Blog Assingment 3

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today


My college experience, to date, has been somewhat different then shown in this video. Though Faulkner State is not a nationally known college, I experienced small class sizes, teachers who knew my name, actually used my text books most of the time, and reasonable tuition. Technology was embraced at a basic level though on-line classes. I believe that the education that I obtained, while not always inspiring, was adequate and a good value.

Education consists of multiple parts. Students can be offered an education and not take advantage of it or they can be capable of attaining the knowledge and want it, but not have the circumstances so that it is available to them.

A person who is interested and wants to learn will typically make the effort no matter how the knowledge is offered and will often supplement organized education with additional self study to become proficient. Effective teaching methods and technology can make this process much easier and bring the students to a higher and more functional level faster. There will always be students who are derailed by outside influences such as social life. A higher goal for society is to make a free on-line college (and access) available to those who desire it, but for whatever reasons cannot obtain it under “normal” circumstances.

For me, some things that could be added to the video are statistics about junior/community colleges. Attendance, tuition rates, class sizes, student teacher ratio and success rates of students pursuing higher degrees are some of the statistics that I would like to see.



"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines


There is a difference between teaching and learning. Teachers must be able to do both of these and be able to recognize when their teaching results in learning and when it does not. One objective of a teacher’s commitment to life-long learning is to keep pace with technology and recognize how to use it effectively in the classroom.

Adding technology to classrooms without an objective is not going to fix most problems in schools today. It’s the way the teachers teach, technology or no technology, which can benefit or hinder the learning process. We all had teachers in school that were effective. We need to realize why we responded to these teachers and try to emulate their success. I do think technology in the classroom is a good idea, but as previously stated; it is the way it is used that matters.



Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?


Teachers should be aware of and even familiar with the “state of the art” technology and know how to use a level of that technology consistent with the educational objectives that they are teaching. Technology has a way of evolving with the successful being adopted and others being used briefly and then upgraded or discarded. Students should be taught that technology is ever evolving and they should take advantage of opportunities that they have to apply it, either inside or outside of the classroom setting. This message, if clearly communicated to the student will be more valuable than thirty minutes of “computer time” in a classroom.

Technology will be used if it is useful. You don’t see many engineers using slide rules anymore and not many sailors use sextants. Not because it was taught in class first, but because it made the job easier. However, these old skills will be important if the power ever goes out. There is a place for both in our society.



Gary Hayes Social Media Count


First of all, I just have to say… WOW. Do children play outside anymore these days!? That is mindboggling to me how consumed people really can be by the internet in general.

Technology is, and will be necessary. When teaching/using technology, we will be competing with digital entertainment and social networking sites. We need to take advantage of the basic skills acquired by the students in these activities and apply that to their education.