18 April- "Lessons Learned"

The readings were very informative. I really liked the two video clips. It was very interesting to hear and read about students points of view about technology. Sometimes it frightens me how smart and tech savvy the rising generation is. But if they weren't this way they wouldn't be able to survive in the future business world. The movie that just had words was also interesting one of the slides stated that by 2012 there would be a computer that is smarter than a human and by 2043 a computer that is smarter than the human race. I think computers are really important to our society but I think that people need to make sure they are creating and inventing things for the benefit of society. Today I was talking to my husband about how wonderful my childhood was because I didn't have a care in the world. I never used the internet until about 5th grade. My childhood was filled with pirate adventures, blanket forts, trips to the moon, and troll hunting. Kids today are attached to technology somehow they need to be able to use technology but have active bodies and active imaginations without being overwhelmed by the influences of outside media (at least while they are young).

Technology is great but we need to also make sure that students are still learning things they need to know to be sociable. The first skill is how to write. I think if a student ever writes text message slang on a paper they turn in they will get an automatic 0 or give it back and ask them to rewrite. That is how horrible I think it is, I hate that students nowadays can't write effectively. They really need to develop their vocabulary. The second thing is they need to have people skills sometimes students feel way uncomfortable approaching teachers so they email them (sometimes I am a victim of this). This I believe is the drawback of technology.

Even though sometimes technology is overwhelming, it is very important, critical to our students lives. I really, really liked the idea about having a ClassAct Portal. Students can engage in discussions, research, service, and many more things through this portal on whatever subject you are teaching about. Once they research the topic and see how it effects millions of peoples lives they will have a unique and new appreciation for whatever subject is being studied. I really liked the example the article gave about child labor laws. In my class I plan on having a ClassAct Portal for my students to contribute to. I also want to teach my students about how important internet use is but also its dangers and benefits. These articles taught me a lot of valuable information.