Blog Post 3

"A Vision of Student's Today"
This video definitely covers what my life is like as a college student. It covers what students today face extremely well. One thing that stood out, was the price students spend on textbooks. It is a frantic rush to get to the bookstore to purchase the books needed for the class, only to find out that you may open it twice the entire semester. If the book is only needed for a few things, then why do we have to buy them. With they way technology is increasing, isn't there some way to just put those few things online?

Another thing that really stood out was attendance. One girl held up a sheet of paper that read "My neighbor paid for class...but never comes". This is true about many large classes in college. Students never come, because often teachers do not take attendance. Yet these students always show up for test day. Also, students have to be multi-taskers. It seems like there are not enough hours in a day for a student to sleep, eat, work, study, and have a social life.

"It's not about the Technology"
The last videos that we have watched have been about technology. I agree that technology should be used more in schools today, but I also agree with Ms. Hines that it is not always about the technology. One thing that is pointed out in this blog is that "teachers are useless without good teaching." Teachers need to be willing to innovate in order to receive technology. One thing that really bothers me is SmartBoards. So many teachers are putting these in their classroom, but they do not understand how to use them. Most of the class time is wasted because the teacher is trying to learn how to use the smartboard. Teachers need prior training before having these put in their classroom.

Another key point is "learning and teaching are not the same thing." Ms. Hines gave a great example. If it is obvious that a student is not learning what is being taught, then a teacher should reconsider how he/she is teaching the lesson. This is where creativity comes in. Teachers could consider coming up with activities to make the lessons more interesting for students. Having the students engage in activities that are not always the same could always grab the attention span of the students who may be struggling.

"The Fischbowl: Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher"
Mr. Fisch points out in this post that it is not okay for teachers to be technologically illiterate. One statement he makes is, "If a teacher 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 is so true. In today's society, a person cannot be very successful if they do not know how to use a computer. Teachers need to be willing to learn how to use technology and incorporate it in the classroom. Like Ms. Hines says, teachers do not have to know everything, they just need to be willing to learn.

I also agree with Mr. Fisch when he says that teachers already have a lot on their plate. Teachers and students can learn about technology together. This will also help the students learn different ways to use technology. This is also a great to use technology in the classroom. Mr. Fisch also points out, "you need to have continual learning, lifelong learning- for your students, or you will continue to teach your students how to be successful in an age that no longer exist." Like some of the videos have pointed out, teachers are preparing students for jobs that do not exist today. How can the teachers prepare these students if they are technologically illiterate?

"Gary Hayes Social Media Count"
It is so amazing to see how many times the social media changes. People do not realize how much time is spent on technological things. This is something that has never really crossed my mind. Many people now are spending all their time on the social network, Facebook. Within the last minute over 70,000 pictures have been uploaded to Facebook.

For my professional teaching career this means that technology will be easy to incorporate into my classroom. Many of the things shown in this count will be easy for my students to comprehend, since technology is such a major thing in everyone's life. This may not be necessarily true for some cases.