Blog Post 1 (EME 2040)

    The advancement of technology has tremendously impacted the classrooms of today, not only for students but also teachers. Teachers can use technology to make administrative tasks like grading and classroom management much more effective. Using grading softwares such as Edsby, Engrade, etc. teachers can easily enter grades and make them readily available for students and their families. By integrating technology into the presentation of information, teachers are able to better engage students and adapt to the many different learning, cognitive and intelligence styles they may encounter. By using programs like Photostory, museum box, Prezi and wordle during a lecture, students who are more visual will have a better cognitive process when they are able to see the lessons being taught, whereas auditory learners will benefit from the actual lecture and videos incorporated into the presentation. Communication with parents is crucial in the classroom in order for success, while flyers may get lost on the way home or never shown, teachers can be assured information is relayed to parents efficiently through email, social media, and remind messaging softwares.  Lastly, teachers are inspired to use technology in the classroom because of the knowledge they can gain from it to better their lesson plans, classroom activities, and assessments through tools such as Thinkfinity, SchoolTube, Office suite, test generators, etc. On the other hand, students are also inspired to use technology because not only is it vital for success in the 21st century we live in, but it is more engaging and interesting in the process of learning. As students, it can be harder to choose the harder activity that fosters critical thinking, but with technology we are excited and want to participate in activities of different softwares without even realizing the exploration and critical thinking they are performing.  Students are also drawn to technology because of our differences, and the ability for one to work at their own pace while providing instruction that addresses all cultural, learning, cognitive and other differences.
     The ISTE standards are a great tool to hold teachers accountable to their responsibility of integrating technology into the classroom to create successful learners. The standards force teacher to deepen their own understanding technology through collaboration with other educators, and make their classroom a place that fosters growth and knowledge for the modern day student. The standard that is most meaningful to me is standard number 2, Leader. In my life I have always been pushed to lead groups of people through my own actions and inspire others to want to become better everyday. Leadership is a major reason why I chose Elementary Education because you are leading young minds to have great futures and accomplish all of their goals, which I feel is my calling. I think it's amazing how teachers can lead and further their impact on students through technology in the classroom. One standard I have not yet mastered is number 7, Analyst. This feels outside my skill set right now, because I've never had my own classroom where you teach for a long period of time, so data was never collected that I could evaluate and conform instruction and technology use to better serve each student. I feel this standard will be easier to accomplish with the more experience I have as an educator.
     I agree with part of the label digital native for my age group, because we have definitely have grown up in the presence of technology our entire lives.  The part I don't agree with is the sense that only digital natives see technology as a part of everyday life, because there are still many digital immigrants also use technology in their day to day routine. Also, the definition of digital immigrants includes that they saw technology develop, I also disagree with this because throughout a digital native's life we have also seen the advancement and development of many technologies throughout our short life span as well. Personally I feel that many of my teachers were very educated in their use of technology and used it in the same way as their students. Many of my teachers explored and learned how to use the technology just as we were, or already had the knowledge and used technology to further our understanding of concepts. Since teachers are more encouraged and required to maintain their knowledge and incorporate technology into the classroom, I feel like I will be facilitating students in the future on how to use technology, rather than it being a learning process for both the teacher and student. This prior training and knowledge will allow me to be a better resource to students while using technology in the classroom.