Welcome to my first ever blog! I have always wanted to start a blog and I have admired those that not only start them but personalize them and use them frequently. I have often visited blogs that are connected to pins that I pin on Pinterest, but as I am typing this is has occurred to me that there are probably hundreds, maybe thousands of teacher blogs out there as well. Hmmm. Researching K-12 teacher blogs will keep me very busy for the next couple of hours, I’m certain!
In reference to our first chapter work, the first concept that struck me was probably the simplest and most common: social media. I am a social media bug and use it frequently, but it never crossed my mind that social media would be a good way to connect with my students. In fact during the many hours of day dreaming of my future teacher-self I have thought that social media would mean the opposite to me: off limits. I figured that I would have to keep a hard line between my online personal presence and any career affiliated presence I had, but I didn’t realize the opportunities of communication that would present themselves by intentionally using social media to reach out to my students. A website, THE Journal: Transforming Education through Technology, offers insight on many ways to integrate technology into the classroom, including this article on social media use in the classroom.
In reference to our first chapter work, the first concept that struck me was probably the simplest and most common: social media. I am a social media bug and use it frequently, but it never crossed my mind that social media would be a good way to connect with my students. In fact during the many hours of day dreaming of my future teacher-self I have thought that social media would mean the opposite to me: off limits. I figured that I would have to keep a hard line between my online personal presence and any career affiliated presence I had, but I didn’t realize the opportunities of communication that would present themselves by intentionally using social media to reach out to my students. A website, THE Journal: Transforming Education through Technology, offers insight on many ways to integrate technology into the classroom, including this article on social media use in the classroom.
The second concept that I would like to discuss is the variety of computer technologies that are available to teachers and students. With online text books, interactive white boards and availability to ipads and other tablets in the classroom, the opportunities seem endless. When I was in school we had white boards and an overhead projector. That was about it. Technology was considered “too expensive” or “just for fun” and was never looked at as a learning tool. We have clearly come very far in the past two decades. With student’s availability to the internet and such expensive equipment I am interested to know how the internet is regulated and who is responsible if a piece of equipment breaks when being used by a student. I am sure these things have all kinds of policies and procedures in place and I am eager to know all about them.
The third concept introduced to me in the first chapter was that “infants, toddlers and preschoolers experience what sociologists call a digital childhood” (Maloy, 2013). I didn’t realize that infants are learning to use interactive technology. I didn’t realize they could. This speaks volumes to me and proves to never underestimate anyone who has a desire to learn about technologies.
Here is a video I found on YouTube of a 1 year old playing Angry Birds on an iPad:
Resources:
Textbook - Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education, Inc.
Website- Research: 9 in 10 Teachers Don't Use Social Media in the Classroom -- THE Journal. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2016, from https://thejournal.com/articles/2015/09/02/research-9-in-10-teachers-dont-use-social-media-in-the-classroom.aspx
Website- My 1 year-old baby plays Angry Birds. (n.d.). Retrieved January 13, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHqbcGgf90o
