January 24, 2010

A Vision of Students Today
I thought this was a good video. I've experienced many of the things that were in the video. When I first started college, I attended Auburn University. The classrooms were huge and hardly any of the professors new my name unless it was in an upper level class, and that's because those classes have less students in them. At the University of South Alabama it had been very different. Most of the classes are small that I have taken and the teachers make a point to learn your name, and try to do what they can to help you.
If I were the producer of this video I would have added some commentary from the students. I would have also talked about how much students go out and party, and the use of alcohol and drugs while in school instead of staying at home studying for a test,or working on a project. I thought this video was extremely accurate.

"It's Not About the Technology"
I think Ms. Hines made some interesting points. I think the teacher does need to be willing to learn new technology to help their students in and out of the classrooms. Children are getting smarter and smarter everyday because of the advancement of technology. When I was in high school, the only computers available where in the library. Today, there is at least one computer in every classroom in the high school I attended.
I also believe she has a point if the teacher doesn't know how to use the new technology then some of your students may not completely understand what your trying to teach them and may not do as well. At the same time, if the teacher isn't sure how to operate something he or she most likely could ask one of their students how to do it. If you involve the students then both of you can learn something at the same time.

Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
I get what he's saying about technology but I don't think it's a requirement to use technology in the classroom. I think that you have to see how well your students learn from it because everyone learns differently. You may have to switch it up and go back to the old way at times so that every student can learn in their own way.
I also think before you start complaining about parents not learning how to use computers then you should ask them why don't they understand them first, or you should maybe offer a class for them so they could learn how to use then. Then the parents would be able to help their kids with their homework.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count
This really caught my attention to how much people are using the internet and computers. It seems to me that people are addicted to things on the internet like facebook and twitter, and with the advancement with cell phones access to the internet is made even easier. Severeal of my friends use their internet on their phones more than they use their computers.
As a teacher, it means I have to able to use technology in the classroom to help my students learn new things. If I'm up to date and make it interesting to them then they will want to learn new skills as well.