Reflection Four

I definitely see myself as a digital native. The internet and email, etc. have all been around for as long as I can remember. At first smart phones seemed like a thing of the future but now they are part of my everyday life and I couldn’t imagine trying to go without my phone. Whenever new digital technology comes out, it is very easy for me to figure out how to work it because I’ve been using different pieces of technology my whole life and I am used to them, unlike digital natives who might not even know how to turn an iPhone on (my dad!!).

My future students will probably be exposed and used to much higher technology so it will be very important for me to keep up with the new types of technologies being used in schools to keep up with them. There will always be some divide between different generations but since I will be working with young children, they might not be using the highest technologies since they will be so young. I’ve definitely seen a divide in the generations especially with my parents. I am used to doing everything really fast and navigating my phone, the internet, or TV very quickly, but they are SO SLOW it seems like! Basically everyone my age can go through their phones and search, call, look up anything they want at lightning speed. My future students will probably expect me to be able to navigate through all of the technology in my classroom very quickly too but that might not be the case so I will definitely have to practice a lot when using new technologies.

Reflection Three

The idea behind Technological Pedagogical Learning Content Knowledge, which is that teachers must have extensive knowledge in both the content or subject area they are teaching and actually how to teach. The first part seems very obvious. You won’t be a very good calculus teacher if you can hardly do long division. The pedagogical knowledge is what stuck out to me, especially since it is not even concerned with how the students are doing. In most of my education classes it has always been about what works best for the students, are the students following along, etc. It never focuses on what the teacher actually knows about how to teach. 

Something important to me as an educator were the many different types of knowledge. When I think of knowledge I usually just think “Oh, I know that.” I rarely ever  ask myself how or through what medium do I know this information? I definitely agree with the reading that it is most beneficial to have many different types of knowledge. There is not just one type of knowledge that stands out as the most important, which sort of surprised me.

The big take home message I got from the Meaningful Learning with Technology chapter was that you shouldn’t use technology just as a tool to get your work done, but you should work with the technology and collaborate with it to expand your own ideas. I especially liked the section on “How Technologies Foster Learning” because it gave a variety of ways it can be used that I had never thought of.

Reflection Two

Lauren Thompson

There are so many different types of technology that it would be kind of hard to NOT use technology in the classroom. Many teachers already use computers to create power points or websites for students to have access to. There are even some virtual classrooms that are really helpful in teaching new things. I’ve personally looked at how to do various Calculus problems on the internet and have come across YouTube videos of teachers explaining, step-by-step, how to solve problems similar to my own. I’ve taken two classes online through UGA. We mostly used and posted things in ELC but we only met in person once in the whole semester. In another class all of our tests were administered in a computer lab. I was not a fan of this however, because it graded your test and timed you as you went along, so if you missed a question it told you immediately and there was nothing you could do to fix it which was really stressful.

As a teacher I would definitely use technology to enhance my teaching. Since I want to be an ESOL teacher a great way to teach using technology would be with Rosetta Stone. Rosetta Stone is software that you can install onto a computer that helps you learn any language you want! This is one of the top ways people are learning to speak new languages because of how easy and helpful it actually is! I’ve actually looked into Rosetta Stone before to see how it could be used in an ESOL classroom and it is fully supported and backed by numerous success stories. I would also incorporate some sort of internet activity for my students so they can properly learn how to do research on a computer because that can be such a huge part of their higher education. It is important to teach the students to not use shorthand talk in any of their schoolwork. Most students already use some sort of technology so they might be used to using abbreviations like “BRB” and “LOL” so teachers should emphasize that it isn’t appropriate to use slang like that in a scholarly setting.

Reflection One

Lauren Thompson

Technology plays a huge role in my life. I’m always on my phone, whether it is texting, calling, face timing, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, games, or even shopping. You name it, I probably have or can get an app for that! I’m also always on my computer searching the web, getting on Pinterest, and doing homework. Technology has helped me make diet plans, find new workouts, connect with friends, find new recipes, get decorating tips, DIY projects. The possibilities are endless!

I really do like to try new technology tools because with each new invention or model there are huge improvements on the designs or speed that makes the product a lot better than anything before it. The only problem with brand new technology is that it is so expensive and nobody can really afford to get every new piece of technology when they come out. 

I clearly have a very positive attitude toward technology because it plays such a large role in my everyday life. I also have a very hopeful attitude toward technology because there are new advances every day that make our lives so much easier. As time goes on the technology just gets better and better, so I have a very positive outlook on the potential that all this technology can have on our lives. I tend to just enjoy life with technology. I rarely do anything the “traditional” way anymore. I’m not even sure what that means really. It’s rare to find a cassette player or VHS so I always use new technology like my iPod and DVDS.