn, that may be a different story. I think that if the students are being praised to learn the new advances in technology, so should teachers who have never gotten the chance.

As I have said before, the world is becoming more and more technologically advanced every day. It may not be something we notice now, but looking back in 5 or 10 years, I think we are all going to be like, “Twitter, man that’s so old. We have _______ NOW!” I think that this will go on year after year and technology will always be changing. So I agree, yes, that having a teacher who has no idea how to work the technology of today will NOT know how to work the technology of tomorrow. With the world becoming more advanced each day, someone with no background in technology will not make it, especially if a teacher has no idea how to do what he/she is trying to teach his/her students to do. Because of this, I believe all teachers, to an extent, should be technologically literate.


Gary Hayes- Social Media Count

WOW! This is absolutely amazing to watch. I honestly sat here for almost seven minutes just watching the numbers go higher and higher. I am really starting to realize that each day, each SECOND to be exact, more is going on with technology. Who would have thought that in almost 200 seconds, almost 2 MILLION videos would be watched on YouTube? What’s funny, though, is that 20 years ago, most people didn’t know anything about YouTube. Most people didn’t know any thing about computers to say the least. Most people did not even HAVE computers. Technology really has come a long way! It’s also amazing that each second there are a few new internet users around the world.

I’m not really sure how this will affect me as a teacher; hopefully, it won’t affect me in any negative way. I figure that keeping up with the technological advances will be enough for me to have a successful career as a teacher. As many people say, “Teachers are not only teachers, they are learners as well.” As long as I continue to learn as much as I can (and keep an open mind about the technological upgrades), I think that I will be as effective at teaching as I possibly can. I know that technology is changing, and I think that all teachers are going to have to change and advance as well or else the technologically literate students will have to be ‘teaching’ us teachers instead!