Blog #1

Computers play an important part in the experience of education because it is another method in which are able to learn material from their instructors. Computers expands the ways in which students can learn and gain knowledge from their instructors. Some examples would be textbooks that have audio features, class websites due to the Internet, greater access to a wider variety of education videos as well as technology boards in the classroom that students can actively engage with. While computers and technology are advancing the ways in which teachers are able to explain and show material to their students, there are some critical concerns.  For example, teachers who have been in the profession longer may not have the technology literacy that is up-to-date with their students who are born more into the Digital Age. Another example is that students have more access to smart devices that are portable and make distract them in class during times in which they need to be paying attention to their instructor. Finally, another example, is that teachers may implement technology into their lesson plans that may not necessarily suit their students needs because of their cognitive stage. I agree with the issues raised in the first two chapters of our textbook, while technology is advancing and has some beneficial tools instructors can use in the classroom it should be limited because at the end of the day students learn from the instructors and not on a screen from a computer. Also, technology use in a classroom varies based on the students' cognitive thinking stage and their ages. So younger children need hands on learning and more basic skill training than older children who already have their basic skills mastered and are ready to learn more in depth.

One ISTE standards that stood out to me is the fifth point for student standards, which talks about digital citizenship. When further reading about what digital citizenship will create for students the website said, "demonstrate personal responsibility for lifelong learning." I thought this standard that students should adopt was interesting because I do not believe that students necessarily need to understand and use technology in order to pursue greater learning to enhance their education. While technology makes it easier for students to do just that I believe there are also ways around that in which they can expand their knowledge. Another ISTE standard that seems outside of my current skill set is the second point for teacher standards, which talks about designing and developing digital age learning experiences and assessments for students. When further reading about developing such activities for students the website said, "provide students with multiple and varied formative and summative assessments aligned with content and technology standards, and use resulting data to inform learning and teaching." While I am an active user of technology myself I am not an expert yet in which I can find ways to implement it in my future classroom. The education courses in which I still have to take will hopefully work to my advantage and help me be able to use my technology skills and incorporate them into my teaching later down on the road.

I agree with the label "digital native" for today's youth because while they all may not necessarily have great skills in how to operate technology, they are all exposed to it and the benefits of technology. To me being a digital native means to be someone who is growing up in a time period where technology and the digital world are changing the ways in which people live. I do see differences in people like myself who are digital natives compared to older generations who are digital immigrants. Teachers, who are digital immigrants, use technology at a much slower pace than some digital natives. This causes serious problems in the classroom, students lose attention when teachers have to take time out of their lessons to fix technological problems or if they do not know what they are doing. Also, teachers do not use the new advances in technology to their advantage, there is a greater variety in ways in which they can creatively teach students but they do not. This hinders the students learning because they get bored of the repetition of the same ways in which teachers teach their lessons. Since I am born as a digital native so I anticipate that my future students will not encounter the same consequences I faced as a student who had digital immigrants as teachers. I anticipate using a greater amount of resources that technology offers so that my students will be sharp and pay attention because they will always have new and creative ways to learn the lessons I teach them.