2 - Social Media is the Key

Microsoft Word has been part of my life since the beginning of times. I have been in and out of computer classes since I was four years old. On my part, Word has been used to write papers, present projects and create flyers and handouts for events and announcements. Microsoft Word was hardly ever used for anything exciting in my perspective. Teachers have mainly used Word for creating tests, quizzes, rubrics, guides and all that boring paperwork. I can honestly say that the only time I was ever excited about Microsoft Word was in the second grade when I learned how to use clipart and word art. I am sure there is much more that can be done using Microsoft Word, but I just haven't learned all its tricks and capabilities for creation.

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Copyright has never been my strong suit. I am always having to refresh myself on what is allowed and what is not. I remember sitting in media class as a small child being told what exactly what copyright was and I had no idea what the in world anybody was talking about. As I got older, and the research papers and projects started pouring in I began to understand copyright and why it is necessary, and once I got to high school citations and work cited pages became my entire life. Before every research project, my entire class was taken to the library to speak with our media specialist about the the proper way to cite sources and what exactly plagiarism is and how not to do it. As a teacher I feel as though it is very important to set an example for your students when learning what can be used and what cannot when it comes to somebody else's work. As a teacher, I too will put my students through many workshops that provide them with the skills to understand when to cite, how to cite, paraphrasing, and plagiarism. As a teacher, to set a good example, I want to try to stray away from using worksheets and tests made by others in order to show students that the photocopier is not always necessary. Students are quick to understand that using somebody else's work as their own is a bad thing, but they do not always know how to properly cite or give credit and I believe that is the root of the problem. 

Again, as a child of the 21st century social media is not a foreign concept. I was learning how to use Facebook and Twitter at the ripe age of 10 (behind my parents' back of course). I do not think there is much more I can possibly learn about using these media pages, but there is a ton I do not know when it comes to using social media as a learning tool. Twitter is full of current events and discoveries, and educational technology is apart of that. Bringing social media into the classroom will spark students' attention as it is something that is apart of their everyday lives that they genuinely enjoy. It allows students to be interactive with their fellow classmates and teachers in and out of the classroom. Twitter has been adding features such as polls which can be very beneficial in the classroom. It gives students the ability to access and learn from educational articles straight from the experts themselves. In this day and age, social media may just be the key to getting students to want to pay attention and learn. 

1 - Our Ever-Changing Digital Society

We live in the 21st century. The world around us is constantly changing in terms of new development and technology. It is important that students in today's day and age learn to be adaptable to these changes through the use of creativity and knowledge. Learning is a form of communication where teachers are the senders and students are the receivers. The only way that students are going to be able to understand the true significance of technology is if teachers are highly skilled in the field before anything. Technology can be used for everything from presentation to administrative tasks and is extremely beneficial, but still the implementation of this technology is the root of the problem. Older teachers who were not and may still not be educated in the use of this technology may have a hard time integrating it into their lesson plans or curriculum because may not be seen as "traditional". In my high school, many teachers left the school after there was a required implementation of new Apple technology to be placed in the curriculum. The use of this technology can be a scary thing. Even if there is a want and need for this new technology it can be still be difficult to get it due financing. We new live in a very expensive and flashy century, and the cost of educating today’s youth is on the rise. It is important to remember that in my situations educators are doing the best they can with what they have. The issues over the increase in demand for educational technology are accurate, and as a child of the 21st century I completely understand that this education is extremely important in order for our day and age to prosper and be successful once we get to the ever-changing real world. 

The International Society of Technology Education (ISTE) has provided today's educators and learning specialists with guidelines known as the ISTE Standards, which are there to help teachers and students to flourish within the process of education in this digital society. I see these standards as extremely helpful and beneficial in order to keep up with the changes in this advancing world. There are standards for students, teachers, coaches, administrators and computer science educators. They cover all the basics. One standard that has stood out to me and warms my heart are the guidelines found under "Facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity." This specifically stands out to me because this is one of my main reasons for wanting to be a teacher. I have always been inspired by teachers' passion for their subject and their ways of delivering information to their students with enthusiasm because without that enthusiasm I don't see a point in even trying to get your students to participate. The fact that this is seen as a standard gladdens my heart because it is almost guaranteed to make the process of learning easier not only on teachers, but students as well.

Digital Natives are those who were born during the advancement of the digital world, and who rarely have a problem adapting to technological advancements of the 21st century. I 100% agree with this terminology and label for my generation. It perfectly describes the fact that we will continue to grow and prosper despite the ever-changing society we live in today. There is definitely a difference in the way that digital natives and digital immigrants integrate with technology. I especially experienced the difference in high school. I went to a small private all girls’ Catholic school where a lot of my educators were a bit older than my generation, and it was a struggle for some due to the advancements that my "SMART School" was making. It would be up to the students to help the teachers set up their iPads and Smart boards a lot of the time and it became tedious and wasted learning time. In classrooms with teachers who didn't make good use of the technology when it was being used it was difficult to get myself to pay and attention and want to learn. When it comes to my future classroom and students I do no really know what to expect when it comes to technological advancements because in my mind I don't know how much more advanced we can get, but I know I am wrong. It definitely doesn't scare me because I have always done well with technology and understanding it. By the time I start teaching I expect the entire classroom to be digital and physical textbooks will most likely cease to exist and so much more. I find it very difficult to predict this kind of future because I really do not even know how to even guess how it could get any more advanced than the way we already have it. 

0 - Day One of Ed Tech

I have been using technology all my life. From the early days my parents exposed me to the new and upcoming technology, which was not too much considering I was born in the late 90s. But, starting in pre-school all the way up through middle school and into high school I was in and out of "Computer" classes. I learned and covered all the basics using all programs from Paint to Excel. I grew up in an age of technology with Apple and Microsoft constantly at each other's throats trying to come up with newest and next best thing. In high school, I was given the opportunity to work in "SMART classrooms" and on "SMART boards" and was handed over an IPad to access all my textbooks and notes. I have learned, prospered and grown in a world full of technology, and I would not change a thing about it. 

In Introduction to Educational Technology, I hope to expand my knowledge of ways to use technology to benefit my future career as a teacher. I remember finding myself so much more interested and actually learning in classes when a teacher was able to present information in ways that were creative and innovative. I want to learn how to do just that and push the limits of what I will be able to do technologically in my future classroom. I do not want to be a teacher that always has to ask their students for help with their classroom technology. I will hopefully learn to be the teacher with the "next best thing", and how to never have a student put their down on a desk in boredom.

The results of my learning styles test did not surprise me. I was never one to be set on one style of learning, because for me it varies based on the subject I am being taught. However, I have been labeled as active, sensing, visual and sequential. What did actually surprise me was that the only one I received a high score in was that I am a "sequential" learner. I have taken this test at the beginning of many courses, and the results have been very consistent. I am an indecisive person and although my learning styles remain the same, the results are low enough to go either way.