Chapter one starts off by describing two new teachers and their paths leading up to becoming teachers, and their interactions with technology thus far. It's only fitting that I describe mine as well. Ever since i could remember I always wanted to be a teacher. I knew that it was a great fit for me and I never looked back. Growing up, there was always a computer in my house available for home work or just to play games with. I didn't get my first phone until the 7th grade and got my first smartphone as a junior in high school. Its an amazing shift to see the differences between those growing up in my generation versus children growing up now.
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| How I imagine my nephew sees me trying to operate the technology he is used to seeing every day |
As a student teacher I notice that my fifth grade students all have smartphones and tablets that enable them to lead, as the text mentions on page three, "multi-media saturated lives, constantly exposed to images and information from televisions, computers" and "video games". This however, begins at a much earlier age noting that my 4 year old nephew can perfectly use our family iPad and all of our smartphones. The text notes that children in his generation are deemed the iGeneration; meaning that they have grown up using computers, the Internet and other digital media as a consistent component of their everyday lives.
Personally I see this as being both a positive and a negative. Positive of course because the more immersed a child is in the technology of their generation, the greater the chance that they will be at the forefront of any type of new or revolutionary technology. The downside of children being so immersed in technology at such a young age is that many parents plop their child in front of a game controller or an iPad and the child fails to develop social skills in real time.
I think that if technology is used as an aid or to promote higher order thinking and not as a distraction technology can play a vital role in a child's education as well as their every day lives. In relation to their education, children can benefit from technology added into classroom instruction, outside- the-classroom activities as well as outside and inside in the form of activities. The main goal I obtained from this chapter as a new teacher is to create a highly interactive and inquiry- based learning environment for my future students.
Like chapter one, chapter two begins with a discussion several young future teachers were having but instead focused on their perspectives on technology. I think that as a new teacher, or even as a veteran teacher, it is extremely important as the years pass to become more open and ready to integrate different types of technology into your every day lessons such as web or computer based learning games, online information research and online tutoring programs.
I found it interesting how the text included obstacles that may prevent a teacher from being able to utilize technology.
