Blog Assignment # 3

A Vision of Students Today


Michael Wesch at Kansas State University and some other students put together a survey of what is going on in the college classroom today.  These 200 hundred college students brought a message out about how they feel about their college experience today.  Their average class size, how many teachers do not know their name, how much books cost and other things about the college experience.  They talked about how much college cost and how it may not even help them in their future career.  


I believe this video is very true in some aspects.  We spend hundreds of dollars on college, books and supplies that we will never use and information that will be irrelevant to our careers.  Yet college students also waste these resources.  I am a returning adult college student who now knows the value of that diploma one is working towards.  I am here to learn and soak up all the information I can.  Even 13 years ago as a freshman in a 2 year community college I knew the importance and the cost of my education, so I was very serious about my classes and grades.  I believe in the old saying "the more you know the further you will go".  Even if that class is irrelevant to your career you may be surprised that you will one day use that knowledge.


Students are so bombarded by modern technology today that they have not learned the value of college or nor do they take it seriously.  They just assume they can self teach, through the Internet, Facebook, Twitter, or some other computer based resource.  They do not value the teacher standing in front on them that is full of knowledge on a particular subject that the teacher wants to pass on.  Nor do they respect their other classmates, potential employers or co-workers, but they continue in their own technological world, which is all about their self.   This type of student needs to step out of their own world and into the world of learning.


I believe technology is very important. It is what is making the world a better place and bringing us information that we once never knew.  I think colleges and teachers also need to evolve into the technological world.  Teachers need to step out of the tight realms of traditional teaching and look for ways to grab this technologically savvy generation and gain their attention.  They need to upgrade their methods of teaching to today's world.  In doing this technology might improve our world in ways unimaginable and make it even better than it is today.  Can you imagine a world where teachers and students are all technologically literate?




Its About the Technology


This blog is by Kelly W Hines, a 4th grade teacher in Washington, North Carolina.  Mrs. Hines is also married to a teacher who is a coach too.  Mrs. Hines is a mother of twin boys. Education is obviously a priority in her life.  In her blog she discusses  the importance of technology and how teachers need to get on board with this technology and use it to their benefit.  This is what I just discussed in my previous blog about "A Vision of Students Today".  


I believe in what Mrs. Hines is discussing in this blog, "Teachers must be learners.”  In order for students to get the most out of their education the teacher needs to be up to date. I love her statement "  I equate teaching and learning to a basic physics principle. If an object does not move, no matter how much force has been applied, no work has been done. Therefore, if a student has not learned, no matter how much effort has been exerted, no teaching has been done."  How can a teacher teach a subject a hundred times and never change the presentation?  Each class is different, each child is different and each generation brings something new to the classroom.  A teacher needs to be prepared for these changes and adapt her lesson to them.  Teachers to be open up to new ways to teach and learn.


It is not enough for a teacher to read a handout or attend a workshop about something new in technology, they must get in there and work this new technology.  In order for a teacher to be a successful teacher they must also be a student.  Technology has opened the doors for teachers and students.  Now to get teachers on board and with a strong desire to want to learn about all this new technology.  Most students have already surpassed our teacher’s knowledge about modern day technology.   Think of the places teachers could take students if they got on board with the students too.






Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?


This blog is written by a teacher, Karl Fisch.  Mr. Fisch “hit the nail on the head”, so to say, regarding teachers being technologically literate.  I have been out of college for 13 years but very involved in a business that required computer skills.  I have seen technology change drastically over the years but even I have to not keep up with it like I should or could have done.  I am so glad Mr. Fisch pointed this out to me.


“If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write.” This statement is so true, no matter how many people it may offend.  Yes, he is right teachers plates are full but that does not matter to the student that is there to learn.  How can we as current educators or those in training not want to learn as much as we can about technology to help future generations?  What an injustice to the future leaders of our world.  I am  glad that I am currently taking EDM 310 and reading these blogs.  What an eye opener for me.  I am ready and willing to learn all I can about technology so that I may be an asset to my students one day.




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This is another "WOW" for me!  


All I can say in regards to my professional career as a future educator is that I better be willing to keep up with technology.  If it changes that fast now, I will need a continuing EDM 310 class forever, in order to stay up to date.  Can we only imagine what technology will be like in another 5 years?  I have 7 year old son and a 3 year old daughter, what is the future going to hold for them?


 I hope the schools systems can see the changes that need to be made in order to help teachers and students.  The teachers are the ones preparing these students to step out into this world of technology.  So it is our job to lobby for the students, train ourselves and push for schools to not only catch up but to stay caught up.  Our children deserve the best in order to make them the best in the world they will be entering. Students need to be prepared in every way possible from math, reading, writing, the arts to technology in order to be successful in the future.