Blog Post #1

Computers are an important part of the educational experience because they help with a multitude of learning styles such as visually dominate learners, auditory students, kinesthetic learners, those with special needs, and culturally diverse students. Modalities can help to provide feedback to visually dominate learners, whereas auditory students can use the audio lessons for review. Learning games can help kinesthetic learners. There are assistive devices for those with special needs, and computer programs help to bridge the gap for those who do not speak English as a first language. It also helps them to share about their background. Some critical concerns are students becoming distracted by having a screen in front of them, and teachers who are not prepared to use computer technology. This kind of technology is not always in the budget for schools. Also by adding in computers, teachers are not always going to be the authority in the classroom. I agree with the issues raised because financing is a big obstacle and students are easily distracted as many use phones while in the classroom.

The ISTE Standards are there to help teachers be better at teaching not only subject matter to their students but in helping them to become better every day citizens as well as digital citizens. The ISTE Standard for Teachers that gladdens my heart is, “Promote, support, and model creative and innovative thinking and inventiveness.” I love fostering creativity and helping students with it is what teaching is about to me. The standard out of my comfort zone is number two. ISTE Standards for Teachers call it, “Design and Develop Digital Age Learning Experiences and Assessments.” Developing assessments is currently outside of my current skill set as I am not familiar with them and what all goes into them.

Digital Natives are those who have grown up with the presence of technology, whereas a Digital Immigrant is someone who experienced technology for the first time as a teen or an adult. I agree with the term Digital Natives for youth because children as old as one already know how to use cellular devices sometimes even better than Digital Immigrants. They have always been surrounded by technology. I have seen differences between how my peers (Digital Natives) and my teachers (Digital Immigrants) use technology. Usually my peers are more tech savvy and inform teachers on how to get programs running. They also know their phones and computers inside and out. They help the classroom run smoother and help me to understand my own technology better. My teachers usually are the ones to understand technology better than me even though I am a Digital Native. I am sure by the time I am teaching, my students will already be more up to date on technology than I will be even with my training. They will probably even make fun of me for it as they become the ones who are teaching me.

 Citations: 

“ISTE Standards Teachers.” ISTE Standards. International Society for Technology in Education. Web. 9 Sep. 2013.

McDonald, Jean and Judy Lever-Duffy. Teaching and Learning with Technology. United Sates: Pearson, 2015. Print.