Journal Post #1

Chapter One: Becoming a 21st Century Teacher 

Focus Question: What roles does technology play in the lives of students and teachers?

Technology and Students 

           Technology plays a huge role in the lives of students and teachers all over the U.S. In the lives of students they are constantly using technology. Students in the 21st century were raised using nothing but technology. Growing up these students watched television, played on phones, tablets, ipads, computers, and used the internet. These students constantly have their phones on them just like I do now. Most are active in some type of social media (i.e Facebook and Twitter). My niece, who is barely in preschool, has been on a computer. When I was in school I didn't use one until late elementary school. This just goes to show that technology is integrated early on into children. 

           Students now can use the internet more than ever. Even for this class everything is online. Students now have the options to finish their entire high school curriculum online and still get a diploma. There are not as many restrictions on students to do things a certain way. For example if a teacher asks for a presentation describing a certain disease then students can do this in a number of different ways. The student can create a PowerPoint, a Prezi, a video, a poster board, or have a hands on demonstration. There are so many ways to do things now thanks to technology in the classroom. 

           In Tech Tools 1.1 it talks about Tablets, Smartphones, and Laptops. These are all things that I believe any student should have. Some may not be able to afford these items but there are some schools that will allow the students to borrow a laptop for the year or check out a tablet for a week. Schools now have laptops in certain classrooms where students can look up information, do assignments or go on websites that are allowed by the school if all their work is complete. Students can look up grades on assignments or do research for assignments.

Photo credit to miniyo73 on Flickr

Technology and Teachers  
        For teachers there is nothing but technology in their field. There are many things that are done by teachers that are done using technology. Teachers can assign papers through the internet or have presentations through their projectors. Teachers can grade papers at home, post the grade, and students can see their grade in no time at all. This was extremely useful to me because I loved seeing my grades early and if the teacher kept up with it it was a very useful tool to have.
        Anything can be done using technology. I constantly use the internet to write papers, do research, or even to relax. Being a teacher can be very stressful. Sometimes just watching a movie on Netflix can relax you. In the classroom a teacher can look up videos on YouTube or create a video themselves for the student to watch. Teachers can communicate with other teachers without ever having to leave their classroom.

Summary
         Technology is a constantly growing field that is becoming extremely relevant in schools now. Students along with teachers are growing and exploring with technology. As students grow up with technology there will be newer models of things created to expand with the growing minds that are being created from using technology at such an early stage. Teachers are using technology in almost every aspect of their classroom and this will continue to be so because technology will always be around and will always be changing and improving.

Resources:

Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.