Wednesday, January 29, 2014

I really enjoyed this video. It opened up my eyes to the realities of education today. Education has become more technologically based. Our students are living in a technology rich world, therefore, we as teachers must be up to date on the latest trend of technology in order to attend to our students needs. Though I am not the most technologically fluent, this video made me recognize the importance of using technology for the needs of my students.

Sunday, January 26, 2014

First Day Jitters

The first day of class, even if it is my 100th first day, (or at least it feels that way), always makes my stomach flutter with worries, feelings of being overwhelmed and a little taste of excitement. Our first class was completely different from any other Mount class I have ever taken. Dr. Smirnova's style is a change from the cut and dry I am used to. And to be honest, it scared the you know what out of me! Technology!? Personalizing assignments!? Did I mention technology? I get it, I should get with the times, but I am the kind of girl that still wishes she had her Nextel phone. All this technology usage is very new to me. Of course I know how to incorporate technology into my lessons and most daily routines, but using it for everything in a class is all very new to me. Instead of embracing it like most of my peers, I wanted to run for the hills. Joe and Chris can testify, since they rode home with me after the first class. After I came to my senses I realized that maybe this is exactly the kind of class I need. A class that on the first day made me want to run away and never turn on my computer again. A class that will for once be a real challenge. I am looking forward to this new challenge and I will try my best.

In class we learned about several things, which I do not remember too much because I spent a bulk of the time freaking out! The video we watched, and the videos that were suggested hold very true to education and the world today.
Though I am not the biggest fan of technology, I really enjoyed this video. It was filled with mind-blowing statistics about the world and the use of technology in it. Though I still have my doubts about technology, I will try to embrace its usage as much as possible. This video opened my eyes to realize that most of my students have cell phones and grow up in the age of technology, playing on the computer and chatting on the internet rather than bike riding and hide and seek outdoors. I believe there needs to be a happy medium in usage, which I feel that many people forget. Sometimes it is frustrating to walk into a restaurant and see families having dinner "together", when in fact everyone at the table is on there phones. It is hard for me to wrap my head around the fact that there is something possibly more important on those phones than the family sitting right across from you! My rule, there is a time and place for everything-including technology!