Blog Post 3

1.    Michael Wesch:  A Vision of Students Today

       In viewing the video, A Vision of Students Today, it appeared to me that this is a one-sided depiction of the view of a student today. It seemed that it only included young students that may have just graduated high school. This doesn’t reflect my life and my college experience at all. My experiences are different than what is portrayed in this video. 

It only gave you the point of view of being in the classroom. I am actually enrolled in a few web-based classes this semester. I would have included that point of view, as well. Not all students of today are living this life of Facebook for 2 hours a day or listening to music 2 ½ hours a day. I am a wife and mother of four; I work full-time and am taking online classes. If you are going to do a virtual ethnography, then it should encompass the vision of all students, not your stereotypical students. All in all, I really enjoyed the clip. This clip prompts me to ask, are younger students of today falling prey to all of the updated technology which in turn distracts them from their studies?

2.   “It’s Not About the Technology” by Kelly Hines

Kelly Hines hit the nail on the head in her blog post, It's Not About the Technology. She is absolutely correct in say that teachers of today should be willing to learn. She stated that teachers today are given countless technological tools to use, but they end up being just a waste of money. The reason is, teachers are afraid of change. I myself find this to be true.  I see this everyday while I’m at work.  I’m not knocking the teachers that I work with, but there are some “old school” teachers that have been there that are only using their SMART boards as projectors.  I actually had a professor here at South use it for nothing more than a projector.  I was quite discouraged to see this.  I thought to myself, “Here I am here to learn, when in all actuality, I could teach this guy a thing or two.”

All in all, I absolutely agree that teachers today need to be willing to learn and to take advantage of all the tools and resources made available to them. Our children deserve nothing but the best. In essence, it is not always about the technology, but with the combination of a teachable teacher and technology, our students will be best-served with top-notch education.

3.   Karl Fisch:  Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

The lesson and honesty in Is it okay to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?, is something that all teachers should take note of. I have never thought of this matter in the way that Mr. Fisch put it.  In stating that today’s teachers that are technologically illiterate are equivalent to the teachers from 30 years ago not being able to read, opened my eyes. I feel challenged by this. This is definitely a different way to look at this.

As a personal example, my sister is a technology teacher at a local elementary school. She has been trying to get me to use Google Docs for two years now. I was reluctant to do it because I thought that I didn’t need it. You’ve heard of the saying, “Ignorance is bliss”? Well, I am realizing now that by our ignorance, it is our students that are being shortchanged in this mindset. They deserve the best, and we as educators carry the burden of giving them the best. Shame on us if we are not willing to keep up with the times to ensure our students have every opportunity to achieve goals set before them.

4.   Gary Hayes Social Media Count

To be honest, Gary Hayes' Social Media Count was a shocker. It’s as if we are at the stock exchange watching numbers run wild. I’m really not surprised by this though.  Technology is ever-changing and is becoming more accessible to more and more people every day.  

It also makes me think that what I may consider up-to-date technology will soon enough be outdated. The thing about technology is, people are always trying to make things smaller, faster, and quicker and less time consuming.  This is happening as I type.  More and more items are being sold, uploaded, downloaded and installed, than I can even fathom.  It seems overwhelming, but to me it just solidifies the importance of our willingness to learn and stay in the know.