Chapter 2 - Understanding Educational Technology Issues and Trends

When it comes to technology, it is easy to see that it is growing and changing at an exponential rate. People may cycle through new phones, apps, software for computers, and a number of other things that just seem to keep changing. We have even made some new phrases that did not exist just 20 years ago such as,"Theres an app for that". With all of the change going on it is important that we ourselves as teachers change with the technology learning more about how we can use it to benefit the next generation. Most children today love games, they cant seem to get enough of them. Sitting in front of TV screens for hours not moving a muscle. How can we aim their creative minds toward something that they love, and help them to learn at the same time? One way is by teaching them how to create apps. Here is a short video of a 12 year old that is in love with making apps and wants other students his age to learn to love it as well.

                                           Video Credit to Ted Talks on YouTube
While watching the video I realized that this young man had so much confidence in front of such a large audience. He stayed on topic and even near the end gave a list of set goals, unbelievable! Imagine if we could get all of our students this passionate about learning and spreading that knowledge to others.

Thomas mentions that, "some students can teach their teachers" and I agree, because the internet provides so may tools that allow us to challenge students. In the text Transforming Learning with New Technologies chapter 2 discusses Web 2.0 tools that assist students by using technology as a tool. Using these types of tools leads to a new way of thinking for teachers called Web 2.0 Knowledge, which is defined as," democratically derived consensus driven ideas and information that differ dramatically from the theoretical knowledge created by experts and elites" (Malory,Verock-O Loughlin, Woolf, & Edwards, 2014).  Everything thing seems to come full circle as teachers we are trying to open up the minds of students, helping them use their creativity, but we also need to be creative in how we teach them.

References

Malory R.W., Verock-O'Loughlin R.E., Edwards S.A., & Woolf B.P.(2014).Transforming learning with new technologies.Pearson,2,24

Chapter 1 - Becoming a 21st Century Teacher.

Photo Credit to Thijs Knaap on Flickr

 Being a teacher in the 21st century requires a certain level of adaptability and  an understanding that technology can be very beneficial to the school system.  Currently the 8 - 18 age group is called the "digital childhood"  will  eventually become part of the "iGeneration". In this post I will be covering parts in the first chapter of the "Transforming Learning with New Technologies" text book for the course EME2040.

Three chosen concepts of interest for this chapter:

1. Statistics
2. Strategies for Learning New Technologies
3. Building Your Learning Digital Identity as a Teacher

          Some interesting facts that I came across while reading were the statistics of children using computers at early ages. I was not surprised by the numbers, it just proves how important it is to use technology as a tool for teaching. Many times we hear stories of parents telling their children to stick their heads into books because they are never reading. Few consider the amount of reading their child is doing using the internet and other sources. As teachers we need to be creative if we want our students to learn. 

        The second point I thought was interesting was the different ways in which a student can learn using technology. It can be useful in any subject, some examples of using technology as a tool would be: during a lesson in anatomy, provide students with a descriptive and interactive model of the human body, another could be done in a weight training course which provides students with examples of correct posture for exercises. Keeping students engaged in learning in some ways may have gotten easier with the use of technology because there is constant learning in and outside of the class room. Social media is also a tool in the technology utility belt of any teacher. Creating projects that require students to interact using the very thing that they spend the most time on, social networks. This can result in collaboration between students, and more in depth topics using online discussion boards.  

 I also read the  the last paragraphs of the chapter and realized what it means to be a teacher in the 21st century. It means being able to adapt. Technology is always changing it requires educators to be willing to change and adapt with it. It requires you to create a digital identity showing your ability to use technology as a tool to teach. Using the older means of writing up resumes and handing out written graded paper may be unappealing to schools looking to hire. With teachers that are willing to build the identity online they can have more success with students and finding positions. To be a successful teacher in the 21st century it is important to understand that as teachers we are just students at a different level of learning because we will forever be students.