Technology has become an essential
tool in everyday life. It is essential for schools to grasp the concepts of
technology and incorporate these concepts in their classrooms to educate students
to use the tools that technology offers them. It is the teacher’s
responsibility to be aware and understanding of both the positive and the
negative effects that these technologies have on education. The three technologies
that have been the most influential on the ways that I learn new information
are my cell phone, social networking, and my iPad. These technologies have both
positive and negative influence on my learning process, and I will compare
these influences with the influences that others have shown in the video “Learning to Change,
Changing to Learn" from the Consortium for
School Networking.
Just as the young woman stated in
the video, my cell phone is an extension of my arm. My cell phone is a
connection between the outside world and myself. Cell phones, however, have
been viewed negatively in schools throughout my public education. They have
been deemed a distraction from learning, and this is valid when using to have conversations
with peers instead of pay attention in class. However, with the way technology
has been advancing, cell phones are no longer solely used for text messaging
with peers. My cell phone has become my academic planner, pocket dictionary,
adobe PDF reader, personal weather and news reporter, compass, world map,
translator, and so much more. Cell phones have drastically changed the ways
that information is accessed, and schools have yet to utilize this plethora of
untapped information.
Information is commonly shared and
distributed over the web, but I find the most common area to find information
that interests me specifically is through social networking. Sites such as
Pinterest and Youtube share tutorials and instructions to learn anything that
you can think of. The videos on Youtube have helped me to understand math
formulas that were unclear, skills that I use for baking and cooking, and even
how to do my make up to look more professional. While Pinterest has shown me a
collection of posts from established teacher blogs that show unique and
interesting ways to teach. In the video, the boy mentioned that he loves to
tweet and that he follows MC Hammer. He is developing his reading and writing
skills through this technology! However, a downfall to the social networks is
the negative comments and cyber bulling that is abundant on these sites. This
negative energy disrupts the productive learning environment created by these
sites.
My iPad has also become an essential
part of the way I learn. It offers instantaneous access to the internet and is
a tool that allows me to be an expert in any subject that crosses my way. It
has also become a bookshelf for my school textbooks, which enables me to carry
books for nearly all my classes around with me while only carrying 1.44 pounds.
With the electronic editions of my textbooks, I am able to search the text for
certain words, highlight and un-highlight, add side notes, and go to a separate
“notebook” in the app that will compose all of these notes in chronological
order. Also, there is an abundance of apps to provide logically organized and
easily accessible information. Some of these apps include the Common Core
Curriculum Standards, Mint, Wolfram Alpha, BlackBoard, and many more. However,
the iPad is a distraction as well. For as many productive and educational apps
there are, there are at least as many mindless and un-educational games available
as well.
Overall, most of the technology
influences my educational life the same as the young students in the video. We
all use technology for their social aspects, and find that even the social
aspects provide an educational experience. We also differ in the ways that
technology has influenced our lives in the respect that their classrooms seemed
to have embraced technology. Before coming to college, we did not use blogs or
web pages to further reinforce concepts learned in class.
