Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Being a "Techie"
Technology has always intimidated me. I've always been the last to sign up for any trend that includes technology. Email, Instant Messaging, on-line banking, Facebook, and web design I have put off learning as long as possible. However, after becoming acquainted with technology it has become a huge part of my lifestyle (although I still hate to admit it). By learning technology skills I have gained so much knowledge and now have a great deal of accessibility to any form of communication and/or information that I need. By the click of the mouse I can balance my check book, talk to a friend overseas, send photos to my grandmother, and much, much more! Although this is common sense to anyone who has grown up in my generation here, I still find these cell phone/iPod/computer/Internet devices (all in one) to be foreign. It blows my mind to see how fast technology has advanced. Just recently I was listening to my Pastor speak about how in the past SIX years technology has advanced three times as much as it had from the beginning of our earth to the year 2000!! That's crazy to think how fast computers and such are flying of the shelves to be replaced by a completely new model. I am curious to see what my students will have accessible to them in years to come. I also hope that through this class, and more confidence, as far as technology goes I will become much more educated about it and be able to utilize this in my classroom.
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I hear you. I'm wary of the whole experience of getting an iPod. I know myself, and I know that what would happen is that I would spend a day figuring out how to transfer my music collection onto (or into?) it, and then being the slightly obsessive-compulsive person that I am, I wouldn't be able to sleep until every last CD and song that I own was on that iPod. Then I'd lose it. So yeah, it's intimidating!
I am not "Tech-Savvy" either. However, I do know that because of this trend it is crucial that teachers learn to incorporate tech into the classroom. Students have become attached to their cell phones (heaven help us not to kill them when they go off in class) and spend more time on the computer using e-mail, IM, posting way too much info on myspace, etc than they probably should. What that means for us is that the way to grab their attention and to motivate them to learn is through tech...like it or not. I think before you know it you'll be a "techie" (of course by then way more new technology will be out and then you'll be left in the dust again-but hey, I'll be there with you).
About students and their cell phones ringing in class--I find my cell phone rings more often in class than my students' phones. The students I teach remember to put their telephones on vibrate--maybe because other teachers have taught them to do so. I, myself, am a horrible example.
In the Writing Center we've incorporated students' cell phone habits into our attempts to optimize our hours. When we get a cancelation, we phone and even text message students, many of whom get our notice while they're in a class and drop by to get help. We always say we'll call if they promise to not have their cell phone set to blast off in class.
Not always a techie myself, I delayed getting a cell phone until my family in North Carolina signed me up for one and sent it to me. They claimed they needed some way to contact me besides calling work. I'd ignore my home voicemail, and some of them didn't do email (my best means of contact). Now I am hard pressed to not chat on my phone the minute I sit down to eat in a restaurant, get in my car, or notice I have down time to myself.
Recent technology has forever changed the relationship of teacher and student. Students are now the experts and teachers are just trying to keep up. As Richardson says, we are immigrants in the tech world. Personally, I think this is a good thing. This knowledge base empowers students.
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