Blog Post #3

A Vision of Students Today

The video done by Michael Wesch was somewhat informative. I feel like it just hit me differently than it would most people. About 95% of my friends that are in college and graduated from a public school constantly complain about how hard college is. I however have never had one college class as difficult as some of my high school classes, and most definitely have never had as hard a semester as my senior year in high school. I feel very blessed that my parents sent me to a college preparatory school. 

One difference about college that I believe aids in making it so overwhelming is the fact that teachers really do not know half of their students names. I think that is why Faulkner State Community College uses the slogan "My name is Sarah and my instructors know it". This promotes students to go there thinking they will get more one on one time with their instructor. The video also talks about how much we use electronic devices daily, sounding very similar to the questionnaire we did in class. The better technology in classrooms will obviously be found in the bigger schools due to more funding. It really all depends on what type of learning you are more geared toward. Overall I wouldn't change anything about the movie, it had informative facts and was entertaining.

It’s Not About the Technology

I like how Ms. Hines uses both instances of teachers but be learners, and how technology is useless without good teaching. As a teacher, the only way to get better at your profession is to be a sponge and continually absorb all of the information around you. This will not only benefit you but it will also impact your students as well.

People always say the best way to see if you really know something is to teach it to someone else. When doing this, you realize what your gray areas are that you really need to brush up on and what your expertise is. With the ever evolving technology in classrooms teachers will have to adapt to the changes. However, simply sitting on a podium showing slides on powerpoint dose not make you a good teacher. The object of the incorporation of new technology into the classroom is to get student more involved. Thus creating a better and more profound learning experience.

Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

I absolutely loved Karl Fisch’s post and the examples used. First, the comparison of students parents saying “they were never good in math either”. This is almost like an excuse for their child to do bad in the class and not understand it. This makes the child think “Oh, well my parents couldn’t do it either and they turned out okay”. Thus creating a sense that they do not have to try to learn in the class.

Second, i was provoked by the idea that technology to teachers today is as reading and writing was 30 years ago. I agree with this statement to an extent. Yes, you will be extremely hindered in today world if you do not know your way around a computer, but you will not be incapable of teaching. Just the level of education you will be providing will be lower than that of a computer savvy educator.

Social Media Count

The social media counter created by Gary Hayes is just another example of the relevance of technology in today’s life. One thing that struck me as intriguing on this counter is the hours of video uploaded to YouTube. It made me think back to the first video of EDM310 called “Did You Know 3.0”. The part about China Building a wire capable of handling some trillion bytes per second seamed amazing but pointless to me at the time. 

Watching the counter as I type this blog makes me realize the use of this wire. Also makes me appreciate the fact the it will be continually getting faster and capable of handling more. Apart from YouTube, the advertisements and global messaging alone show the revenue produced by technology. That alone should be a reason to lean about technology and ways to further improve it.