Blog Assignment 3

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

I thought that this video was very powerful.  It described the life of the "normal college student" though.  Not everyone fits into this profile.  I feel like, although I could relate to a lot of things in the video,  it fails to accurately describe many of the aspects of mine, and other non-traditional students, lives.  I spend a lot of money on books I may not even use, and every year my debt grows. 

Unlike traditional students I didn't have all of the technological help that the average student did in high school.  Students in today's college setting have been on facebook since they were in high school, they know all about twitter and have a lot of experience on a computer.  I am not this student.  I took one computer class in high school and didn't learn too much from it.  Computers were not as much of a part of the classroom then as they are now. 

Overall I think this describes the traditional college student well.  It does not take into account how much difficult college can be for the non-tradional students.  In today's world many students have children.  Many students are working full time jobs to make ends meet instead of working a part time job for a little extra money.

It's Not About the Technology

This post was one I really enjoyed.  Although I do think that we need to use technology in the classroom I do not think it is the most important thing.  I think it is important because our students are going to be completely immersed in it outside of the classroom.  We should give them what training we can within the classroom to best prepare them for the world outside of the classroom.

I agree with Kelly Hines that technology is not the most important thing.  It is very important to focus on what we are teaching and what the students are learning.  I like how she said that no matter what we do as teachers if the students do not learn no teaching has been done.  I really agree that as teachers we need to focus on the learning of our students.  We need to make sure we are teaching them in the best way possible no matter what way that is. 

Karl Fisch:  Is It Okay to be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

This post was very interesting.  I do think it is a bit extreme but I see the basis of what he is saying.  As I have stated before I am not the most technologically literate person.  I am just not someone who is interested in this.  I do however realize it is a knowledge I will need to have in the classroom.  So this is one side of my belief: technology is not the most important thing in the classroom although it plays a large part.

The other side of my belief is in agreement with Karl Fisch-to some degree.  I think that is is unacceptable to be completely technologically illiterate or be closed to the idea of learning.  Even though I am not completely interested in technology I am willing to learn.  I think that the teachers who have the attitude that it is okay to never learn about technology is unacceptable. 

Gary Hayes Social Media Counter

This social media counter was astounding to me.  I was shocked at how fast the numbers were changing.  I thought it was very interesting to see how quickly the numbers changed and how different things were changing at a different rate.  I noticed the slowest number was the number of iPads sold.  The numbers dealing with facebook were the fastest changing numbers. 
I think this is something that will greatly change and have an effect in my classroom.  By the time I enter the classroom there will be even more numbers to keep track of.  The numbers will change even more quickly.  Even the iPad number will be changing at a much faster rate.  I think that this is something that we, as future teachers, need to keep in mind.  Our students will be plugged in to more and more social networks and technological advancements than any other generation.