Blog 3

A Vision of Students Today

        The video captures a some of my college experiences such as the lack of time and sleep, the expenses, and having to deal with problems that aren't "mine". My average class size is about thirty and almost all of my instructors know my name. Although them knowing who I am may have more to do with my participation than anything. I do believe that the job I have when I graduate does not currently exist. I have noticed that in several of the videos I have watched in EDM 310 reinforces that. I do feel the need to grab the students and shake them and say "WAKE UP!" that said they facebook in class, do other things than pay attention, or just don't go. Classes here at South cost $681 for a three credit hour class. I believe if you pay for a class then you need to go, take notes, ask questions, participate in discussion, and do your readings. Some things that you have to read may not be relevant to your life and that is horrible, but relevance won't let you pass. There defiantly are not enough hours in the day. Between classes, work, homework, and trying to keep my house clean and my husband happy there are some days when I have to say to  myself "What am I doing? This is too hard!". And the answer is always immediate. I do this so I can do what I love to do and not what I have to do to survive. I knew before I decided to go back to school that it wasn't going to be easy, but it will be worth it. 

          I think the students in the video focused more on the negatives of college life. I would add more positives like "This will be worth it", or "I wanted this". Because that is what should keep them motivated. Anything is better than working at McDonald's or any other entry level job. Believe me, that is my current place of employment. You can move up to management but is that really where you would rather be in five years? Or would you rather be what you want to be?

It's Not About the Technology

            I definitely agree that technology is a cool thing to have but only the mindset and feelings of the teacher is more important. Teachers no doubt need to also be learners. Theory and methods are constantly changing and educators need to maintain an open mind and learn the new methods. Not only do you have to be open to learning but you have to seek them out. Nothing worth learning or having ever just falls in your lap. 

        My favorite statement in the blog was “I don’t know why these kids don’t get it. I’ve taught it a hundred times.” Albert Einstein once said "The definition of stupidity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results." If the way you are teaching a student is not helping them learn then obviously you need to change your methods. Having the best technology in the world does not make you a better teacher. It just makes you a more technological teacher. At the same time you have to be willing to adapt to new things.  
       Being a great educator doesn't require the use of smartboards or any other snazzy technology. Although its nice to have. The more important thing is students learning, students being able to solve problems, and also thinking for themselves.

                                     Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
       This post was the polar opposite of the above blogger. I'm not sure how much I agree. Yes you need to be literate to a point but you shouldn't lose your job over it. But you definitely should try to adapt. Like I said before teachers must also be willing to learn and adapt to new things with an open mind. These new things I am learning in EDM 310 can be overwhelming. For example going in and changing to html code in the wordle post frustrated me to no end. But I did it.

       I'm really on the fence about this blog. On one hand I see where he is coming from and everyone should have a basic understanding. On the other hand I don't think that it makes you a bad teacher. Karl said "Technology is the underpinning of just about everything we do today - and especially so in relation to how we communicate with each other. And isn't communication one of the essential ideas that runs through all of our disciplines?". This statement is very true. Communication is one of the utmost important things in our society. Without communication what do we have? Our means of communications are evolving so we need to learn how to use them. 

The Social Media Count

         The changes at such an astounding rate reinforce the fact that as educators we need to be open to adaptations and changes in technology and methods.  We also need to be aware of what changes are occurring in the world of technology so we know what we need to know.