I
remember the first time I saw a commercial for a smart phone. I had stared at the television in awe. There
was a device that was an mp3 player, video player, camera, computer, and phone
all in one? I was blown away thinking that this
was the technology of the new millennium we had all been promised. With new and more advanced iPhones and
Androids being released every few months, it can be easy to take today’s
technology for granted.
Olivia’s
story proves that owning modern technology is not as common as we might think.
As teachers in the twenty-first century, it is important to use technology successfully
in the classroom while keeping in mind each student’s individual needs.
Although Olivia is fortunate enough to have access to a computer that is
located in her apartment basement, not all students are so lucky. As a teacher,
it is important to know if a student such as Olivia has regular access to a
computer and programs such as Microsoft Office that are used for educational purposes. It is
also important to note how deeply involved the student is with such programs because
whether they are an amateur or expert at using a program like Microsoft
Powerpoint can impact the outcome of projects requiring that program. It may also be useful important to know which
technologies matter the most to students to see if there is a way to utilize
technology to make classroom content more appealing to them.
The video “Learning
to Change, Changing to Learn,” indicates that many students are very passionate
in using their favorite technologies to learn creatively. According to these
students, technology can be used to effectively learn a new language, make
music, coordinate with others, create picture projects, build decision-making
skills, and think in new ways. The
students find technology to be convenient or even necessary as many of them
have grown up with computers and video game systems. According to one student, even reading and
writing is benefitted by technology simply because technology is everywhere.
With the power of technology, students can pursue what they are most interested
in learning and they can learn in creative ways instead of simply reading a
textbook.
In my life, I have found that the most
influential communication technologies are my smart phone, tumblr, and
facebook. My smartphone has provided me with countless hours of entertainment
through its applications and a means to stay connected to the internet almost
anywhere. Like Olivia and her iPod, I’m not quite sure what I would do without
it. The downside to this remarkable technology is that instead of helping me
keep in touch with people, I find that I usually use my phone as a tool of
isolation to avoid an awkward social situation or speak with a stranger next to
me. Tumblr is very much like Olivia’s
beloved Myspace due to the personal nature of the blogging site. It can be a
beautiful place full of creativity that bonds total strangers together through
shared “fandoms” and interests. I have also seen Tumblr be used as a place filled
with hate messages and cruelty that tends to give me a more pessimistic outlook
on the world. Facebook has become a
necessity in my life, as I need it in order to keep in touch with organizations
on campus and it’s the most convenient way to loosely keep in touch with old
friends. After one of my friends caught someone impersonating me under a fake
profile, I have also found facebook to be a frightening place because you can
never tell who has access to your information and what they’re doing with it. While
Tumblr can easily be used to share information relevant to learning (ranging
from how to learn a new language to how to make graphics), Facebook is harder
to identify as a tool of learning beyond its promotion of socialization and
communication.
These
three technologies have definitely shaped the way I have learned new
information by simply making it easier to hear news through other people. All
it takes is a glance at my facebook newsfeed to know if it is snowing or a look
on my tumblr dashboard to find a news story that hasn’t been covered by mainstream
media being signal-boosted. Unfortunately, it is very easy to hear a news story
through facebook or tumblr but it much more difficult determining whether the
source is credible. This has changed the
way I read news by encouraging me to do research to verify whether a news story
is true before I pass it on. The students in the videos are absolutely correct
in believing that technology impacts the way we learn. As teachers, we just
have to help ensure that technology is being used for the right reasons.
