Blog Post 1!

In today's society, technology is everywhere. It is generally present in our everyday lives, so why not use it in the classroom? Technology can be a beneficial tool for teaching if used correctly. It can open doors for not only students, but also teachers. Technology allows teachers the opportunity to create a learning environment that is up to date on the current times, bridging the gap between how our parents were taught and how the future will learn.  It allows for quicker and easier communication between parents, students, teachers, and schools. 

The International Society for Technology in Education (ITSE) is an applied set of standards for the use of technology for students and teachers. The ITSE standard that is the most meaningful to me is the standard discussing creativity. This is meaningful to me because as a student, my creativity has helped me get through school. It is an important factor in a student because it allows them to think outside of the box and try new things. The standard that seems out of my specific skill set is the collaboration. I generally like to work alone, so when forced to work in groups I somewhat hold back. However, the only way for me to get better at collaboration is collaborating with others. 

I wholeheartedly agree with the term "digital native" for today's youth. As I said earlier, technology is present most everywhere. I've witnessed kids as young as 3 years old be able to work iPads and iPhones. I believe the term digital native is pretty self explanatory. We are natives of the digital era, it is basically second nature to us. I've witnessed many differences in the ways that I personally use technology and how some of my teachers use technology. To some of my older teachers, using technology means just using an Elmo to project what we are writing onto the board, but to some of my younger teachers, using technology means playing Kahoots, creating quizlets, and doing interactive lessons online. I've found that I've grasped the material better when we are efficiently using technology in fun ways. Technology was partly present in my classroom, so I expect when I have students that it will be the only thing in the classroom and will be used everyday.