Blog Journal 1

Many things influence teachers and students to use aspects of technology in their classrooms. I believe that a desire to be innovative and progressive is a major reason why technology is advancing in classrooms all over the world. Another reason for the use of technology is to enhance the learning experience of students. Old and outdated learning practices are becoming a thing of the past, and they are being replaced with exciting technological advances that help a student understand and interact with subject matter better. If technology is not used in classrooms, students will be at a disadvantage because of how our world is wired today. I believe that technology will continue to be integrated more and more into classrooms daily because new technology is always being worked on and created, and it is very influential to students and teachers alike. 

ISTE standards are a wonderful way to keep students and teachers accountable for how they use and teach with technology in the classroom. There are numerous standards that the ISTE came up with, and these standards focus mainly on how a classroom should use technology to accomplish educational goals in a virtuous way. One standard that resonates with me is that of being a "digital citizen". This standard provides parameters for what a digital citizen should look like, such as understanding the weight of what we put online and how to use technology in a safe way in order to protect ourselves from the dangers on the internet. I feel as though I am a digital citizen because I have been taught how to use technology wisely my entire life. I never put anything permanent on the internet that I wouldn't want others to know about me, and I also use technology to connect with and encourage others through activities like group chats. One standard that I believe is outside of my skill set at the moment is that of a technology "leader". To be a technology leader, one must advocate for all students to have access to education enhancing technology and learn and bring in new technologies for the classroom. I feel as though I don't resonate as much with this standard right now because I am not a teacher yet, so I am still being taught about technology. I also do not advocate for technology access, but I really want to start making a difference in this area. This standard is something that I believe I will grow in as I get older and earn my teaching degree. 

I agree with calling young students today "digital natives". Digital natives are people that have grown up around technology, and they don't know of a time where technology wasn't in their world. I have definitely seen differences between the way that I use technology as a digital native and the way that my teachers use it as digital immigrants. First of all, because I believe I am more proficient in certain technological aspects than my teachers are, the process of learning by using technology is slowed down because the teachers have to figure out how to use the specific technology before beginning the lesson. I remember many instances in high school where the teachers had to call up students to help them work the technology at the time, whether it was an Ipad, computer, or projector. Other times, I noticed that teachers were inadequately using technology for lessons, such as when my math teacher used a confusing online program to give us our notes, when she could have just used the white board to take notes and erase without complicating things. I believe that when I become a teacher, I will also have differences between my knowledge of technology and my students' knowledge. I know that technology is continually advancing, and I don't think that I stay up to date with some of the newest technologies. In contrast, I believe that students I will teach in the future will still be more competent in certain technologies than I will be, just because I wasn't born into a world with smartphones and similar technologies like they were. I look around now and see two-year-olds with smartphones in their hands that can probably work them better than I can! Therefore, even though I am fairly proficient in using technology, I will still need to work very hard to include it in an adequate way in my classroom when I am a teacher. 

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