Blog Post #3

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today

I can't say anything else about this video besides that it is so true. We as college students become distracted when we are surrounded by many students in one class and a professor that does nothing but lecture the whole time, without any input from the students. With us having access to all these different types of devices right there at our desk we turn to them to keep up awake. Whether it's texting, facebook, twitter, videos, etc. anything and everything but what the teacher is saying in front of us. I understand that we are not in grade school anymore and that things for us are suppose to be 'Hard' but me personally still believe that things can still be challenging with hands-on assignments in college, most students learn better that way. Also a student on the video held a sign on the video stating that we are not the cause of the economy falling, but it is a part of our problem; all you hear in the world today is how the education system is falling and how the teachers aren't getting paid enough. We may can't change things in one day but us as future educators can become more organized and determined to the point where it wouldn't be so easy to just make lay-offs and salary cuts. Something that has always bothered me is that if EDUCATION is the key to SUCCESS why is the educational system number one on the list when it comes to budget cuts?

This video has many different points, and if I had anything to do with the producing of it I would probably add another student holding a sign stating "I have a child, so where does he/she fit in with those 26.5 hours a day" I say this because at least half of college students not only have to juggle classes and jobs, but being a parent is another role that we can't fall short on.

"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines

This post says a lot! Ms. Hines says that you must be a good learner in order to be a good teacher, and that's so true, and with that being said a computer to me is not something that can TEACH you how to do that. Being a good teacher means interacting with your kids and understanding their thoughts so that you are able to help them with their problem oppose to just telling them how to solve it. Now don't get me wrong because I do think that knowing how technology works does make a difference in a classroom, but I just feel that doing things manually will provide you kids with a better understanding of what is being done.

When it comes to be an understanding, well organized, & open-minded educator, it should be to where the ones that have been teaching for about ten years find a way to come together with the not yet tenured teachers and exchange thoughts and ideas. I say this with idea that the newer teachers are fresh with the technology and the older teachers are skilled with the manual work and with them both being great learners it will allow them both to learn new things!




Karl Fisch: Is it Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?

To start off I would like to answer this question by saying no, it's not okay to be technologically illiterate. I am commenting on this post with a full understanding that everyone is not going to be able to keep up with every single change in the world of technology, but I do say that everyone should be skilled with the basics. What I mean by this is like Mr. Karl stated in his passage, a person should not be proud to say that they can't read just as a person who doesn't know how to log onto the web be proud of that. Also I would like to add that with almost any professional career people are using some sort of technology everyday, so how is it possible to stand your position if you don't know what going on.

Lastly, I would like to say that his comment about the teachers that are technologically illiterate are that are not even willing to learn how to be, those are the ones that should have their jobs replaced, and that's for the student's sake! I would also like to thank you Mr. Karl for the little eye-opener!

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

These changes for my professional career as a teacher mean one only two words to me, Stay Focused!