1 A Native of Computers

Computers are an immensely, and utterly obvious, important part of the educational experience. Without a computer, how could I write this blog? How could I take this class? Without this class, I can’t be a teacher. I think you see where I’m going with this. The amount of educational tools readily available in a computer is unfathomable. People of my generation grew up using computers in school because technology literacy had become a core standard in curriculum. But I still agree that we need to stay up-to-date with the technology our students’ generation will grow up using.

As an aspiring Elementary school teacher, I will use computers everyday in the classroom. I can use them to support and enhance my lessons, input grades and attendance, and allow my students to access educational materials at home. I hope this class can help me learn the most recent tools in educational technology so I can better guide my students toward success.

I absolutely agree with labeling today’s youth as “digital natives”. Not only do these children see technology as a normal part of their lives, they also cannot function without it. I’ve had my fair share of stubborn and struggling digital immigrant teachers. The difference between my teachers and myself is that they saw technology as an optional tool while I saw it a necessary tool. My teachers believed their hand-drawings of graphs and pictures were acceptable to us and adequately aided our understanding of the topic, while we cringed at the questionable details of the drawings and wondered why they couldn’t just pull up a picture from the Internet. With the rate technology is evolving, I anticipate there to be some differences between my future students and myself in terms of how we use technology. Although, I do believe that since I consider myself a digital native as well, I’ll be much more on the same page with my students than my own teachers were with me.