Zig Zag

After watching the Dr. Scott McLeod’s video for today’s class, we contemplated whether technology is a help or a hinderance in the learning process.  Questions were asked such as, “Why do so many of our students seem to lack the creativity, motivation, ability to remember what they have learned before?”  Educators’ questions continue forever, especially when faced with the the paradox of teaching a student something in fifth grade only to have to reteach it in 6th, 7th, 8th, …..12th grade!  Are students losing intelligence?  Are computors, videogames, i-phones, the internet, etc. getting in their way?  Students no longer believe they need to learn how to spell-they have spell check; students no longer believe they need to tie their shoes-they have slip ons; students no longer need to multiply or divide-that’s what their calculator is for; why think?-we have google! 

Well, before I bash technology and advancements too much, I also see excellent ways to use technology to provide access to scholarly sources and as a tool for reaching higher-level thinking in a faster, more convenient, and ultimately time-saving way.  For instance, my students researched in the library today, but they were not researching a .com or google site; instead, they visited JSTOR and the Literary Resource Center to access scholarly criticism.  Rather than spending hour upon hour cruising down the dusty stacks of now worn and dusty books, they can reach thousands of articles in a matter of seconds no matter where in the world they happen to be.  Guess what all of my lovely students going to Mexico, California, Hawaii, etc. over spring break, you can continue your research on the beach so long as you have acces to a computer with internet access…My students are as excited as I am! 

Today I have learned the definition of a blog.  The name “blog” is shortened from web log. (I think.)  Essentially, blogs are conversations. The organization of a blog post is different from a website because the site looks more like a journal, and it is organized by episodes with date and time rather than by chapters or a table of contents.  A benefit of blogging is the interactive aspect of getting to report and publish my own personal news or news of interest.  As Mike said during class, “News becomes a two-way street.”  One can give unique reactions and thoughts to other blogs, as well as inspire and motivate each other. 

In the future, I can see blogging becoming a useful tool in the classroom and as a professional educator.  In the classroom, activities and assignments could be managed using blogs.  Students could share comments about literature, class discussions, or even school events.  As an educator, blogging could be helpful in staying up to date on educational issues, advances, and news; furthermore, I could learn others’ opinions and ideas regarding these issues in addtion to sharing my own thoughts.