Digital Blog Post B: Chapter 2

Here are the three concepts from chapter 2 that really caught by undivided attention.

1.  Identifying Groups of Technology Users
2. Using Technology to Enhance Teaching
3. Digital Divides and Participation Gaps

 I did not know that there are actual, separate technological groups to identify from, I just thought technology users all fall under one distinct category.  Apparently, these different group can sometimes be identified through their preferred use of a technological device such as a smart phone or by how often they frequent the internet for something.  This sort makes me wonder about students, what technological group would they identify as, and would it be considered as one of the more healthier groups?  Granted, technology always seems to make things easier for students in terms of processing and developing new information, but that does not mean that students will only adapt to technology for that specific reason.  Based on my own observations, most of your older students use their technological devices such as their smartphones to just simply chat to someone they are sitting across from, rather than doing something that I consider to be more ethical like looking up news reports; this was one of the groups they mentioned too.  This concept really had me thinking about my future students, which exact technological group would I want them to be.

 The next concept that I read talks about one of the more commonly discussed topics about how to use technology to enhance teaching.   This section basically just talks about how teachers can incorporate technology on a daily basis for students or how to use it administratively such as for planning or organizing, but this is not the exact reason why I chose this concept. I initially chose this topic because it helped me remember a very interesting article I read earlier this week, as part of a discussion, that talks about more of the unusual ways to incorporate technology.  "Epic Fail or Win? Gamifying Learning in My Classroom" by Liz Kolb talks more about one of these uses, as she mentions using video games to help teach her students, as technology does not always have to refer to the use of the internet, it can refer to other technologies as well.  I actually would like to incorporate video games or photography into my curriculum because I know that students would become intrigued by this new learning method as it deviates from the technological usage that they are probably used to, and we all know how unfamiliar technologies can grab our attention.

The final concept I read talks more about the ethical issues going on with technology right now, its availability.  I know first hand about the expenses of technology and this means that not all schools will have the budgets to fund them.  When I see students use more uncommon technologies such as cameras or tablets in school it usually stems from a teachers own out-of-pocket expenses rather than actual funds to buy them.  When I was high school, until my last year, the school still used these really obsolete monitors that look like they date back to the year 2000, instead of the more common plasma screens, which only teachers were aloud to have.  Some of the debates over this issue can also stem from what school chooses to fund over the updated technologies, like sports teams.  Overall this concept makes me worry about the future when I become a teacher, will the school that I work for have the budgets to use up-to-date resources and if they do will they fund it? or will my students have to count on my own expenses to give them the best possible learning experience that they can benefit from.

Strip

 

References

Kolb, Liz. "Epic Fail or Win? Gamifying Learning in My Classroom." Edutopia. 20 March 2015. Web 13 September 2015.

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.

 ToonDoo. Jambav Inc., 2012. Web. 13 Sept. 2015.