I like to refer to myself as a “90’s kid.” That label says a lot about the generation that I am growing up with. We, as children, grew up in a time filled with technological discoveries and developments and in my opinion, we have an upper hand when it comes to education that involves them. These technologies have helped us, as a generation, grow and learn, but most importantly become a generation filled with new minds, new educational abilities, and new outlooks on how to incorporate technologies into the classroom.
That being said, there are very specific technologies that I rely on. The three that are most important to me are my Smartphone, social networking sites (namely Twitter and Tumblr), and email. If not for these three technologies, I fead that I’d have no connections to the outside world.
I recently came into owning an iPhone, and it’s the best thing that I’ve ever owned. Prior to this, I had a cellphone and an iPod, but now the two are combined into one portable device. There’s a kind of power that comes with owning a Smartphone due to literally everything being at your fingertips at virtually anytime. Because it has text messaging, emailing, my music, the internet, social networking sites, and so much more, I don’t ever miss a beat.
As far as social networking sites are concerned, I think that they are wonderful to have when used in the right context. They can definitely go both ways for me; they can be used for good, such as staying up to date with goings-on with people that you care about as well as other people, or they can be used for evil because people are relentless and use these sites for their own malicious purposes. My two favorite sites are Twitter and Tumblr, though I do have a Facebook. The reason that I have taken a special liking to the first two is because they’re good for networking in a simple sense: Twitter only allows you to write 140 characters a post, while Tumblr is more personal and sentimental blogging site. Also, with Tumblr and Twitter, you can “follow” people that are influential. For instance, on Tumblr I follow a blog “The Daily What” which blogs about the happenings around the world. On Twitter, I follow the New York Times, which tweets about anything that is newsworthy. So, not only do these sites keep me updated on people in my own life, but they also keep me updated on what’s happening around me.
This brings in email. My email is one of my main lifelines. I use it to not only stay in contact with people, but it keeps me updated, as well, with goings-on around me. I get the New York Times headlines emailed to me, I get emails from the WWF and change.org, and obviously, most importantly, I get emails about the happenings at school when I don’t really have any other way to be in the know. If not for emails, then my connections to the outside world would be seriously hindered.
As a future teacher, it’s good to know the technological resources that your students have so you know what kind of work to give them and what you can expect from them technologically. Olivia, though she doesn’t have immediate access to computers, cellphones, and other technologies, she does have some access to them which gives her the upper hand over some of her classmates. However, though she doesn’t always have the access to computers and the like, she is extremely technology-savvy, and that helps her. But, not everyone that doesn’t have constant access to technology are as savvy as she is which would have to be taken into consideration as a teacher.
The relationship that I have with technology is very similar to the students in the videos; there are some differences, but we share most of the same thoughts and reasonings for why we use and how we use technology. Technology has helped shape our lives as not only learners and educators, but as human beings. We have a bright future as learners and educators with the advances in technology that are constantly being developed. In the second video, one of the students said this and I believe that is 100% true to our use of technologies: “It’s paving the way for us to move forward as a species and a civilization.” I couldn’t have said it better myself.
Shelby, I really enjoy the conversational style of your blogging. You do a solid job of describing your uses of these 3 "most important" technologies in your life. However, what is noticeably absent are the potential negative influences of these 3 technologies upon your life. In that regard, the discussion is imbalanced and not entirely reflective. While you do a very good job at pointing out significant details from the videos, your post needs to linger a bit longer in the compare/contrast mode of your experiences and those of the students in the videos. That portion of the assignment seems truncated at the end of the posting. I think these weaknesses in this first Interactivity suggest that you need to carefully review the specific criteria on which each Interactivity is assessed. These are contained both in the Interactivity guidelines as well as in the rubric within Engrade. But, again, the form of your writing is solid. I hope this feedback is helpful to you in moving forward with the next assignment.
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