Influences to use Technology in the Classroom
Teachers and students are influenced by the society to use technology in the classroom. Our society is changing constantly and new generations of students are exposed to much more technology than they were in the past. Teachers implement technology in order to keep students interested and students use technology to work more effectively and efficiently.
ISTE Standards
ISTE standards are extremely beneficial to the education system and learning environments today. It ensures that no matter the generation the teacher is a part of, they can become adequate in implementing and utilizing new technology. With this, teacher-student relationships become more cohesive, understanding, and reciprocal. Students will enjoy learning more and teachers will have a greater impact on the class. The Innovative Designer states that "students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful or imaginative solutions" (ISTE, 2019). This is meaningful to me because I am a strong believer that students all learn differently and there are different ways to go about teaching and demonstrating concepts so that it can satisfy the learning style of all students. The Innovative Designer allows students to take control over their learning style and develop problem-solving skills that are unique to them. The Global Collaborator seems to be outside of my current skill set. It states that "students use digital tools to broaden their perspectives and enrich their learning by collaborating with others and working effectively in teams locally and globally" (ISTE, 2019). I have not practiced or been trained to interact with others in other countries. I wouldn't really know where to begin or how to communicate effectively.
"Digital Natives"
Digital natives are those who are part of Generation Z, born between 1995 and 2012. They are said to learn best in media-rich environment, have short attention spans, prefer to learn via technology, and dislike reading. I do agree with the label "digital native" for today's youth. The newest generations were exposed to technology and technological advance throughout their entire lives. They also tend to use technology, or want to use it, whenever they are given the chance because that is what they are familiar and comfortable with. Teachers and parents are usually slower and fidgety when it comes to using technology. It does not come as natural to them and they often ask for, or need, help from their student or child. Teachers also sometimes tend to lean more towards using textbooks and worksheets, paper agendas, poster boards, etc. for classwork and projects. If it was up to the student, they would probably want to use online resources and apps to complete their work. In the future, I see myself in the same position my teachers are in today. I will be a little more effective than my teachers are because I do have more experience with technology, but I know my students will be quicker, more technologically savvy, and more socially withdrawn than me.
ISTE. (2019). ISTE Standards for STUDENTS. Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-students
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I too think that the Global ISTE standard is a little out of my comfort zone. I feel like it may be hard to bring in that global perspective, but I do think it would be an interesting activity. I think Students could really learn from a global perspective and technology is probably the best way to do it but I do not know how I as a teacher would facilitate it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your mention of innovative design being very important and meaningful! Creating new ideas and approaches to solving problems is something that separates you as a competitive employer and also helps with daily problem solving! I think this is a critical skill set to have as both a teacher and student.
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