Blog Assignment 3

Wow! A Vision of Students Today was quite a enlightening video. First of all, I completely feel like my days need to be 26 1/2 hours long. I have went to college immediately following high school and tried to work 40 plus hours a week, go to school, and still have a good time outside of school. It didn't work. I went back and tried to work 60 hours a week and go to school. Again, it didn't work. Now, I've come back and I only work 26 hours a week and it works much better, but I'm still always tired and some days I just can't do any school work, because I just need a break.

I feel lucky that here at the University of South Alabama we don't have such large classrooms. I feel like most, if not all, professors know my name, but thats not because its easy. I make sure I speak up in class and make myself known. In one of my classes this semester all my professor does is write on the blackboard and describe poems. I wish everyday he would use something more modern to help me understand what he is explaining.

I enjoyed reading Mrs. Hines' post It's Not about the Technology. She hit the nail on the head with this. It doesn't matter what technology is at our disposal, if we don't know how to use it in an effective way, it is useless. Teachers need to take the time to learn new and effective ways to implement new devices into the classroom.

I have the benefit of living with a person who teaches everyday in this area. My wife tells me that there are 150 plus teachers at her school and most of them teach the same way they have been teaching for decades. They don't seem to want to evolve with the times. Kids are now allowed to bring their cellphones to school. In my opinion if they are going to use them anyway during the day teachers should learn ways to incorporate them in to the learning experience. Kids may even pay more attention if given the opportunity to use such things in the class.

"If a teacher today is not technologically literate - and is unwilling to make the effort to learn more - it's equivalent to a teacher 30 years ago who didn't know how to read and write." Mr. Fisch made this comment in is post Is It Okay To Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher. I think it is a little harsh, but harsh doesn't make it untrue. When I was looking for another job several years ago, I remember reading every want add saying you have to be able to do some form of technological program to even be considered. In todays world potential employers need employees that can interact in a more global society that takes tech knowledge.

Why should teachers be held to a different standard? I know I always go back to things my wife sees in her everyday experiences, but I think they are terribly relevant. She doesn't just go to work everyday and try the same old thing. Too many teachers however, do. We as the future educators of the world need to help our students get these jobs. Think about how hard it is for all of us in EDM310 to learn this new stuff. Imagine how hard it is going to be for our students in 5, 10, or 20 years. We owe it to them to prepare them as best we can for the future.

All I can say about theSocial Media Count is, WOW! As a future teacher we have to be able to teach our kids these things. The first thing I noticed is how fast money is made through these mediums. Our students need to be able to tap into these resources.