Blog Post #3

It’s Not About the Technology

In Ms. Hines post, It's Not About the Technology, she talks about what needs to be changed within our classrooms. Although technology is great to have, there are other things that need to be focused on improving. She first mentions that teachers must be learners. Teachers must up to date on current education issues and be self-motivated. Ms. Hines also makes the point that teaching and learning is not the same thing. You can teach a child how to do something, but did they actually learn it?
The next major thing she focuses on is teaching with technology. If school systems are spending money on putting innovative tools in the classrooms then teachers need to be able to use them properly. Many of these innovative tools are currently useless in classrooms because teachers don’t use them. It’s very important to make use of these tools like Ms. Hines said or it’s a huge waste of money.

Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

Mr. Fisch spoke about teachers being technologically literate. I agree with him completely. Being technologically literate is a trend right now and teachers need to be up to date with trends that deal with education. He talks about technology being part of every day life. Mr. Fisch also complains on his post about having teachers willing to take the time to be technologically literate, which is definitely a problem if teachers aren’t willing to learn.
Mr. Fisch also gives a list of his criterion and/or standards for teachers. He basically says that all staff members in school systems should find employment elsewhere if they aren’t technologically literate or have the desire to become technologically literate. He also mentions many times that if teachers aren’t willing to become technologically literate than that’s equivalent to a teacher thirty years ago who didn’t know how to read and write.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

The social media count shows for a fact how much technology is increasing. As a pre-service teacher we should be up to date with all of these technology uses listed on the social media count. Many of these things can be very helpful in the classroom and some are great ways for means of communication. So many teachers don’t take advantage of the many uses listed here that could help in the classroom. We use many of these in EDM310 and they are all very helpful and help limit time spend in the classroom.

The Vision of Students Today

In this Video Michael Wesch basically points out the problems for students in college today. He makes some very good points. One that stood out to me was the fact that many students are required to do so many things in their classes that will not benefit them in their degree. Why waste time doing something irrelevant that’s not going to help with your success? Students have so much on their plate and being a full time student is like having a full time job.
We shouldn’t have to pay for textbooks that aren’t going to teach us anything. I enjoyed this video very much. I feel as if many students can relate to a lot that is pointed out in this video. If we bring technology into colleges more than learning might be a lot more interesting and entertaining.