The first concept that really stuck out to me was the technological barrier that, unfortunately, occurs more often than we could hope. Although we live in the 21st century there are still some schools that don’t have the resources necessary to develop the technological learning portion of the classroom. This barrier is referred by educators as the digital divides and participation gaps. “Digital divides and participation gaps affect mainly low-income, non-white, urban, and rural youngsters, and occur when students do not have access to the latest technologies at school or at home.” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 33). Also there are other factors that may intervene with the digital divides, for instance in some cases the teachers feel that they don’t need to embed technology into their teaching methods because it is not emphasized or required by the state's curriculum and their main focus is on reviewing for state and national exams.
With this being said, it brings me to concept two, digital natives, and digital immigrants. This new generation of student are referred to as digital native, they grew up with this technology they learn with it, and it is a part of their everyday life and rely on it on a day to day basis. As comparison to us or I at least would consider myself a digital immigrant because as a kid technology wasn’t something that we used on a daily basis but rather once in a blue moon when an extensive research paper had to be done. As we continue to evolve so does technology and technology continuously plays a bigger role in teaching. Therefore, we as the future educators must learn to overcome digital disconnections and incorporate technology in our teaching. “As a teacher, our actions will either bridge or extend the digital disconnection that so many students perceive between themselves and the schools.” (Maloy, et al, 2013, p. 41). From what I have noticed this generation loves to use technology even when it is unnecessary they continually find the urge to use it. Personally for me I believe that if this is the best way a student’s attention is captured then we should use it to our advantage and find fun activities to which they can continue to learn with.
All in all, this bring me to the final concept of technological readiness. As previously mentioned above technology is inevitable and we as educators must learn to use it. As that one saying goes if you can’t beat them join them, and, in this case, it is all about being prepared. Instead of going against technology and resisting it we can find ways to develop lessons and engage students in a new educational material so this way both the teacher and the student are satisfied. Technology can be of a great benefit to us and simplify teaching jobs because with technology teachers are now able to post discussions online via Twitter or Facebook, as well as receive and grade assignments, even upload lectures. From my perspective, instructional practices are the best way to incorporate technology into the classroom by allowing students to use their wireless devices for class discussions and other group projects.
In conclusion, if we want to educate the future leaders of this country we must learn to interact with them and find ways to engage them in lectures. We must prepare ourselves for the future and learn as much as we can so we can allow the students to use Web 2.0 tools in ways to benefit them in their short and long term goals. Otherwise, we will be left behind rather than help student exceed.
Resources:
DeGraff, J. (2014, June 6). Digital Natives vs. Digital Immigrants. Retrieved September 12, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jeff-degraff/digital-natives-vs-digita_b_5499606.html
Maloy, R. (2013). Understanding Educational Technology Issues and Trends. In Transforming learning with new technologies (2nd ed.). Pearson.
Wahoo - love your comic strip - is it ToonDoo or BitStrips? You will want to give credit to yourself for your creation with help from the web 2.0 tool - please see my sample blog post under Resources (Coleman, BitStrips). Can you imagine if students had a chance to show their own learning by creating such a comic strip? Fun learning! :)
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your perspective on teachers' use (or not!) of technology and I would hope that most new teachers would take a positive attitude toward its use in the classroom. You'll likely find more digital immigrants than those natives in the profession, but the natives are definitely growing in number. Still, even the natives are often unfamiliar as to how to use technology to transform learning.