Belated Blog Post #3

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

     Michael Wesch's video put into perspective the challenges we, as students, deal with. It was interesting to see the different and aspects that each student had that were either similar to mine or not. I believe everyone has their on set of individual challenges, but there are many universal issues we bear together. The challenges of our generations to understand that "I did not create these problems. But they are MY problems," or to recognize that when we graduate we will be competing for a job that currently doesn't exist, those things are not easy to hear. Our education holds weight that is hard to understand. How do we prepare for this world that is shifting right under our feet?

      To fit more of my college experience I would add something concerning the number of pages I read a night for classes. A sheet of paper that stated "I more hours in a text book than anywhere else." Another thing that could make this video grow would be to add a sense of cultural diversity. Imagine how much more of an impact this video could hold if it was based on a global level. I understand this was most likely a classroom project, but what if...

        I want to know the visions the students have on a global perspective in today's world. 

It’s Not about the Technology

     

     Kelly Hines reminds us not to lose what started the fire. In her post she describes technology and teachers pedagogy as a beautiful combination rather than technology becoming a replacement for teachers. She is not preposing that we keep technology outside the classroom, she's encouraging to incorporate it into the teaching style. What she preposes is that we change our teaching strategies to step up to the world we live in. 
     Teachers must continue their education outside of the occasional faculty meetings, they must try different ways to teach students who don't understand where the class is going, and they must collide technology with critical thinking and problem solving skills. She encourages the use of technology to customize the learning experience of each class in a way that each child can better understand the world around them. To use technology as a tool to reach their own conclusions instead of an answer.








Is It ok to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

     Karl Fisch takes a pretty critical stance with the relationship between teachers and technology. Although some might believe his statement of technology holding of equal importance as being literate, I agree with him. We are preparing students for a wold we cannot imagine. The only thing we are certain of that world is the influence of technology will be much greater than it is now. How can we expect them to flourish if we don't know how to navigate the technology we have today? We will not know what the computers in their future will be able to do, but we can teach them how to learn. How to discern the different uses and think critically around problems and ideas they come across through the lens of a technologically savvy person.

     Fisch collaborates with a post from Terry Freedman, who vocalizes a pretty strict set of standards for teachers. Freedman states "Head-teachers and Principals who have staff who are technologically-illiterate should be held to account," 

and I agree with this standpoint. How are we supposed to bridge the gaps if we don't understand how the system works?

The Social Media Counter....
It's amazing how much goes on in just a matter of seconds. I know my students are apart of this world. I mean I'm a student now who's sitting here typing up a blog post. I saw the iPad purchases added to the list and it made me wonder what other products or types of media will be added by the time I am a teacher. It means, for my career, I need to keep up with what's going on in the world. For my students sake, I can never stop learning.