Digital Blog Post #A- Chapter 1

From reading Chapter 1 Becoming a 21st Century Teacher,I think it put in perspective for me just how much of an affect technology has and will have on students and teachers. Growing up in an age where there was usually only one computer in a classroom, and you had a hard copy of books and worksheets, and everything was done by hand, its amazing to see how far things have come in classrooms today.

The first concept that really sparked an interest in me was the technology based textbook. For me its always been easier to have an actual textbook in front of me, rather than read it offlline. However, in reading through page 8, I saw just how much that limits what you can learn. Having this as an option for teachers to use, makes it so that they can pull various information from different sources, rather than have it all be from one persons point of view. When I have a classroom of my own I feel like this would be something useful to expand the students' minds and open them up to different perspectives. Before reading about this, it would have just been something I would have overlooked and thought would never work in a classroom.

Secondly, the idea of digital identity stuck out to me. With technology becoming a bigger influence in society today, we are really forced to learn how to use it effectively. With taking this class and learning this information, we will only become better teachers, and be able to guide our future students and lead them to success. While most will come into school already knowing how to use common sources of technology, we can help them build on what they already know, and be able to challenge them academically with technology. (page 15)

Lastly, the idea of social media technologies interested me. While my generation today uses social media as a means of staying connected with one another, and also mainly for fun, the idea that social networking sites could be used as an educational purpose is exciting. I think something like this would keep students engaged in learning, and also help them interact with others on assignments. (page 13)

https://youtu.be/2lSscbqRZVM

The link above if for a video I found on YouTube that was interesting to me about how students view technology from the past and throughout their schooling.


Resources:

Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.