Blog Assignment #3

It's Not about the Technology:
In this blog post Kelly Hines discusses the importance of teachers instilling quality learning skills into their students as opposed to merely using technology as a mediation tool. She, much like Dr. Strange, advocates that all educators should be learners as well. She also emphasizes that learning and teaching are not one in the same, that technology is useless without good teaching, and that one can be a 21st century teacher without technology.

I agree with Mrs. Hines in all aspects of this particular blog post. I especially agree that all teachers should be learners and it is of vast importance to emphasize critical learning skills when educating future generations. While there will always be a base of concrete knowledge that will be expected to be taught in education curriculums, I believe the most important aspect of teaching is to get students engaged and interested in the learning process. By teaching children critical thinking, problem solving, life skills and technological skills technology can be used as an excellent medium to enhance the personal learning process. Simply throwing technology at students will do them no good if they do not have a solid foundation of skills that will enable them thrive in an academic world.

I believe we as human beings are inherently curious and eager to learn. With the internet so prevalent in today's day and age, a wealth of information is constantly at our beck and call. I believe that if we teach get children engaged in the personal learning process and teach them proper skills and how to use technology to their academic advantage that children will actually be able to teach themselves as well as teach their teachers. Simply put, we should teach our children to use technology and not just use technology to teach our children.

Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
In this post Karl Fisch rants and raves about why he believes teachers need to have a grasp of technology. He argues that being an educator in our current world and not being technologically literate is comparable to not being able to read in the 20th century. He also argues that while it seems many people deem it acceptable to be unable to work with technology they should instead be embarrassed. He is especially adamant about this point as pertaining to educators and believes it to be disgraceful for our profession to turn a blind eye to this problem and not uphold teachers to proper technological standards.

I tend to agree with Mr. Fisch in this blog post. I believe it is very important for educators and education majors to be technologically literate. Technology can provide unlimited channels for teachers to enhance the learning process for their students. As technology continues to perpetually advance, more and more of these channels will open providing more lucrative and innovative ways for teachers to enrich the classroom learning environment. The longer a teacher puts off learning about and incorporating technology into their curriculum the harder it will be for them in the future as it continues to exponentially expand. If all educators were to succumb to this pattern, eventually the education system would fall behind and our future generations would miss out on amazing learning opportunities. Consequently we would also be doing them a vast disfavor by simultaneously leaving them with a larger gap to fill for future generations. I liken the integration of technology in education to a speeding train. The faster one jumps on board, the less they'll be behind.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count:
As I sit here and watch Gary Hayes' Social Media Count it gives me a headache. While I'm mesmerized by all of the changing numbers escalating so quickly, I can hardly stand to watch it for more than a few seconds before I feel compelled to look away, but then shortly return my attention to it. It amazes me to see how integral the internet is in the lives of everyday people with an actual live number count.

What I take from this is more of an appreciation for just how big social media has become. While I personally am not a fan of sites such as facebook or myspace, it's impossible to deny the impact that they have on society. I believe this graphic just lends more support to the argument that technology should be well integrated with education as it shows how intertwined it is in the lives of the everyday average joe.



A Vision of Students Today:
This video by Michael Wesch brings up many questions on the current construct and confines of education, especially pertaining to the college classroom. As I watched the video, surveyed the students, and read the information they had to present I could easily identify with them. Being a college student myself, many of the same thoughts and statements they shared have run through my own mind. It was interesting and quite refreshing to watch this presentation.

What I gather from this is much the same as many of my previous posts. I believe it is imperative to reexamine the construct of traditional education. While there have been improvements with the integration of technology in the classroom and having web enhanced and internet courses, I don't believe technology has been utilized to it's full extent within the educational system. The power of the internet has been on full display recently in numerous political and social activist demonstrations such as the unification of civilians in the Libyan civil war. This to me signifies the power that technology and the internet have and the impact it has on society. So my question is if technology has the power to unite citizens and overthrow a government, why does the education system hesitate to harness it for learning and teaching.

"What we should have been taught in our senior year of highschool:" Presented by The Oatmeal

More "What we should have been taught in our senior year of high school" comics: Presented by The Oatmeal here: