Blog 1

Advancements in technology like computers, mobile devices, video production, and the way we read books have heavily influenced the way teachers run their classrooms. Teacher's technological literacy is important not only for the way teachers convey information to students, but also to prepare students to use certain kinds of technology in the twenty-first century. The International Society of Technology in Education defines the technological standards for both teachers and students. These skills are evaluated using the National Educational Technology Standards. Many states include technology standards as part of teacher certification. Students are influenced to use different kinds of technology to learn not only by the society in which they live, but also by their personality type and learning styles. For instance, a student who is a more visual leaner might process information from a PowerPoint presentation better than he or she would from an audio book.

After reading through the ISTE standards for educators on their official website, I believe that the standards they have in place are sound and coherent. However, for an teacher to meet the standards defined but the ISTE seems like a lot of time and energy on top of everything else that is expected of an educator from day to day. This seems especially true since our modern technological society continues to change so rapidly. I am a strong believer in the "analyst" standard teachers should use research data to better drive and support their instruction and to promote student learning (even if that data says that students typically learn better when taking notes with pen and paper!!). One of the standards that may currently be outside of my skill set is the "designer" standard in which teachers should create activities that engage and accommodate different styles of learners. I believe that this is a very important skill to have, but that it will take a lot of trial and error to be good at it.

I do believe in the label "digital native" for my generation. People our age have never really known anything outside of the rapid technologically-advanced society. Perhaps even more so with the kids younger than us, it seems like young people have an automatic understanding of technology. For example, my six-year-old cousin can send a text message while my grandmother is still trying to figure it out. The biggest technological gap I have noticed between my generation and our teachers is the way we read books. So many people have converted to eBooks via tablets, Kindels, and even smart phones while the generations older than us prefer the hard copy. I imagine that as a teacher there will be certain technologies that I feel comfortable using that will become outdated. For instance, I myself am still a believer in the physical book, but it is possible that paper books will become a thing of the past.