Technologies Anonymous

Hello Everybody, my name is Destiney and I am addicted to technology.


*Claps* "Hello, Destiney."

Even though my brain did not really function at too high of a level in class today, there are a few thoughts I would like to get out before my brain shuts down for the night (its not even 10:30pm yet..uh oh)

In class, we talked about the efficiency, the quantity and currency of information, the organization, excitement, and the standardization of technology in our age; but we did not address the expectations that come along with those qualities.

I think that one HUGE aspect of technology is how readily available it is to the average..again, average person.

We answer emails on our phones because we can

We text because we can,

We Facebook because we can

We Google because we can

We do everything but call people because we don’t have to!

I mean…why actually speak to someone when you can just have an impersonal text-based conversation that has no emotion what so ever? (except for those who use emoticons incessantly, like myself J) Because WE CAN!

On a personal level, I am embarrassed to say that I am attached to my iphone like its an appendage. I don’t want to be but in an age when you don’t have a landline and are never home I feel as though I don’t have a choice (in reality I do, let me be honest with myself). We also mentioned in class that we give up on discussions because we can simply Google the answer to a question, so much that we’re losing touch with the conversation.

So the point of all of that was to address the expectations that come with everyone having technology. We all expect everyone to be easily accessible, everyone will respond in a timely fashion to everything. When shockingly! This is not the case. I am making it a personal mission to not be as accessible as I normally am..which is proving to be quite difficult for me as some can imagine.

So kind of in conclusion, I think we as individuals and especially as teachers need to pay close attention to the delicate balance of technology within our everyday lives because if we don’t keep it in locked down we will have tv shows like “Intervention iphone” or something before we know it!

John Dewey say wut?!

I would first off like to admit that until just now, I had no idea who John Dewey was or how he contributed to the field of Education. An in all honesty was a tad lost when he was referenced in the previous weeks. That being said, I now know a little bit about his ideals and thoughts.

In the article titled “A Significant Contributor to the Field of Educational Technology,” by Peter Rich and Thomas C. Reeves they bring up some points that Dewey makes. I am not sure if he is the first person to deduce that learning through experiences is the best way to learn but Rich and Reeves make it sound as though Dewey was the creator of the idea.  They also introduce what seems to be a misinterpretation of something Dewey again, pioneered- the “student-centered” approach to education. I do not quite understand how someone could interpret that phrase literally and expect the teacher to be completely absent from the classroom.

            In the article written by John Dewey himself titled “My Pedagogic Creed,” Dewey makes quite declarative statements about his belief system surrounding education. While I agree that the school should be thought of as a community, I find it hard to believe that its sole purpose is to fuel the social life of the children it serves.  Most of the beliefs that Dewey lays out make sense and I can agree with some of them’ however, it is the last one that I am having trouble with. He states, “ I believe that in this way the teacher always is the prophet of the true God and the usherer in of the true kingdom of God.” I am not quite sure what to make of this and am actually quite baffled because of the supposed separation of religion from public education in the United States. Thoughts?

Participate Much?

 "The mediocre teacher tells. The good teacher explains. The superior teacher demonstrates. The great teacher inspires."-William Arthur Ward

Until June 2012 I did not want to be a teacher. If someone asked me “What are you going to do with a French and History double-major? Teach?” I would’ve said “No” so fast their head would’ve spun. I have always liked children and have babysat since I can remember; however, it was not until I worked in an Early Childhood Development environment that Education as a career was cemented in stone in my mind and in my future. Since June 3^rd, my life has been a crazy whirlwind of ambiguity at its finest.

We had to take the GRE. We were told to take the MTTC, the OPIC; a test on BBP, and we have done CPR’s and CCA’s. And a bowl of alphabet soup’s worth of Learning Disability names and identifiers.  We have asked a thousand questions about the dress code and have made countless excel sheets.

I can say with confidence that I have never participated in any class I have ever taken as much as I participate in the MAC classes. If you ask my classmates, that may or may not be a good thing. BUT I am enjoying what we are doing so far. J Technology is a huge part of education these days but as I was drawing my “Ideal Classroom” I was thinking back to the last time I wrote a paper on my computer. It took me FOREVER. Writing a three-page paper took me an entire day because I was so distracted with everything but the paper, so in my classroom I did not have computers. I had typewriters. Mull that over will you? I’m really curious what other people think because no one really commented on it in class.

Have a good weekend everybody!

Tapping into old tech: Typewriters make a comeback

In the previous post I mention using typewriters in class instead of computers. In class everyone seemed surprised by that. The story I heard it in is called Tapping into old tech: Typewriters make a comeback and its from the NBC Nightly News. There is also a story in USA Today about how typewriters are making a comeback in general. Some of the points are pretty interesting.

à bientôt mes amis 

My Ideal Classroom..a drawing

Today in class, We were asked to draw a picture of  our classroom. Mine included typewriters, which seemed to confuse/shock my classmates.