week 2

A Vision of Students Today

This video does capture the majority of college students' experiences. I would say that this particular video does not capture my college experiences. To begin as to why it does not capture my college experiences is because my class sizes have averaged about 50 students or less and my teachers have all learned my name within the first few weeks. Maybe, I have just been one of the lucky ones with choosing these classes!! Secondly, my my experiences have been different for me because I work full time now and that has given me the ability to be able to pay for all of my tuition and other costs without having to take out any loans. Also, with my particular job it allows me to be able to do homework and study a little bit, which helps out greatly.

One thing that a person could add to the video is a way to show the diversity among the students. Diversity, in this case being students both young and older, because not all students are in their 20s. The director could also show in a portion of the video a student at a full time job holding a sign saying " I am going so I can get that 'big promotion'." Overall, I thought the video was put together very well and very creative by having students hold up signs. It reminded me of the old saying "putting a name with a face," this is because instead of just having a power point with the wording of " the average college student __________." This idea, whether planned or not, was great!

It's not about the Technology

Kelly Hines hit the nail on the head with this post! Her 4 points: Teachers must be Learners, Learning and Teaching are not the Same Thing, Technology is Useless without Good Learning, and Be a 21st Century Teacher without the Technology all have great points. The first point, Teachers must be Learners, is probably the most important because as future teachers we will constantly have to be learning in order to give our students the best education that they can get. Teachers who try to get by with only going to the mandated workshops are not only, cheating themselves but most importantly, setting up his or her students for failure in the future. In her 2nd point, Learning and Technology is Useless without Good Teaching, she explains it as simple as possible, but makes a very strong point at the same time. Just because a teacher stands up in front of a classroom and teaches does not mean that the students are learning. I think we have all been in that situation! Her 3rd point that simply states that just because a teacher has the technology equipment does not make that teacher any better, only proper training and an eager mindset will do that! Her 4th and final point, Be a 21st Century Teacher without the Technology, is another really good point. Teachers only need the very basic technology, if any at all, to achieve teaching students the "framework of learning."

Ms. Hines stated in her post that " it is not about the technology" because it truly isn't, it is about the teacher and his or her ability to communicate with his or her students without misusing the technology that is provided to them. Technology classes are of course an exception to this, simply because of the obvious, you need the technology there in order to teach and explain it. Students still deserve that 1:1 time with a teacher and do not deserve to be passe off to learn on his or her own.

Karl Fisch: Is It OK to be a Technology Illiterate Teacher?

Even thought Mr. Fisch's post was written out of aggravation from the day, I found it to be very thought provoking and true. Teachers cannot be expected to teach anything that they themselves never took the time to learn themselves. Would a teacher teach reading if she/he did not take the time to learn to read herself/himself? I don't think so! Mr. Fisch made several great points that I would have never even thought of, for example, I am not very good at math and I have always been the one to say out loud that I wasn't. I would never go around and say that I am not very good at reading because I would be too embarrassed! So, he brings up a good question why do people go around saying that they are not good at something when they won't say something that they are embarrassed by? Simply for the fact of that one little word, EMBARRASSED. It is sad, but true.

So, my answer to the question that Mr. Fisch asks "Is It OK to be A Technology Illiterate Teacher?" is no. Teachers need to know at least the basics for some kind of technology. It is not as if the school system is requiring all teachers know how to write a computer program in complete 0 and 1 format. All teachers owe it to his or her students to learn the basics. I don't know how many times I have said that if a teacher does not take the time to learn something they are eventually setting his or her students up for failure in the future.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

I guess it is useless to say that technology has really taken off in the within the past 10 years, but it truly has!!! As always it will continue to change, grow and hopefully become better. Technology will always be a major part of my life as a teacher and I can only hope that I will be able to use it as a great teaching/learning tool for my students. As far as what it means for my professional career as a teacher, I am not really sure. There are a lot of unknowns for that answer. By the time that I begin my teaching career technology will have changed and I will be learning how to use it, I am not sure what grade I will be teaching and with that I am not sure how I will be incorporating it into my lessons. I am sure of two things, that technology will be there for me to use and it will be a great tool to be able to use.