Blog Post 3

A Vision of Students Today
     I feel that the mastermind behind this video was a student.  How do I know? Because I, myself, am a student, and I can see myself making the some of the same statements these students made. Not so much anymore, but at one point, I myself was buying textbooks that I never opened. Either the teacher based the tests on lectures alone, or even better, the teacher taught the information better than the book could ever present the material. I was fortunate to have experienced a class where my teacher taught more proficiently than the book. But when watching this video, I see so many students are not as lucky as I.
     One of the sadder statements made, the fact that one girl claimed that her "neighbor" paid for the class, but never comes. I say it is sad simply because it couldn't be any more true. The first few weeks of class each semester has the biggest turnout for attendance, in comparison to the remainder of the semester. By the end of the semester, only a fraction of students still come. If we pay so much for school, why do we, as students, not attend? I am proud to say that since starting my journey of higher education, I have not missed a class due to "not wanting to go".
      One statement that sent chills up my spine was the fact that this particular student will be $20,000.00 in debt after graduation. I say it sends chills up my spine because it hits so close to home. I, like so many college students, took out student loans in order to attend college. It's astonishing how many people set out in life with the goal to make themselves wealthy/wealthier by getting an education and have to start their lives, post graduation, in debt.
It's Not About the Technology
     Kelly W. Hines, the author of this post, explains how It isn't about technology when it comes to educating students. She explains that the teachers must, also, be learners. The teachers must, not only be able, but also willing to learn the the information on technology. After all, the teacher needs to be able to relate to his or her students when it comes to teaching. How else could they understand how their students learn, not to mention what angle they learn best from.

    I enjoyed how Hines used a law of physics to relate teaching and learning. If no learning is being done it is quite reasonable to assume no teaching has been done. But I think the most interesting point Hines made in her post is that technology is useless without good teaching. She supports this claim that without teachers who take initiative and those who are innovative, than the amount of technology at their disposal is useless. To look at it another way, I have a vacuum cleaner, but if I do not use it, the floor will remain dirty. It doesn't mean that the technology or the vacuum cleaner doesn't work, it simply means that we are not using either of them to their full potential.
    


Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
     When I read Karl Fisch's post, I must admit, my mind became more open.  I had not thought of what being technologically illiterate meant. Fisch explained how being technologically illiterate today is equivalent to being illiterate 30 years ago. If you can't read or write, you are at a disadvantage in the world. With technology becoming a major aspect of everyday life, without understanding, you are also at a disadvantage.
     Also, Fisch mentioned how a teacher who is  technologically illiterate is preparing students to be successful in a time that no longer exists. He states, and I must agree, that we must not only teach our students, but explore along with them. So to answer the title of Fisch's post, no, it is not okay to be technologically illiterate. We must be able to use all available tools in order to help our students learn now, and learn to be continuous learners.


Gary Hayes' Social Media Count
     I visited Hayes' social media count with no clue as to what to expect. When I finally came across the counter, I could not believe the numbers I saw, in the sense that it was utterly astonishing.( I have chosen to embed Hayes' counter below this post.) When I look at these numbers, it made me question what things will be like by the time I am a teacher. The world is growing, even accelerating, at exponential numbers. Will there be a need for paper in just a few mesely years? If everything is technology based, will we end up like the Jetsons, and teachers be a person on a screen instead of a person in a classroom filled with students? Okay, so maybe not in a few short years, but it is hard to oppose the thought at all and say we will never see that day. After all, some courses at South are moving towards courses being held with no instructor being physically present, but rather watched on a screen. Could this be where time is taking us to? It is hard to say, definitely, right now, but within the next 20 years, I'm almost certain that we will see more of a technological atmosphere than ever before.