Blog Post 3

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

I viewed this video over and over again because I really wanted to get the messages that were being presented. The findings of the class survey give a clear vision of students today. The statements: “I will read 8 books this year, 2300 web pages, and 1281 facebook profiles. I will write 42 pages for class this semester and over 500 pages of email. I will spend 3 ½ hours a day online. I spend 2 hours on my cell phone. When I graduate, I will probably have a job that doesn’t exist today,” definitely prove that technology is a much bigger part of our lives than we realize. Truth be told, to pass EDM-310 alone, we are spending more than 3 ½ hours a day online. One thing is for certain, I will never look at a chalkboard again without thinking about this video. It would be great to move beyond the 1800’s and replace every chalkboard in America with a SMART Board! What do you think?

Kelly W. Hines: It’s Not about the Technology

I sometimes wonder. Is technology causing us to be more connected to machines and less connected to one another? As a parent, one of the traits that I teach my children is to look a person in the eye when speaking to them. Most of us spend countless hours hunched over a smart phone or laptop “communicating.” It is an integral part of our workforce and everyday lives. Ironically, many employers complain that today’s prospective applicants lack communication skills. In face-to-face interviews, they lack the confidence and know-how to answer questions because they have communicated on a keypad for so long. Even cyber interviews involve face-to-face dialogue. I recall a Friday night football game that I attended last fall. My husband enjoys the view from the nosebleed section. This gave me an interesting perspective on “modern technology.” We were surrounded on all sides by spectators with “smart” phones. Instead of voices, keypunching reigned supreme. One could not help but be impressed by their lightning fast texting speed. However, when conversing actually took place, it involved the latest text on their phone. What about the play on the field or the music of the band? Are we sacrificing the art of conversation for the speed and convenience of information? Is this becoming our identity? I understand that technology is here to stay. Ms. Hines states, “We must be up to date on current trends, research and tools. We must know what our students are doing and where they are coming from when they enter our classrooms.” I agree. We must also envision where our students will go and equip them to be more than just tech-savvy students. They must know that they are already equipped with an onboard supercomputer, their brain. Consider this. In a class session in one of my computer based courses, progress came to a screeching halt when the network was down. The instructor said, “I guess we can go home now since we don’t have access to the server.” Every student in the class had a textbook. After a few moments, the technical problems were resolved and class resumed. Classrooms should never revolve solely around technology! Computers can be wonderful tools. They should never be a substitute for the real thing, the innovative mind of a passionate teacher! We must teach our students to use common sense and action, communicate with their minds, voices and hearts, not just their keypads.

Karl Fisch: Is it Okay to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

Mr. Fisch makes a very strong argument for technological literacy. I applaud his statement, “In order to teach it, we have to do it. How can we teach this to kids, how can we model it, if we aren’t literate ourselves?” I agree and will go a step further and call it hypocrisy to expect the very best effort from our students and not expect the same of ourselves. We have the distinct privilege of shaping our own destiny by what we instill in our students today. They are our future! Each one teach one. This statement only means something if what we’re teaching is relevant to the here and now, not stale information. Our students are too smart for that and they should call us out! We must be ready to give them our best and that means never being complacent or puffed up in what we think we know. Every day presents the gift of new knowledge. Technology is yet another way to open that gift. So I, for one, plan to open it, put it to good use, and share it with others!

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

Dr. Strange said it best in our assignment instructions. These changes are happening at an “astounding rate.” What then does this mean for our professional careers as teachers? Plain and simple, it means we must stay connected to our students through social media. We must make the effort to educate ourselves on the current trends and tools of technology. One thing is certain, our students will!