Week 2

A Vision of Students Today
I completely agree with the information used in this video! I can honestly say that half of my professors from college don't know my name, that I spend outrageous amounts of money on textbooks (most of which are not needed) and that I have had probably 300 classmates that have paid for class and never showed up. I agree with the conclusion that chalkboards have had little to no impact on the advancement of education. The Smart Boards used in classrooms today are a perfect example of how much technology has furthered the opportunity for education.

The expenses that were used a examples in this video (tuition, books, laptops, etc.) are a perfect display of why people are so in debt when they graduate college. I would love to make a survey of all the questions used in this video. If distributed evenly throughout different colleges in our university, I believe that our results would be frighteningly close to those at Kansas State University. I really enjoyed this video.

"It's Not About the Technology"
This text is 100% correct to me. I do believe that all successful teacher should be able to teach their students under any circumstances with using whatever tools are available. Smart boards and computers are only good tools for learning if they are put in the hands of innovative teachers. They should not only be able to use these sources of technology, but they should able to apply them in ways that are helpful to the furthering of a child's education.

Teachers have to commit to continuing their knowledge in accordance with the advances in technology. Also, they must be able to use these advances in a creative and innovative way that will grasp the attention of the their students. For teachers that do all of these things, technology can do amazing things. However, Kelly Hines is correct that the teachers who don't, technology is useless

Is It Okay to Be a Technologically Illiterate Teacher?
I believe that number one on Fisch's list is a much needed for all educators in today's society. Though I feel like teachers should be able to teach without the help of technology, I believe strongly that technology can make a huge impact on the way that children learn. Though technology is not a necessity in classrooms, it is part of our society today and teachers should not only know how to use technology, but they should be able to teach their students how to use it. I also agree completely with his statement in number two that "People who do not meet the criterion of #1 should be embarrassed, not proud, to say so in public."

"We should stop being so nice. After all, we've got our qualifications and jobs, and we don't have the moral right to sit placidly on the sidelines whilst some educators are potentially jeopardizing the chances of our youngsters." This statement is very true to me. The futures of the young people in our country are at risk when teachers are not preparing them for the technology that they will be faced with. Having little knowledge of technology today can affect their potential of job opportunities in the future.

Gary's Social Media Count
The rate that these numbers are moving at is mind blowing! Having a chance to look at how much email, SMS messaging, Facebook, Twitter and so many more technological products are used per second is absolutely fascinating! The plus side to this as a teacher is that while all of these people are using so much technology, it makes it easier for them to create new technology. The more technology that is created can only be used for the better in classrooms.