Post for 1/25/11

"There's nothing magical about any tech tool. Real magic rests in the minds and hearts of teachers using digital tools to introduce students to new individuals, ideas and opportunities." - This quote from the Flickr website I find to be SO true and crucial towards my lens of teaching and learning. It's true that many students and people in general think of technology as a very magical tool, but it's what the person does who is using this tool that makes it magical. Nowadays technology is EVERY WHERE you look, and people are learning more and more about technology as the years go on. There is more technology in the classroom now than there was when I was in junior high and high school. I had never heard or seen a smart-board until I started observing in the classrooms for my field experiences. Another quote on Flickr, "encourage a culture of questioning, respect, and risk taking" is another idea aspect that I would love to have in my classroom. What is learning without questioning, respect, and especially RISK TAKING? Taking risks are what helps us learn - whether we fail or exceed with our risks, we will always learn from these risks.

I then decided to read The New Literacy article and I have to say I agree with everything that was stated. I know that from having a lame Livejournal when I was a lot younger, myspace, twitter, and a facebook, I'm on the internet a lot more and constantly writing things and typing. My parents have commented multiple times on how fast of a typer I am without even looking- my mom has always considered herself to be a fast typer, but she always says she is nothing compared to my typing and speed. What we're doing right now with this blog helps us get our ideas across to anyone who decides to read it, and it helps us think, learn, write and type better and more efficient. Also, as students, we know what is proper for online writing and texting as opposed to writing a 12 page paper for a history class. Just because there are these new forms of writing doesn't mean that we are going to degenerate from the societal and academic acceptance of good writing, it just means that we are evolving in an age that is technologically advanced.

Lastly, I looked at the Pew Internet website and found it to be very interesting. I really liked the data points the website gives about the internet and what people feel about it. Also, the articles about how technology and the internet may not be helpful when it comes to students and individuals with disabilities. It's great to know this because as an aspiring teacher, it's good to know that, depending on what school district you're in and depending on the culture and diversity of the students in your classroom, who might or might not have access to technology and the internet.

One key concept that I just want to point out about the internet is that, yes, I love it, but there is a ton of information out there, and I want to be able to teach my students at an early stage what is acceptable to use on say a history paper and what is not. I didn't learn any of this until college and I feel that it might have benefitted me more so in high school when writing papers for my classes - I never really knew what to look for online and I believe that the earlier the students learn how to access good information for their classes, the better off they will be.