Blog Post 3

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today
     I have definitely experienced some of the things from this video. I have had quite a few classes here at South that were auditorium seating where I knew no one. I would also agree that it is common for teachers to not know your name. I have bought text books on more than one occasion that I never even opened. I agree with the girl who wrote that her neighbor paid for class but never comes. I never understand why someone would spend so much for an education and not even bother showing up for class. I wish I could get at least 7 hours of sleep every night, but as a student-athlete, that is almost impossible. I will admit that I do sometimes spend 3.5 hours online, but more often than not it is doing school work. I definitely do not spend 2 hours on my cell phone, I am lucky to get a 15 minute conversation in with my parents.
     The student that held the paper that proved we don’t have enough hours in a day said it all. As students we have learned to multitask which I am sure has lead to the decline of production inside and out of the classroom. As a student athlete I definitely know this to be true. It’s sometimes hard to find time to even breathe. For this to meet my experiences I would add that I spend an average of at least 4 hours practicing every day. For this to meet the experiences of other students I would add something statistic for the students with children and the amount of time they spend with them.



"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines
     Kelly Hines expresses that although technology is important in education, it is not the most important thing. What is more important is quality teachers. Teachers are all very different, but they are all important in the educational process. Teachers must be educated in the most recent subjects, but that doesn’t just come from workshops.
     Learning is not the same for every teacher or every student. Having thousands and millions of dollars of technology is not very useful if it is not being taught correctly. It’s not all about the different things being used, it is how it is being used and by whom. Therefore it is not about the technology, it’s about the educators.

Is it okay to be a technologically illiterate teacher??
     I really enjoyed reading this post. He first included a post which listed the standards for educators and those involved in the field. The standards placed responsibilities on teachers and principals that everyone should be technology literate and if they weren’t they should be very embarrassed and/or find a new profession. I find this to be true because to me it is apparent of how valuable technology is in education. It provides outlets for communication as well as research.
     In the other part of his post he expressed how it seems acceptable to some people to be “technology illiterate”. He gives an example of a parent teacher conference where a parent admits that the “weren’t ever good at math either” like it was just accepted that their child not be good at math either and they are proud. Technology seems to be set at the same standard, some people are proud to not know much about computers. But what some fail to realize is the importance they have to society. Technology is involved in almost everything we do today and it’s almost impossible to get by without having some type of education about it. As a teacher today it is just as important to know how to use technology as reading and writing was just a few decades ago.
     I agree that in order to teach something you too must have been taught it. In order for the children to be able to have the best education possible, learning from the best is essential.



Gary Hayes Social Media Count
     It’s astonishing to see how fast Gary’s count rises. It just goes to show how fast technology is growing and that social networking is a major part of it.
     As a teacher, this means that I must be sure to always keep things as current as possible. With everything advancing this fast, it will be extremely easy to fall behind. I know that as a teacher it is my job to keep my students updated and the only way to do that is to stay updated myself.