Writing in the Digital Age
I feel like I have seen so many different articles regarding technology in the classroom. In my SED 407 class, we are also reading about digital literacy and how to incorporate it, and get our students involved and interested in technology. I have always wondered how I would use technology in my classroom. I am not tech-savvy. I know how to use social media and I can find what I need to find. Finding a way to get my students interested in technology in an educational setting is something that I have wondered if I would be good at.
Reading the article "Digital Literacy Can't Wait"', got me thinking about the school's I have been in for practicums, as well as my own schooling, and how we used technology. I was very privileged when it came to technology in my schooling. My elementary, middle and high school, had computer labs, with MacBook Desktops. The libraries all had computers for student use, and many classrooms in my elementary school and middle school had classroom desktop computers. In high school, we had around 4 laptop carts with 30 MacBook Pros in them, each. We also had an iPad cart with 30 iPads. Each room had a projector, a whiteboard, a tv, and some even had smartboards. Now, I look at the schools I have been in for practicums, that have not even come close to my school. The difference? I come from a small town, that is predominantly white, middle class, suburban families. Every student has access to the internet at home. So, with thinking about the urban classrooms, with students who have little access to the internet other than through school or their cell-phones, I try and think how I can utilize technology in my classroom.
My wondering if it is necessary to include technology in the classroom, stems from the "bad and the ugly" side of the internet that Boyd mentions. Students are so engrossed in social media that they don't always see the negative side of it. We were discussing in my senior seminar class, the need that students feel, to have others see them and desire them. It feeds their "addiction" to social media. Social media can, and often times does lead to bullying. Teaching students to safely navigate the internet can be an important part of a school's curriculum. Creating assignments and projects and that incorporate the students' social media interests, is a great way to get students engaged and interested in the lesson at hand. Using technology in varies ways helps keep your students' attention. Paper and pencil assignments are sometimes hard to forgo but changing and modifying what assignments that you can, can help to make the lesson attainable for all students.
Reading the article "Digital Literacy Can't Wait"', got me thinking about the school's I have been in for practicums, as well as my own schooling, and how we used technology. I was very privileged when it came to technology in my schooling. My elementary, middle and high school, had computer labs, with MacBook Desktops. The libraries all had computers for student use, and many classrooms in my elementary school and middle school had classroom desktop computers. In high school, we had around 4 laptop carts with 30 MacBook Pros in them, each. We also had an iPad cart with 30 iPads. Each room had a projector, a whiteboard, a tv, and some even had smartboards. Now, I look at the schools I have been in for practicums, that have not even come close to my school. The difference? I come from a small town, that is predominantly white, middle class, suburban families. Every student has access to the internet at home. So, with thinking about the urban classrooms, with students who have little access to the internet other than through school or their cell-phones, I try and think how I can utilize technology in my classroom.
My wondering if it is necessary to include technology in the classroom, stems from the "bad and the ugly" side of the internet that Boyd mentions. Students are so engrossed in social media that they don't always see the negative side of it. We were discussing in my senior seminar class, the need that students feel, to have others see them and desire them. It feeds their "addiction" to social media. Social media can, and often times does lead to bullying. Teaching students to safely navigate the internet can be an important part of a school's curriculum. Creating assignments and projects and that incorporate the students' social media interests, is a great way to get students engaged and interested in the lesson at hand. Using technology in varies ways helps keep your students' attention. Paper and pencil assignments are sometimes hard to forgo but changing and modifying what assignments that you can, can help to make the lesson attainable for all students.
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