Reflection of Chapters 1 & 2:
Chapters 1 and 2 both underscored to myself that I am going to have to be more than a "Media Mover" (one who uses online and mobile devices regularly as a way to connect with other people socially); to be a successful teacher I must be a "Digital Collaborator," which is someone who uses online and technology readily to create and share information with others. (Maloy 26) As exemplified in the textbook, a teacher must be able to respond to innovation and change within the technological realm.
I think that it is important for teachers to be open to change, because it's next to impossible to name a time when teaching was not changing into something new and more advanced. In my personal life I am not a big fan of change, so I'm hoping after learning more throughout the class I can find ways to welcome change in my teaching career.
According to the Rogers innovation curve I would place myself in the group that would utilize technology if I felt confident about it. Like the old saying goes, "confidence is key." No one wants to do something that they do not feel they are good at. As a teacher one must welcome the opportunity to learn from students and others. A teacher is just as much of a student as anyone else. There is always room for learning and improvement in all fields.
Students begin to get bored in class if they are forced to listen to their teacher lecture everyday. Technology and education apps give students a break from lectures and allows them to explore and discover on their own. I think it is important for students to want to learn and for them to be curious about things on their own without the teacher persuading them to learn about a certain topic. Technology stimulates learning and engages students.
Some questions I have:
1) I babysit a child who goes to a school districts that gives the students iPads to use for homework and schoolwork. On these devices children are able to communicate with one another via an email account. There have been situations where bullying has occurred via these emails and being that it is the school's property the school must take action. That being said, how can teachers prevent student's from bullying on these devices? In this case, children do suffer consequences after the bullying is reported, but is it really possible to make sure bullying does not occur at all?
2) The barrier of children not being able to afford such devices strikes me. If a child is doing all of their learning on an iPad, but is unable to bring that iPad home because it is school property, how does the child do work at home? If they use technology all day, it seems to me that a pen, paper, and textbook may seem foreign to them, and may make their further studying at home much more difficult.
I also strive to become a digital collaborator and feel that it is necessary, for teachers who want to be effective in the 21st century. Furthermore, I like how you mentioned that one must have confidence, as it is an important motivator. I totally agree that sitting through straight lectures can put a strain on people's attention spans, and are quite boring to sit through; thus, technology does make learning more engaging and enriches students' learning.
ReplyDelete1) It is very difficult to put a stop to bullying, once and for all. It is a very concerning issue and heavily impacts the victims. I feel that bullying through the iPad may be prevented by explaining to the children on the very first day that respect in the classroom carries over to respect at home, even when on the iPad. For students who are troublemakers that do not listen to the rules, I would suggest that each of their emails be sent out to the receiver, the teacher, and the parent so that the contents can be seen by adults. If the troublemaker knows that the email will be seen by such figures as well, he/she will think twice about bullying through the iPad.
2) I agree with how it is a problem to assign work with technology for home if the child has no access to one at home. Nevertheless, the child can do the work at a computer in the library, or possibly be hooked up to work at a friend's house.
Christine, I love your idea of the emails having to be monitored by the parents and teacher. I think that would definitely make a student think twice about bullying!
DeleteUsing technologies in class is everyday part of classroom activities these days. However, not being able to afford such devices, I never really thought about seriously. Before reading the chapter, I just thought about how can I use different technologies to teach without thinking every students can afford or have access to those devices so they can continue use those technologies after school hours. After reading, it got me thinking that developing activities and curriculum using technologies is important too but I realized that making it to be followed by every single students is important part as well.
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