Blog Post 3

Micheal Wesch: A Vision of Students Today
When I started college after being out of school for twenty-seven years, it was a lot like I remembered it. Big class room sizes( except for elective classes). Most teachers giving you homework like it was the only class you had and not caring if you got what was being taught or not. I had to write lots of papers and didn't see why it was relevant to my life to take half of the subjects I had to take. Then four years later I feel like I'm in outer space and way behind in time.
I go to schools where I can't use the smart boards or show a student how to do something on the computer they want to do. Then I come home and ask my fifteen year old son, "How do you do this?" I never thought that a teacher had to do so much on a computer. I think it is great when I learn to do something new on the computer, but I also wish as an older student that I could have taken a class to bring me up to date on technology before becoming a self learner.
I agree with the video that being a full time student can be very stressful and that there definitely is not enough time in the day. I really liked the phrase, "If students learn what they do, then why are they sitting here?" I think it is very important for students to know technology because it is becoming the way of the future. But I cannot really agree with the phrase that, " Some have suggested that technology will save us." I think sometimes technology has taken away from us personally as human beings.


"It's Not About Technology" by Kelly Hines
I agree that teachers must be learners with technology, it is a never ending learning process. As with any career, you must be up to date on current trends, research and tools, as Mrs. Hines says.
I also agree with the statement that learning and teaching are not the same. To me if a teacher cannot get the information across to a student, so they can understand it, no teaching has been done. As Mrs. Hines says learning will not look the same to all students or all teachers, but it must be the goal. In being in college, I have learned a lot from my Professors. I have had Professors that will go out of their way to help you understand a lesson. Then I have had Professors that if you ask them to explain something further to you, they make you feel stupid for asking. To me a teacher's goal should be to make a student better no matter how much effort is needed to be exerted. I can see how technology could scare teachers, but training courses in technology must be part of a teacher's learning process.

Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
In response to the question Mr. Fisch wrote back in February of 2006, I say it is not okay for teachers to be technologically illiterate. Some teachers may not be willing to make the effort to learn and some may just be scared to learn.
A boss that I worked for, for nearly fifteen years told me something at a meeting one day that I have never forgotten. A person usually does what they are most comfortable with or what they can do best. It's hard to get a person out of their comfort zone. So some teachers may feel like they cannot learn technology. When I signed up for this class, I was terrified. I am not from a technological time, but I know I must learn technology in order to be productive for the rest of my lifetime.
I agree with the statement that in order to teach it, we have to do it, and that a teacher needs to demonstrate continual learning for their students and with their students. If a teacher is not learning or teaching technology they are potentially jeopardizing the chance of our youngsters. As Mr. Fisch says, technology is the underpinning of just about everything we do today.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count
After watching how quickly these numbers are changing every second it is amazing to see technology at work. When I look back years ago as a child( I am now fifty-one years old) I remember playing cards, jacks, riding my bicycle and most of all playing football. Today when I look my son, he is playing Xbox live and talking to people all over the world. When we get in the car he is listening to his IPod. Children today are nothing like the children of my childhood.
Watching this video makes me see the importance of keeping up with technology. If I am going to teach young children, then I must be aware of the things that interest them in technology, and use them in ways to teach and hold their interest. Most of these websites are new to me, but in order to not hold my students back, I will make a promise to myself to learn these sites and to practice using them.