Chapters 1 & 2

When I was reading our chapters this week, I found myself identifying with the "iGeneration." While I do remember a time without text messages, or choosing a phone plan with a limited amount of text messages and then an absurd charge for each text sent afterwards (I had a $600 phone bill because of that, whoops.)  As a child of the 90's, we've grown with the technology, and even though the technology field is releasing new things at an extremely rapid rate, we are able to adapt to the changes...except for when Facebook went through its first layout change, there were riots over that, am I right?

So why do we allow technology to have such an influence on us and our everyday lives? Well, its simple, we learn from it.  Whether you're searching Google for the latest celebrity hoax, or on Wikipedia to add some more fluff to your 15 page paper due at midnight, the internet allows us to gain an infinite amount of knowledge without cracking a book open.  The internet has made books look obsolete.  Books (novels, textbooks, magazines, journals, etc) are produced in electronic versions that we can download to our Nook or our iPad.  We can do virtually anything, anywhere at anytime.

What concerns me most about using technology in the classroom, and trust me, I know its unavoidable, is how are my students going to tell the difference between technology-based education versus playing with the iPad because there is a cool app on it that correlates to what we're doing in class?  Using a computer in class used to be a privilege and it was something to look forward to, but now when we hear that we have to type a 10 page paper, its like a jail sentence.  Sit here, stare at the blank paper, the blinking cursor and think about what to write. And so I pose the question to you guys, how do we make the technology use in the classroom fun AND educational, without using a basic power point?

Chapter 2 talked more, or a lot about establishing a digital identity, not as you in your free time, but teacher you.  Wheres your class website?  What does it contain?  What does it say about you as an educator?  Is it accessible to every student and is it organized in a cohesive manner?  We need to use technology as a support system, in that it will not only support our classroom content and serve as a means of communication between us and our students, but will it be able to produce results in which we can show that it is beneficial to these students education?

Something else that chapter two talked about that I kind of agree with is that with such a large reliance on technology in the classroom, there is a lack of older styles of teaching, which yes, may now be classified as boring, but were also effective.  Drill and practice worksheets are still something I create for myself when I'm studying vocabulary or math equations.  While these work sheets may be seen as monotonous and boring to students, they actually have a really good track record at being effective.  What do you think?  Can technology still provide students with that feeling of being drilled and the action of practicing consistently and effectively?