The article and the posts that I read on the I-generation proved to me one very important clue...even as "tech-savvy" as I might wish I was, I am no where near as tech-savvy as even one of my students. When I speak to them of applications in computers, gaming or their i-phones (and/or their Droids), they are able to run circles around me. I am definitely the product of the "Baby Boomer" generation, but I have also diligently tried to be one of the most progressive and open-minded teachers that my students have. I've tried, always, to provide my students with opportunities to learn and use the available technology and applications at our school. One of the main problems has been that because of district behavior codes, electronic devices are typically not allowed in the classroom. There are reasons for that...sometimes students are off the teacher-imposed educational task and are texting their friends or surfing the net, or emailing someone. Worse yet is when class is disrupted when a student's cell phone either rings or leaves a text for the recipient. For these reasons, students are typically told to turn their phones off and they are only allowed access to them during lunch or after school. This severely curtails their access to learning applications that they would otherwise be accessing so that they could learn more about a topic of discussion. My students have offered many times to "Google" something to provide the class with information. There have been many instances when I wanted to allow them to do just that. Usually I will access Google myself to look up information when it is needed. Critical to having the student understand what's important is the teacher. It is the teacher's responsibility to point the student in a direction that leads to learning; to have them gauge a site with a critical eye and not to accept blatantly false information that can be posted by "just anyone."
Technology is rampant and used everywhere. Although I do not have small children, my boys are of the Y-generation and are much more technologically literate than I am. As a matter of fact, one of them has taken computer programming courses at Hanks and has certificates of completion that could get him hired on the Geek Squad at BestBuy. When I require troubleshooting to my smartphone (I have a regular Blackberry Storm) or my computer, I usually call on my kids to fix it. (They are 26 and 25). My youngest is currently a troubleshooter at AT&T.
Recently, my husband and I were eating lunch together at a local restaurant and found a table of 16 people in which all young people in the group were actively engaged using their phones or personal gaming gear. There was almost no conversation occurring with the young people. The elder people of the group were almost as bad, as they were texting and not talking very much to one another! Maybe they were holding conversations in text... hmmm. Interesting. On another occasion, my cousins came to visit me, and all we did was exchange ringtones on our Smartphones. Never mind that one of them lives in Phoenix and the other one in Raleigh, N.C., and that we really should have been talking to one another! It's obvious, the world is a-changing!
I really like your view point and appreciate that you say you can learn about technology. I admire that you are interested in technology and understand that it is tantamount to our daily lives. Why would we not encorporate it in the classroom?
ReplyDeleteGreat thoughts. It is so important for teachers to be willing to grow as education and society grows. As an educator we must do our best to meet the needs of our students and technology is a part of what our students need. While many students are tech savvy, some do not have the technological resources outside of what is offered in school. We have to make changes and take education to a level that will benefit our students in more ways than just providing them with basic curriculum.
ReplyDeleteAs a baby boomer your are on the right track to getting familirized with technology. Teaching is moving away from its traditional standards. The teacher is no longer the master of information but a facilitator to it through technology. My prinicipal did an evaluation yesterday and did it on the 360 observation system. She used a small laptop and as soon as she was done it appear on my email.
ReplyDeleteI agree i think with limitations the smartphone or ipad can become a great classroom tool for both the student and the teacher. But like i said "with limitations". Now thats the hard part. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteI took my parents out for dinner the other day and I noticed that I was spending a lot of time on my cell phone playing Angry Birds and texting friends. I completely ignored my parents but I at the time I did not realize I was doing anything wrong. It was not until I got home did I finally come to the realization that I was spending too much time with my ipad and phone and not enough time focusing on what really is important. Now when I see my parents I leave my phone in the car. Technology is wonderful and can make our lives much easier but there should obviously be a balance.
ReplyDeleteI think that the most important thing is that we need to teach students how to use technology with in a classroom setting. It should not be for texting nor calling one another, but for opportunities to use google or other academically accessible sites to find information to enrich their academic endeavors.
ReplyDeleteFirst off, I opened your blog because I really really liked your picture "This is cool". Great picture!
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you about how interesting it is to watch people connecting to others across town or on the other side of the world instead of connecting with the person seated right next to them across the aisle from them.
It's so strange!
What has this world come to?
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to say that i disagree with your statement, "the world is a-changing", because the world has already changed. Of course I'm being a little facetious but I truly believe that things have already changed since I was a child (Gen X) and changed even more since you were a child (Baby Boom). What is more, itechnology cannot claim sole credit for all the changes. For example, migration has played a role in the current globalization of our society.
ReplyDeleteP.S. I'm also sorry to read that you are required to use C-scope now.
Everyone who has children is feeling the pain of not being the smartest one in the room.
ReplyDeleteYou pointed out one of the problems of the overuse of technology, poor interpersonal communication. This is why I prefer hybrid classes and think that fully Web-based courses need to keep the online communication standards high. If a parent or family does not talk, they parents are the problem. We still live in a society devoid of parental mentoring and training. The only thing we require of new moms and dads is a baby seat. Awesome. They expect the school system (and the village) to do a miracle and raise their children for them.
ReplyDeleteGreat point we do need to talk to each other and help each other out
ReplyDeleteThis is sooooo true. An incident like this happened to my family. We had all been working and decided to go out to eat. We sat down and out popped our phones. There was no communication or face-to-face interaction.
ReplyDelete