The more we advance in our course, the more questions I have around technology. Before starting this course, I had clear ideas of where I stood with technology and how it played or would play a part in my life and those of my classroom. I believed that technology was going to play a minimal part of my personal life; cell phone laptop used for e-mail and word processing and smart boards and digital devices in the school would only enhance my students learning. Though some of my thoughts remain in these areas, others have changed.
Since starting my inquiry into technology I have bought and IPAD 2, joined twitter and created a blog. I also now enjoy tweeting (but not on demand) and text far more than I used to. I am questioning if I need a new laptop and think that I want a macbook, but a voice in my head is telling me that I am buying into all of the hype that is directed by the big corporations. I don't want to be anyone's puppet and therefore have not bought a new laptop...yet.
For my classroom, I view somethings differently. Immediately, during our first class I started to realize why I bought into all of the sensation of smart boards being used in the classroom as well as other digital devices. In a sense, I was programmed to believe in their validity through all of the inservicing that was being done. Now instead of buying into what I am told, the voice in my head has me questioning, who is gaining from this? The big corporations or my students and myself. If there is some benefit to my students and myself, then I will use it, otherwise it will not enter my classroom.
New information I have learned is around e-waste, robotics and gaming in the classroom. I totally buy into the proper disposal or reuse of digital devices and am seeing from first hand experience, the impact in can have on the future generation to do something about it.
As far as robotics and gaming in the classroom, I agree with Preet, there is the time and place for it. It should not be a forced issue. If gaming works into my lesson or unit, then great I will use it. I will not, however, force my unit or lesson to fit into gaming.
Robots have a place also, as a tool. I agree with my grade 4 student who said that we should use robots to do functions that would be dangerous for humans to do. It amazes me how a nine year old is clear with his thoughts and mine are so muddled up. When robots start taking on human persona's like the ones Maha showed us through twitter, then that to me is taking it too far.
The friend of Kristin's in London who did not want to be rude and read on the bus, was a shocker for me. Being an avid reader I was sad to hear that reading took a back seat to digital devices on a bus. Somewhere in my mind I knew it was coming, I just didn't think it was here already.
I enjoyed seeing the business cards that Liz blogged about. I think they are a great idea. As a teacher, we get a lot of business cards from substitute teachers that have been in our classrooms. We can't put a face or know anything about the person who has taught our students for the day. Like Stephanie said, it would be like advertising, but that's one advertisement or information I would like to see.
So for me, everything is coming full circle. Everything seems to go back to topics previously discussed and I think will be discussed for years to come. I am glad to now have more information than I did before I started this journey. I can no longer be that person who can live in her limited technology bubble, but now have to be an active participant in the technology world. I have more information to decide what I want my digital world to look like.
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