Blog Journal #2
My relationship with Microsoft Word as a student throughout my K-12 and now collegiate life has been nothing short of complicated. Growing up I was fortunate enough to receive my first laptop in 7th grade, a hand-me-down from my sister, with this I was able to have access to a whole new world of entertainment, academic productivity, and lots more. When it came time that I needed a source to electronically write on I chose MS Word as that is what was available to me. As time went on I came to find it incredibly helpful and became what some would call a 'staunch' Word supporter. This was only proliferated by my involvement with debate in which I found myself using a computer mouse that had additional buttons that I had programmed to make debate-style documents easier to make on MS Word. Then, in the ladder half of my senior year, I watched a video about google docs and decided to make a hard switch to the software in College. Since I have been a user I have been thoroughly impressed with the application and love the in-app filing technology which allows me to organize classes from within a document. Overall I think they are both great and it comes down to personal preference. At this point of my life, I am team google docs if you will. Down the road I may, and could even see myself, going back to MS Word.
The ISTE serves to help students become "empowered learners" through the use of technology. They provide a host of different standards for educators. These standards include anything from Learner to Leader, Citizen, and more. For me, the most important ISTE standard for an educator is 'Facilitator'. A teacher is the facilitator of the classroom. This not only means that they run the class but they also set up the culture and norms that exist within the said class. A teacher that is a facilitator will create challenging learning opportunities for students to not only test their strengths within technology but also portable skills that they can use outside of the classroom.
Digital Native is a term to define someone who has grown up under the influence of technology. I believe that kids born in the late '90s are the earliest of the generation which I perceive to be "digital natives". Although there are children who were born before then that grew up with technology, this generation that I reference were the "iPhones in 4th grade" generation. Being a digital native comes with an instinctive ability to grab a piece of technology with a level of confidence that doesn't exist in other people of older ages. I have seen differences between me and my teachers in regards to our understanding and use of technology. I would say it either comes down to one of three scenarios with teachers and tech in my experience in school. Either 1, the teacher is proficient in their use of technology. 2, The teacher doesn't know how to use tech at all and it becomes a bit among the teachers and students. 3, The teacher with the help of a selected student is able to get through things being guided by the student. I believe the generation after mine and so on will continue to have an almost innate apt to use technology and it will only better our understanding of the world around us,
Hi Charlie, I like how you elaborated on the role of educators as a facilitator who set up a culture and norms where students can exercise their creativity with technology. Educators may sometimes guide a certain manner of utilizing technology by teaching how to use a tool and creating an activity in which students are requested to use the technology in a specific way. I appreciate how you divided the scenarios of teachers' use of technology into three categories. I also encourage you to consider a broad variety of young people who may be less adept at technology due to their social background and so require appropriate support in using technology in classrooms. Great post!
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