The three most influential communication technologies in my life are 1. Ipad, 2. Blackberry, 3. Ipod. For myself as a teacher, I would like to know if Olivia is able to make a healthy divide between using technology in a smart manner for school such as taking notes, research, etc, vs. going overboard in which technology becomes more of a distraction. This is important because while she is obviously very savvy with technology, being able to text very fast and knowing how to change a myspace background with codes, it seems as if she is on a track where her technology use would become a distraction in further education such as college. This is a very common problem that I see all the time not only with students in high school but with college students as well. They have the mind set that they are going to get all of their work done efficiently on the computer but instead spend hours on social networking sites.
As a future high school teacher, I would want my students to realize that college level work as opposed to high school level work is much more time consuming and requires complete attention at all times. The fact that Olivia spent 4 to 5 hours a day mostly on her myspace page, while acceptable in high school and with high school level work, would not be able to be done in college where time management is everything. If I were a teacher of students similar to Olivia, I would give them strategies to avoid this problem such as allotting specific time during the day to study in which during this time, their cell phones must be shut off and put in another room as to avoid temptation. Another method that I would suggest is having a friend log onto their facebook or myspace page locking them out so they cannot go on during study time.
These three technologies ( iPad, blackberry, iPod) have had a very large impact on the ways in which I learn new information and life in general. Beginning with the iPad, I am able to takes notes, read books, and research information conveniently on a device that is small and easy to carry from class to class. Previous to this, I would bring notebooks and textbooks to class. I did not like this because not only was it an inconvenience to carry so many items across campus, but it took more time to have to look in the book for information, highlight certain aspects, take notes on it, etc. that would make me tired and therefore not be able to do as much work in the allotted time. Now with the iPad, I can do all those things in half the amount of time, get the work done more efficiently and have everything I need throughout the day on one small device. Aside from the iPad, my blackberry is very useful in my learning experience, not so much with learning new information but with being able to contact certain people at all times for school purposes. For example, when a professor emails me or I need to email a fellow peer regarding a class, I am able to send/receive emails promptly from my phone and not have to wait until the evening when I return home or when I turn on my iPad. Taking a look now at the iPod, it does not have any impact in terms of learning new material or school at all but rather is used as a tool to help my mind relax for a while in between doing work and studying. After a long day at school, I take half an hour or so to listen to music on my iPod to relax my mind from the stresses of the day and simply take some time for myself. Overall, these 3 devices, although used for different purposes , make the ways in which I learn and do work very convenient.
There are various similarities and differences regarding uses of technology between myself and the other young people in these 2 videos. Beginning with Olivia and some of the students in the second video regarding the use of cellphones, I am able to relate to them in the fact that I always have it with me in my hand, checking my emails, texting friends when I get out of class, etc. I can also relate to one young man in the second video who stated that he always uses his laptop at all times. That is how I am as well with the iPad, bringing it everywhere I go. One difference between me and the people in these two videos is the need to go on facebook and other social networking sites, such as Olivias story. I make sure that I do not let those sites get in the way of getting work done because it is very easy to do and can become a big problem.
Danielle, Please see the comment I left on Sara Conforti's blogspot. Each of your blogposts should be one coherence narrative, rather than an answer to each of the "steps." The steps I provide you in the assignment directions in order to help you with the process and not to provide you with a template for answers, if that makes sense. Email me directly if you need additional clarification. With that said, knuckle bump to you for getting an early start on the first assignment.
ReplyDeleteDanielle, I agree with you on the fact that it seems like Olivia's use of technology is mainly for entertainment, such as being on myspace for multiple hours of the day. Even though using the computer for long periods of time a day is great practice because she is able to do many things, she might not use it for the right purposes. Like you said, it is very difficult to know if your students are using their computers for the right reasons and even though she is able to keep up with her school work while still in high school, once she reaches college it might be difficult to balance school work and leisure time spent on the computer. I believe it is very important to teach students at a younger age, such as in high school, the importance of having plenty of time to do school work. As a college student myself, I know how much time and effort is put into studying and doing homework. It is completely different from the amount of work that I did in high school. In the future, I want to teach my students different strategies so that when it comes down to school work there are no distractions.
ReplyDeleteDanielle, I definitely agree with you when you say that there is a healthy divide when it comes to using technology on a daily basis. It is evident that students have access to various devices at home, or like Olivia find ways to obtain access, and with this being said it is important that as teachers we understand the relationships our students have with various forms of technology. While I agree with you that social media accounts for the majority of distractions, it can also be used to benefit the students as well. There is an Italian professor here at Montclair State that required students to use Twitter several times per week in order to make status updates and write comments in Italian. I believe that this is a great way to allow students to practice their reading and writing skills as well as expanding their vocabulary. Another example I am aware of took place at William Paterson University where a business management class was required to submit all course work on Facebook. By using this type of social media, the students were able to express themselves freely using text, pictures, videos, links to websites, as well as other forms of multimedia in order to strengthen their presentation and understanding of information. As teachers I feel that it will be our responsibility to come up with ways that we can incorporate potential distractions into the curriculum in order to ensure that technology benefits the students. Additionally, I would like to point out that I liked your idea of turning of cell phones or placing them in other rooms in order to avoid temptation. I would like to take this idea a step further by mentioning the possibility of deducting participation points from a student’s grade when a device is negatively in use during class time in order to motivate the students to stay focused. Additionally, at a high school level it is very common for a teacher to confiscate cell phones or any other electronic device in accordance to school rules.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your reasoning that Olivia mainly uses the computer for entertainment. Like other things, there has to be a balance between entertainment and hard work. I think as future teachers we should recognize this and teach our students that computers are such a useful tool in regards to learning, and that there needs to be time management regarding using the computer for homework and fun.
ReplyDelete