Digital Natives
Today I will be discussing my experience
with MS Word, my thoughts on the ISTE Standards for Educators, and my beliefs surrounding the idea of a "digital native".
I have been using MS Word consistently since about 7th grade. Before this, we usually wrote our papers and did our assignments with pen and paper. I like the Word has a clean organized layout. The program is intuitive, but it also has additional features, such as word art, for more advanced users. One thing I don’t like about Word is that it’s not very easy to be creative with it. Adding pictures and drawing on documents is not as easy as it is on other software such as Apple’s Pages. I also like that Pages is easy to share with other iPhone users and documents are easily combined into the same file.
My favorite ISTE Standards for Educators are the role the educator plays as the “Designer” and the “Collaborator”. As a designer, the educator’s role is to create student led activities where the students can learn to be confident and independent in technology. Not only are the student’s learning to be independent in technology, but they are also able to create a learning space that’s best for them. I think it’s important that the teachers encourages learners to be creative and explore technology. The collaborator encourages students to build a digital support system and to learn from and collaborate with friends and mentors. The collaborator encourages teamwork in the classroom and outside of class. The educator also enhances the learners global awareness by bringing in guest speakers over zoom or connecting them with others from around the world. I think its important that students learn teamwork skills and learn how to communicate with those different from themselves.
A digital native is an individual who grew up during the modern digital age, which is considered anyone born after the 1980s. There are a couple misconceptions about digital natives that I would like to address. First of all, there is a conception that the new generation of “digital natives” only likes to play games and look at their phone all day. Being born after 1980 does not mean you are a brainless gamer who has no desire to achieve any goals in life. Everyone like games, whether computer, board games, or sports. And If we can learn via computer games then why shouldn’t we. I also don’t like the assumption that people from new generations don’t like to read and spend all of their time watching T.V. Television has captivated the eyes of America for 60 years now. And before television, people found other meaningless ways to keep busy which didn’t always include reading. In fact, a lot of people from older generations didn’t know how to read and if they did, they spent most of their time reading the newspapers or magazines. Not only that, but there are plenty of educational stations for adults and kids on T.V. I also don’t believe that being born into technology is a causation for being better at it. As we discussed in class, SES, environment, and personality all influence our computer competency skills. Hand-eye coordination is also something that influences our competency with computer use. Those with better hand eye coordination are more likely to find technology easier to pick up. Like riding a bike, one we understand the general gist of technology, it becomes a skill that we can never forget. Overall, I think that, like every activity in life, technology is beneficial when in moderation and as long as it is paired with a diverse learning environment that includes physical learning. I also think anyone can enjoy and learn how to comfortably use technology no matter their age.
I have been using MS Word consistently since about 7th grade. Before this, we usually wrote our papers and did our assignments with pen and paper. I like the Word has a clean organized layout. The program is intuitive, but it also has additional features, such as word art, for more advanced users. One thing I don’t like about Word is that it’s not very easy to be creative with it. Adding pictures and drawing on documents is not as easy as it is on other software such as Apple’s Pages. I also like that Pages is easy to share with other iPhone users and documents are easily combined into the same file.
My favorite ISTE Standards for Educators are the role the educator plays as the “Designer” and the “Collaborator”. As a designer, the educator’s role is to create student led activities where the students can learn to be confident and independent in technology. Not only are the student’s learning to be independent in technology, but they are also able to create a learning space that’s best for them. I think it’s important that the teachers encourages learners to be creative and explore technology. The collaborator encourages students to build a digital support system and to learn from and collaborate with friends and mentors. The collaborator encourages teamwork in the classroom and outside of class. The educator also enhances the learners global awareness by bringing in guest speakers over zoom or connecting them with others from around the world. I think its important that students learn teamwork skills and learn how to communicate with those different from themselves.
A digital native is an individual who grew up during the modern digital age, which is considered anyone born after the 1980s. There are a couple misconceptions about digital natives that I would like to address. First of all, there is a conception that the new generation of “digital natives” only likes to play games and look at their phone all day. Being born after 1980 does not mean you are a brainless gamer who has no desire to achieve any goals in life. Everyone like games, whether computer, board games, or sports. And If we can learn via computer games then why shouldn’t we. I also don’t like the assumption that people from new generations don’t like to read and spend all of their time watching T.V. Television has captivated the eyes of America for 60 years now. And before television, people found other meaningless ways to keep busy which didn’t always include reading. In fact, a lot of people from older generations didn’t know how to read and if they did, they spent most of their time reading the newspapers or magazines. Not only that, but there are plenty of educational stations for adults and kids on T.V. I also don’t believe that being born into technology is a causation for being better at it. As we discussed in class, SES, environment, and personality all influence our computer competency skills. Hand-eye coordination is also something that influences our competency with computer use. Those with better hand eye coordination are more likely to find technology easier to pick up. Like riding a bike, one we understand the general gist of technology, it becomes a skill that we can never forget. Overall, I think that, like every activity in life, technology is beneficial when in moderation and as long as it is paired with a diverse learning environment that includes physical learning. I also think anyone can enjoy and learn how to comfortably use technology no matter their age.
Comments
Post a Comment