After reading the two articles I still hold pretty firm on the idea that technology in the classroom is very important. Unfortunately, for some students the use of computers and other technology comes at a minimum outside of the classroom because they come from low-income families where paying rent and putting food on the table is far more important than purchasing a computer for the household. Perhaps it's the resources surrounding the students outside of the classroom that don't allow them to adequately use technology. In many areas, libraries and especially wi-fi hotspots are luxuries not available to the lower class which makes it difficult for students who want to succeed in school but have no access rather than in school. For these reasons, that is why I think it is still important for teachers to use technology inside the classroom even though it may be difficult for some to find technology elsewhere. Students still need that tech-education and for many, class time will be there only opportunity to become familiar with the ever changing technologies of our world.
One important piece of information I took away from the article "Who Are Today's Learners?" is the piece about how teachers need to get to know their students and what technology resources they have available outside of the classroom. Greenhow brings up valuable questions to ask your students to assess their technology levels and uses of computers and other modes of technology too. Some of the questions Greenhow brings to the table are: What technology devices do you own? Where do you go to get online? (Home, school, library, etc.) and how often do you get online? I think these are important questions to ask as a teacher becuase it will give you a good measurement on the types of content and homework you could assign outside of class without there being a disadvantage to some of your students. For example, if only one or two students struggle finding ways to get online then perhaps you can give them suggestions or allow them more time in class to work.
I think it would be a big disadvantage for all of the students, even those who find it difficult to use computers outside of the classroom. By not filling these students with technology education I feel like they will not be as equipped as many other students who are living in such a digital world. Furthermore, we are seeing more and more that the traditional ways of education are being moved aside for advanced, digital, and entertaining curriculum. In order to satisfy the minds of our students we need to incorporate some type of technology to supplement our tradtitional ways of teaching.
In order to create opportunities in technology outside of the classroom for those students who are disadvantaged I will have to find out their needs and resources. Do they have a computer, do they have access to the local library, do they know how to use a computer and/or other digital devices? If they have no access to a computer besides what they get at school then I would look into the school or school district possibly checking out or renting laptops. But even with that, the student would need access to wireless interent if the curriculum required it. However, if it was just for word processing purposes, this could potentially work out fine. Those who are disadvantaged may need more access to computers or the library at school and as a teacher I want to make the playing field as even as possible. This is an interesting topic and discussion because many of us take the things we have for granted (like internet and computers) becuase they have always been there and always will be. But we need to step outside our box and figure out what is going to help all of our students achieve.
Monday, December 7, 2009
Friday, December 4, 2009
Video Games
After reading the articles and watching the video regarding video games and education I not only became more aware of the purpose of many video games but a greater role they can play in education and learning in general. I find that there is no problem with using age-appropriate and content-appropriate video games in schools as long as they compliment the instruction and do not take the place of it.
Throughout my life and education I have played many video games, some that I initially thought had no learning involved and others that dealt a lot with problem solving, making split-second decisions and completing tasks. In my early education days during our 'computer-time' we had the opportunity to engage in a couple challenging educational computer games. For example, one of my favorites was called, "Swamp Gas." In this game, the player would choose subjects in geography where they would have to answer a number of questions correctly and then would be rewarded by playing a mini-game with less educational importance to gain overall points. Again, this game was age and content appropriate and a way to move away from traditional learning. As far as "edutainment," I don't think you can go to far. In our last course, Professor Lichau mentioned on numerous occasions that entertainment is a very important aspect of any learning experience. Not only does it make it fun for your students but it can also boost retention of lessons and increase test scores. Similarly, the Dr. Fox Effect shows that lectures with high entertainment with high content produce great academic achievement.
In the article, "Good Video Games and Good Learning," Gee brings up many valid points that connect video games and education. He finds many ways to demonstrate how video games may be a great source of learning. For example, Gee states, "Good video games incorporate good learning principles, principles supported by
current research in Cognitive Science" (Gee). He backs this up by saying if video games didn't incorporate learning and problem solving, nobody would want to play them. "challenge and learning are a large part of
what makes good video games motivating and entertaining. Humans actually enjoy
learning, though sometimes in school you wouldn’t know that" (Gee). There are two points Gee makes that really resonates with me. The first of which is point 4: Risk Taking. He mentions that in school, we leave little room for risk taking, failure, and exploration in general. How can we expect to produce responsible, eager, and brave individuals if we are constantly reaffirming the idea that risk taking is not worth it and failure is the end. When in fact, I believe it should be an important stepping stone in a child's development. Just as Gee says in this discussion, risk taking can produce a number of learning opportunities and thought provoking ideas like: what did we learn by taking the risk, why did it not work, and how can we do it better next time in order to succeed? The next point I will discuss from the article is Gee's point number 16: Performance Before Competence. I would say this is very similar to a widely used educational strategy: a pre-test. Why not find out how we proficient our students are in a subject before diving straight into it. This will allow teachers to discover what areas need more work, what areas need less work and to which students the content comes easier and those who need more practice. Gee argues that performance before competence is not always how it works in schools, "[Schools] often demand that students gain competence through reading texts before they can perform in the domain they are learning" (Gee) which may not always be the most effective way.
Just a I stated earlier in the post, I think good video games can provide a legitimate and positive gateway for learning away from more traditional strategies, yet still be educational. After reading the articles, I will use many of Gee's ideas in my classroom but mold them to fit appropriately into the content. If I find a purposeful way that a video game will provide a better learning opportunity than traditional teaching than I will work it into the lesson plan. I think it all goes back to the idea of edutainment. I want my students to be rich in knowledge but I want my classroom to be rich in entertainment as well and if video games can be one of the many connections between the two than let's 'save and continue.'
Throughout my life and education I have played many video games, some that I initially thought had no learning involved and others that dealt a lot with problem solving, making split-second decisions and completing tasks. In my early education days during our 'computer-time' we had the opportunity to engage in a couple challenging educational computer games. For example, one of my favorites was called, "Swamp Gas." In this game, the player would choose subjects in geography where they would have to answer a number of questions correctly and then would be rewarded by playing a mini-game with less educational importance to gain overall points. Again, this game was age and content appropriate and a way to move away from traditional learning. As far as "edutainment," I don't think you can go to far. In our last course, Professor Lichau mentioned on numerous occasions that entertainment is a very important aspect of any learning experience. Not only does it make it fun for your students but it can also boost retention of lessons and increase test scores. Similarly, the Dr. Fox Effect shows that lectures with high entertainment with high content produce great academic achievement.
In the article, "Good Video Games and Good Learning," Gee brings up many valid points that connect video games and education. He finds many ways to demonstrate how video games may be a great source of learning. For example, Gee states, "Good video games incorporate good learning principles, principles supported by
current research in Cognitive Science" (Gee). He backs this up by saying if video games didn't incorporate learning and problem solving, nobody would want to play them. "challenge and learning are a large part of
what makes good video games motivating and entertaining. Humans actually enjoy
learning, though sometimes in school you wouldn’t know that" (Gee). There are two points Gee makes that really resonates with me. The first of which is point 4: Risk Taking. He mentions that in school, we leave little room for risk taking, failure, and exploration in general. How can we expect to produce responsible, eager, and brave individuals if we are constantly reaffirming the idea that risk taking is not worth it and failure is the end. When in fact, I believe it should be an important stepping stone in a child's development. Just as Gee says in this discussion, risk taking can produce a number of learning opportunities and thought provoking ideas like: what did we learn by taking the risk, why did it not work, and how can we do it better next time in order to succeed? The next point I will discuss from the article is Gee's point number 16: Performance Before Competence. I would say this is very similar to a widely used educational strategy: a pre-test. Why not find out how we proficient our students are in a subject before diving straight into it. This will allow teachers to discover what areas need more work, what areas need less work and to which students the content comes easier and those who need more practice. Gee argues that performance before competence is not always how it works in schools, "[Schools] often demand that students gain competence through reading texts before they can perform in the domain they are learning" (Gee) which may not always be the most effective way.
Just a I stated earlier in the post, I think good video games can provide a legitimate and positive gateway for learning away from more traditional strategies, yet still be educational. After reading the articles, I will use many of Gee's ideas in my classroom but mold them to fit appropriately into the content. If I find a purposeful way that a video game will provide a better learning opportunity than traditional teaching than I will work it into the lesson plan. I think it all goes back to the idea of edutainment. I want my students to be rich in knowledge but I want my classroom to be rich in entertainment as well and if video games can be one of the many connections between the two than let's 'save and continue.'
Friday, November 20, 2009
Wikipedia
Wikipedia is a phenomenal web page. It is packed full of information on anything and anyone you want to know about. I use Wikipedia for a variety of reasons but scholarly research is not one of them. I routinely will jump on Wikipedia to look up information on an athlete, celebrity, or in some cases even a research topic but only to get a broad overview of the person or topic. I have never used Wikipedia for educational purposes, like as a citation in an essay. Furthermore, I have never quoted anything from Wikipedia; although I think Wikipedia is a great web page of general knowledge I do not think it's a credible source for educational research. I have two reasons for not using Wikipedia as a citable source for my research. The first is that I am curious about the content that I read on the website. I am sure that the moajority of the information is correct, I just have a hard time feeling comfortable to use information that does not have an author and information that anyone can potentially change and update. The second reason I don't use Wikipedia for research is because during my undergraduate work my professors strictly prohibited citing Wikipedia and did not view at as a credible source.
When I begin a research project, essay, or paper the first place I usually start to gather information and investigate my topic is the internet. I like to take a top-down perspective on my research. I'll use a large search engine such as Yahoo or Google to gain a better understanding of my topic. From there I will look to books that have been written on the subject and finally I will gain a tremendous amount of my information from scholarly journals that have done some previous research on the research topic.
As a teacher, I don't believe that I will accept work from my students where they have used Wikipedia as one of their cited sources. I am fine is they use the web page as a basis for some information as long as they are cross-checking it with other credible sources. "Although it is difficult to give Wikipedia a blanket endorsement, it can be valuable resource for students and staff alike" (Johnson, 26). After reading the point-counter point article on Wikipedia I completely agree with that quote from Doug Johnson. As a teacher, I want my students to be knowledgable and aware of credible resources and web sites but I also want them to understand that Wikipedia is a great way to gain a broad perspective of a given topic.
This article supports my ideas of Wikipedia and citing it in research because the author understands that just like any other encyclopedia, it should just be used to gain a general understanding of a topic; not conduct full blown research from. "Basic reference sources-whether Wikipedia or World Book should be used to get a general overview of a topic in context, not be used as a sole and final authoritative source" (Johnson, 27). However, this article does provide good points against my stance and for the usage of Wikipedia in research. The article claims that Wikipedia, when compared to other encyclopedias provides nearly the same information and is very reliable when it comes to dates, landmarks, and other events in US history. It goes on to say that even though anyone can post and update a topic on the website, there are warnings and flags that are displayed to a reader verifying that some of the information may not be completely correct. In this case, students should definintely be cross-checking their research.
As far as a policy goes for students and interent research I would first make them aware of plagerism. How there are many avenues for this to happen and that many things on the interent are not credited correctly and may even be plagarized previously. Secondly, my policy will be that internet research used in an essay or project will need to be cited correctly to ensures the rights of the information remain property of the author. I would like my students to be aware of what credible web pages are and how they can find them. Finally, I think making the distinction between .com, .org, .gov, and .edu websites will be important as they move forward into their education where technology is at the forefront of their research.
When I begin a research project, essay, or paper the first place I usually start to gather information and investigate my topic is the internet. I like to take a top-down perspective on my research. I'll use a large search engine such as Yahoo or Google to gain a better understanding of my topic. From there I will look to books that have been written on the subject and finally I will gain a tremendous amount of my information from scholarly journals that have done some previous research on the research topic.
As a teacher, I don't believe that I will accept work from my students where they have used Wikipedia as one of their cited sources. I am fine is they use the web page as a basis for some information as long as they are cross-checking it with other credible sources. "Although it is difficult to give Wikipedia a blanket endorsement, it can be valuable resource for students and staff alike" (Johnson, 26). After reading the point-counter point article on Wikipedia I completely agree with that quote from Doug Johnson. As a teacher, I want my students to be knowledgable and aware of credible resources and web sites but I also want them to understand that Wikipedia is a great way to gain a broad perspective of a given topic.
This article supports my ideas of Wikipedia and citing it in research because the author understands that just like any other encyclopedia, it should just be used to gain a general understanding of a topic; not conduct full blown research from. "Basic reference sources-whether Wikipedia or World Book should be used to get a general overview of a topic in context, not be used as a sole and final authoritative source" (Johnson, 27). However, this article does provide good points against my stance and for the usage of Wikipedia in research. The article claims that Wikipedia, when compared to other encyclopedias provides nearly the same information and is very reliable when it comes to dates, landmarks, and other events in US history. It goes on to say that even though anyone can post and update a topic on the website, there are warnings and flags that are displayed to a reader verifying that some of the information may not be completely correct. In this case, students should definintely be cross-checking their research.
As far as a policy goes for students and interent research I would first make them aware of plagerism. How there are many avenues for this to happen and that many things on the interent are not credited correctly and may even be plagarized previously. Secondly, my policy will be that internet research used in an essay or project will need to be cited correctly to ensures the rights of the information remain property of the author. I would like my students to be aware of what credible web pages are and how they can find them. Finally, I think making the distinction between .com, .org, .gov, and .edu websites will be important as they move forward into their education where technology is at the forefront of their research.
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Should cell phones be banned in classrooms?
After reading, "Should Cell phones be banned in the classroom," my original thoughts were changed and the points that were brought up really made it tought to pick one side or the other. And because of that, I am going to place myself in the middle and pick both sides of the arguement. Initially, before reading the article my thoughts have always been for "No" cell phones should not be banned from the classroom. My reasoning for this is because many students need cell phones as their comfort blanket and their social life-line. As long as the cell phone use does not become a distraction to the learning environment and others in the class I would have no problem with students bringing their cell phones to class. However, with that said, I would not want them to manipulate and take advantage of the situation. Having a cell phone in class is merely a priviledge for the student, not a right. On the other side of the argument, I tend to agree with some of the points made for "Yes" cell phones should be banned from the classroom. The first point I found myself questioning my reasons and getting a small laugh from was when the author stated, "No true best practice has started out with, "have students bring cell phones to class"" (Allen, 9) (Have you seen a best practice start out with, "Don't have students bring cell phones to class?!?). Furthermore, the best argument for banning cell phones from the classroom came in regards to budgets and lap top computers. Cell phones would require the district to purchase who-knows how many phones for the students plus they would continually have to pay fees for texts, pictures, internet, email, and so on. "Any monies spent on phones and plans would be much better served with any number of other technologies. In this day and age of shoestring budgets and federal funding only for specific curriculum, every penny is scrutinized" (Allen, 9) So, in my opinion why not ban cell phones from class and use other areas of technology such as laptop computers, they will have most of the same functions as the phone just with more power, memory, and easier accessibility for others.
My personal classroom policy on cell phones would not be real strict and because of the few rules placed on the students and their cell phone use my hope would be that we could come to a teacher-student agreement that these rules would not be taken adavantage of or become a distraction in class. I understand that "cell phones can be leanring tools" (Kolb, 16) and should be used for that purpose primarily. The rules that would be in place regarding cell phone use in my class would be: (Unless noted otherwise) No cell phones during tests or quizzes, No answering or using the cellular for phone calls during class times, No bullying, harassing, or manipulating others through text, pictures, or calls. As for now, those would be my rules and if the students wish to use their phones for educational purposes to connect with others regarding course work, search the interent, and take pictures relating to class cirriculum then they may use their own phones for those purposes. The consequences for breaking or even stretching these rules is easy, the cell phones will no longer be allowed for a period of time. If the rules are broken on a number of occasions then the phones may be banned from the classroom for good. These consequences may be harsh but there are plenty other modes of technology available to students rather than just a personal cell phone.
I mentioned a few uses for cell phones in the classroom such as connecting with other students about class work, taking pictures to display relating to course cirriculum and searching the internet without having to leave the classroom for a computer lab or the library. Kolb also brings up a great use for cell phones in here article, "From Toy to Tool." She states that audioblogging is a great way to use cell phones as an educational tool. Audioblogging with phones will allow students to conduct interviews and take audio notes inside or outside of the classroom. Becuase most students carry their cell phones on them at all times, they won't have to check out and lug around microphones or recorders to conduct these interviews. Cell phone audioblogging will allow the students to make immediate on the spot interviews and other recordings whenever and where ever the opportunity arises (Kolb).
My personal classroom policy on cell phones would not be real strict and because of the few rules placed on the students and their cell phone use my hope would be that we could come to a teacher-student agreement that these rules would not be taken adavantage of or become a distraction in class. I understand that "cell phones can be leanring tools" (Kolb, 16) and should be used for that purpose primarily. The rules that would be in place regarding cell phone use in my class would be: (Unless noted otherwise) No cell phones during tests or quizzes, No answering or using the cellular for phone calls during class times, No bullying, harassing, or manipulating others through text, pictures, or calls. As for now, those would be my rules and if the students wish to use their phones for educational purposes to connect with others regarding course work, search the interent, and take pictures relating to class cirriculum then they may use their own phones for those purposes. The consequences for breaking or even stretching these rules is easy, the cell phones will no longer be allowed for a period of time. If the rules are broken on a number of occasions then the phones may be banned from the classroom for good. These consequences may be harsh but there are plenty other modes of technology available to students rather than just a personal cell phone.
I mentioned a few uses for cell phones in the classroom such as connecting with other students about class work, taking pictures to display relating to course cirriculum and searching the internet without having to leave the classroom for a computer lab or the library. Kolb also brings up a great use for cell phones in here article, "From Toy to Tool." She states that audioblogging is a great way to use cell phones as an educational tool. Audioblogging with phones will allow students to conduct interviews and take audio notes inside or outside of the classroom. Becuase most students carry their cell phones on them at all times, they won't have to check out and lug around microphones or recorders to conduct these interviews. Cell phone audioblogging will allow the students to make immediate on the spot interviews and other recordings whenever and where ever the opportunity arises (Kolb).
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Cyberbullying
It's one thing to use social networking and other areas of internet and technological communication for its designed purpose but we all know that not everybody does that. The internet allows individuals to create alter-egos, avatars, and remain anonomous to the extent that people are using it to stalk, harass, and be malicious in what I believe a very cowardly fashion. This type of behavior has now become known as Cyberbullying and may be defined as anyone (child, teen, adult) who is tormented, threatened, harassed, humiliated, embarassed, or otherwise tageted by another individual through the use of interactive and digital technologies or mobile phones. If cyberbullying escalates into cyber-harassment or cyber-stalking than that is where adults come into play through this mode of non-personal communication.
Personally, I have never had an instance with cyberbullying, nor would I acknowledge it if it were posed against me. Unless it got to a point where my family, friend, or myself were in a life-threatening circumstance. However, I have seen cyberbullying at a very low level exist on social networking websites like facebook, where one individual discriminates towards another through written posts and pictures. More or less, a friendly black-mail type of bullying.
Most of our schools are more technologically advanced than ever before and many of the situations they are facing are due to the fact that students have plenty of access to the internet, email, and social networks while at school. Students are able to steal passwords and hack into profiles and emails for harassing purposes. Furthermore, schools walk the fine line between what they are legally allowed to regulate in terms of cyberbullying because the majority of it is done off-campus. In the article, "Cyberbullying, is there anything schools can do" we see that a number of schools are trying to punish students for "innappropriate" behavior that has taken place off school grounds on an internet platform. The fine line comes in because the cases that have favored the school district side have been deemed school related speech and behavior. It's the instances where a student is being harassed for personal reasons that the schools are having a hard time fighting. The only reason teachers or administrators would know if cyberbullying is occuring would be if the harassed individual brings it to their attention. Many times, because the attacker remains anonomous schools can't do much unless the feud becomes public and pours over from the internet to schools ground. I think the only reason schools should step in to combat this off-site behavior would be if it is disrupting classes or a number of students at the school. Otherwise, it is more of a personal problem that the school can't control unfortunately. With any type of bullying or discrimination, a student should feel comfortable to seek out trusted teachers and counselors to talk about the situation.
My plan as a teacher against cyberbulling would be both pre-emptive and reactionary to the circumstances. I will make it known to my students that my classroom is a safe one for any and all reasons, including but not limited to gender, race, religion, and cyberbullying. Any disregard to this amendement will not be tolerated especially if it disrupts the learning environment of the classroom and prohibits an individual(s) from performing in class. If I end up teaching more than one group of kids during the year, which is likely, than the rule will apply to them as well. Basically, anyone who steps foot into my class must leave their judgments of others at the door unless it pertains to an educational and high level conversation. As far as this involving more than just my classroom, I would hope students feel safe for whatever reason when they walk the halls of a school and enter any class. That may be a unreal assessment of people but I find that there is no room for discriminatory behavior towards anyone or group of people, and especially not on the grounds of an educational facility.
Personally, I have never had an instance with cyberbullying, nor would I acknowledge it if it were posed against me. Unless it got to a point where my family, friend, or myself were in a life-threatening circumstance. However, I have seen cyberbullying at a very low level exist on social networking websites like facebook, where one individual discriminates towards another through written posts and pictures. More or less, a friendly black-mail type of bullying.
Most of our schools are more technologically advanced than ever before and many of the situations they are facing are due to the fact that students have plenty of access to the internet, email, and social networks while at school. Students are able to steal passwords and hack into profiles and emails for harassing purposes. Furthermore, schools walk the fine line between what they are legally allowed to regulate in terms of cyberbullying because the majority of it is done off-campus. In the article, "Cyberbullying, is there anything schools can do" we see that a number of schools are trying to punish students for "innappropriate" behavior that has taken place off school grounds on an internet platform. The fine line comes in because the cases that have favored the school district side have been deemed school related speech and behavior. It's the instances where a student is being harassed for personal reasons that the schools are having a hard time fighting. The only reason teachers or administrators would know if cyberbullying is occuring would be if the harassed individual brings it to their attention. Many times, because the attacker remains anonomous schools can't do much unless the feud becomes public and pours over from the internet to schools ground. I think the only reason schools should step in to combat this off-site behavior would be if it is disrupting classes or a number of students at the school. Otherwise, it is more of a personal problem that the school can't control unfortunately. With any type of bullying or discrimination, a student should feel comfortable to seek out trusted teachers and counselors to talk about the situation.
My plan as a teacher against cyberbulling would be both pre-emptive and reactionary to the circumstances. I will make it known to my students that my classroom is a safe one for any and all reasons, including but not limited to gender, race, religion, and cyberbullying. Any disregard to this amendement will not be tolerated especially if it disrupts the learning environment of the classroom and prohibits an individual(s) from performing in class. If I end up teaching more than one group of kids during the year, which is likely, than the rule will apply to them as well. Basically, anyone who steps foot into my class must leave their judgments of others at the door unless it pertains to an educational and high level conversation. As far as this involving more than just my classroom, I would hope students feel safe for whatever reason when they walk the halls of a school and enter any class. That may be a unreal assessment of people but I find that there is no room for discriminatory behavior towards anyone or group of people, and especially not on the grounds of an educational facility.
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
Finding myself in cyberspace
I've used the google search engine for many purposes and the extent of content that filters through this domain is mind boggling. After a relentless search for myself, "Tyler Stanley" and "Tyler Andrew Stanley" I came up with hundreds of links to information with people sharing the same name, however, not much was about me personally. Under the search, "Tyler Stanley" all that pertained to me was a government link that showed that I am a registered voter in Washington and the last time I voted. It also displayed my gender and were I live in Washington. I found this to be a reoccuring story when trying the Pipl search...many links to other Tyler Stanleys but not me.
After searching around for a bit I decided to plug in a shortend and more commonly used name I go by, "Ty Stanley" and voila, that's all it took. I was able to find over ten pages on google and Pipl (mostly google) that pertained to me personally. The very first link that popped up for both search engines was my social networking page on Facebook. As I clicked on from page to page, the majority of my results were internet pages on my athletics at Linfield College where I played football and baseball from 2004-2009. The links varied from news paper articles, to statistics and the numerous athletic webpages that linked "Ty Stanley" to the internet forever. Here is a list of a few links where I found myself:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ty-Stanley/65200433
http://www.fanbase.com/Ty-Stanley
http://www.linfield.edu/sports/records/bb/HISTIND.HTM
http://www.dailyastorian.com/main.asp?SectionID=37&SubSectionID=476&ArticleID=53117&TM=58134.81
http://www.d3football.com/preview.php?id=1010&year=2006
http://www.intelius.com/search-summary-out.php?ReportType=1&
As I searched, I am happy to say that I was not ashamed nor embarassed about any of the webpages containing information or photos of me. As I move closer to becoming a teacher, I believe all the website that contain the name Ty Stanley or Tyler Stanley and that are actually about me all contain suitable and appropriate content that I would be no problem for future employers, students, colleagues, or students to view.
Absolutely, I believe teacher need to be and should be held to community standards. In fact, I think that teachers should be held to some of the highest standards, even in their personal live. Besides parents, the educators of children are some of the most influential individuals in the students life. If teachers do not hole themselves to the highest standards, how can they expect their students to respect and understand the life skills they are preaching in class. Yes, it's important for a teacher to be "real" in the sense that they can relate with their students but that does not give them the right to say one thing by day and disregard it by night outside the classroom. In high school and even middle school, our students can make decisions and judgments for themselves but they are still very impressionable and look to their teachers everyday for guidance.
Because most of the webistes that my name appears in are sports related there wasn't anything overwhelmingly interesting or surprising. However, I was unaware that there was a website my name registered in devoted to fans called, Fanbase. In this site, anyone can look up their athlete of at any level, in any sport and find pictures, statistics, and stories to learn more about them.
Once your name is placed on the interent there are no take backs and it's important for everyone to be aware of that. With that said, in order to protect myself and any future jobs I might hold, I am going to be cautious of the areas that publish my name and the content that I publicly publish. I think if I just use common sense and be smart about what I say and do I will have nothing to fear.
After searching around for a bit I decided to plug in a shortend and more commonly used name I go by, "Ty Stanley" and voila, that's all it took. I was able to find over ten pages on google and Pipl (mostly google) that pertained to me personally. The very first link that popped up for both search engines was my social networking page on Facebook. As I clicked on from page to page, the majority of my results were internet pages on my athletics at Linfield College where I played football and baseball from 2004-2009. The links varied from news paper articles, to statistics and the numerous athletic webpages that linked "Ty Stanley" to the internet forever. Here is a list of a few links where I found myself:
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ty-Stanley/65200433
http://www.fanbase.com/Ty-Stanley
http://www.linfield.edu/sports/records/bb/HISTIND.HTM
http://www.dailyastorian.com/main.asp?SectionID=37&SubSectionID=476&ArticleID=53117&TM=58134.81
http://www.d3football.com/preview.php?id=1010&year=2006
http://www.intelius.com/search-summary-out.php?ReportType=1&
As I searched, I am happy to say that I was not ashamed nor embarassed about any of the webpages containing information or photos of me. As I move closer to becoming a teacher, I believe all the website that contain the name Ty Stanley or Tyler Stanley and that are actually about me all contain suitable and appropriate content that I would be no problem for future employers, students, colleagues, or students to view.
Absolutely, I believe teacher need to be and should be held to community standards. In fact, I think that teachers should be held to some of the highest standards, even in their personal live. Besides parents, the educators of children are some of the most influential individuals in the students life. If teachers do not hole themselves to the highest standards, how can they expect their students to respect and understand the life skills they are preaching in class. Yes, it's important for a teacher to be "real" in the sense that they can relate with their students but that does not give them the right to say one thing by day and disregard it by night outside the classroom. In high school and even middle school, our students can make decisions and judgments for themselves but they are still very impressionable and look to their teachers everyday for guidance.
Because most of the webistes that my name appears in are sports related there wasn't anything overwhelmingly interesting or surprising. However, I was unaware that there was a website my name registered in devoted to fans called, Fanbase. In this site, anyone can look up their athlete of at any level, in any sport and find pictures, statistics, and stories to learn more about them.
Once your name is placed on the interent there are no take backs and it's important for everyone to be aware of that. With that said, in order to protect myself and any future jobs I might hold, I am going to be cautious of the areas that publish my name and the content that I publicly publish. I think if I just use common sense and be smart about what I say and do I will have nothing to fear.
Monday, October 26, 2009
Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants
I've been alive for almost 24 years and it's amazing the amount of technology I've been introduced. By now, I have just come accustomed and pretty much numb to everything technolgy because I use it and see it excessively every single day. What I find most interesting are the advancements in technology that are occuring on a day to day basis. Think about your first experience with the internet, a cell phone, DVD's, Ipods, etc. Now think about your most recent experience with any of them. The speed, design, and capabilites of those devices have come from basically non-existent a decade ago to a necessity in society today. We are now in a generation that works prodominately in a digital world with the interent, text messaging, and avatars. These kids, termed Digital Natives by Marc Prensky, are being socialized in a way that is vastly different from their parents. "The numbers are overwhelming: over 10,000 hours of playing video games, over 200,000 emails, and instant messages sent and received; over 10,000 hours talking on digital cell phones; over 20,000 hours watching TV, over 500,000 commericials seen- all before the kids leave college" (Prensky, 1). In terms of Prensky's ideas of digital natives and digital immigrants, I would put myself some place in between. Although, I was alive well before the internet was carried in your pocket, I grew up in a very digital world and I find myself immersed in new-age technology.
The type of technolgy I was introduced to the the classroom was very different between high school and college. Throughout my years in high school, the technology was primarily getting acquainted with the interent. Discovering tools that speed up and enhanced the depth of my research. However, in college, techonolgy in the classroom took on a whole new meaning. I had courses that were only offered on-line or in computer labs. Professors who advised bringing lap-top computers to class and exams that were taken with hand-held clickers to answer questions that were displayed on an overhead screen. I also was encouraged to use facebook and text messaging to communicate with professors and other classmates about course work. All in all, the learning experience was very much enhanced from high school to college because of the technology. However, there was a learning curve that I had to get used to as I had never learned this was in the past.
After reading the Prensky articles I am intrigued by how public education will change because of the advancements of technology in the class room. Many of our teachers and professors in the classroom today are digital immigrants and are so comfortable with their style of teaching that the connection between the teachers and students is becoming serious. "The biggest problem facing education today is that our digital immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language" (Prensky, 2). The goal now needs to find a way to get the digital immigrants comfortable with the technology that is important and impertive towards the education of the digital native students of this generation.
I believe that as teachers, it is important to entertain our students. Inspire them, engage them, and find out what they enjoy. For many of them, technology will play a major role in what they like. "All students we teach have something in their lives that's really engaging- something that they do and that they are good at, something that has an engaging, creative component to it" (Prensky, 62). If we get our students engaged through technology, interactive learning games, group activities, and hands on-minds on learning it will potentially make a huge difference in their education.
Adapt to your students.
References:
Prensky, Mark. (2001, October). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon (Vol.9, No.5, pp. 1-5). MCB University Press.
Prensky, Mark. (2001, December). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 2: Do they really think Differently? On the Horizon (Vol. 9, No. 6, pp.1-9). MCB University Press.
Prensky, Mark. (2005, September/October). “Engage Me or Enrage Me,” What today’s Learners Demand. EDUCAUSE Review (p. 60, 62, 64)
The type of technolgy I was introduced to the the classroom was very different between high school and college. Throughout my years in high school, the technology was primarily getting acquainted with the interent. Discovering tools that speed up and enhanced the depth of my research. However, in college, techonolgy in the classroom took on a whole new meaning. I had courses that were only offered on-line or in computer labs. Professors who advised bringing lap-top computers to class and exams that were taken with hand-held clickers to answer questions that were displayed on an overhead screen. I also was encouraged to use facebook and text messaging to communicate with professors and other classmates about course work. All in all, the learning experience was very much enhanced from high school to college because of the technology. However, there was a learning curve that I had to get used to as I had never learned this was in the past.
After reading the Prensky articles I am intrigued by how public education will change because of the advancements of technology in the class room. Many of our teachers and professors in the classroom today are digital immigrants and are so comfortable with their style of teaching that the connection between the teachers and students is becoming serious. "The biggest problem facing education today is that our digital immigrant instructors, who speak an outdated language (that of the pre-digital age), are struggling to teach a population that speaks an entirely new language" (Prensky, 2). The goal now needs to find a way to get the digital immigrants comfortable with the technology that is important and impertive towards the education of the digital native students of this generation.
I believe that as teachers, it is important to entertain our students. Inspire them, engage them, and find out what they enjoy. For many of them, technology will play a major role in what they like. "All students we teach have something in their lives that's really engaging- something that they do and that they are good at, something that has an engaging, creative component to it" (Prensky, 62). If we get our students engaged through technology, interactive learning games, group activities, and hands on-minds on learning it will potentially make a huge difference in their education.
Adapt to your students.
References:
Prensky, Mark. (2001, October). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants. On the Horizon (Vol.9, No.5, pp. 1-5). MCB University Press.
Prensky, Mark. (2001, December). Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 2: Do they really think Differently? On the Horizon (Vol. 9, No. 6, pp.1-9). MCB University Press.
Prensky, Mark. (2005, September/October). “Engage Me or Enrage Me,” What today’s Learners Demand. EDUCAUSE Review (p. 60, 62, 64)
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