Week 1 Video Reflections

I began this week's assignment by viewing the five videos listed. While I found each one to have relevance to the changing educational experience, the video entitled "Not on the Test" was an entertaining reminder of just how different the learning environments have seemingly become within the public school system. Having grown up in a family of public school teachers and having recently returned to working within the schools, I can see how state standards and testing practices are having negative effects on both teachers and students. The video addresses the fact that if information is not on a required test, it is not taught within the schools and extracurricular activities that the students often enjoy (such as art and music) are steadily declining in schools in order to "allow for more test preparation". I see how much pressure students and teachers are under to ensure that their test scores are satisfactory and I have witnessed numerous occasions where students miss out on important learning opportunities because they are pulled from classes (deemed not as important because they are not state tested subjects) in order to help "prepare" them for the subjects that are. I have seen this happen many times in the subject area of social studies because for many of the lower grade levels, this is not a state tested subject. For someone who is passionate about learning history, I feel as though we are truly doing our students a disservice when we take away those learning opportunities, all in an effort to get them to perform a certain way on a state test. Every subject should be considered important. As teachers, I feel that it is our job to help prepare students for life outside the classroom and if all they take away from their educational experience are skills that help them do well on a test, then I think we have not succeeded in truly teaching them. 

The video entitled "Web 2.0... The Machine is Us/ing Us" was an interesting look at how much the advancements in technology have changed the learning process to more of a connected learning experience. Perhaps I am dating myself a bit, but I remember my time in middle school where learning on a computer meant learning code that you could enter to make certain words or objects appear on the screen. Today, technology has advanced so much that thanks to Web 2.0 technologies, learning in a traditional sense is becoming an increasingly collaborative experience. The exchange of information is not as limited on computers as it once was and as a result, the educational environment is changing as well.

I liked the way that the video "Did You Know 4.0" illustrated the ways in which changes in technology have impacted our everyday lives. It is amazing to think about the massive number of communication/ technological devices that have become a standard part of our daily environment. We are truly living in a world that seems to be constantly connected. Whether through television, radio, computers, cell phones, etc. very little happens that the world can not know about in a matter of minutes. Computers have truly changed the way that people communicate and sometimes I wonder if these changes are all positive. As more individuals turn to the use of technology to gain information, I wonder if traditional "face to face" interactions and communication skills will steadily become things of the past. I have already seen how the use of texting language has transitioned into the classroom learning environment. Working with elementary students, I have seen how terms that they use when texting lead show up in their writing and often lead them to have difficulty with proper spelling and expressing their thoughts completely. While this may not seem like a huge issue, I can say from my perspective, that it is definitely impacting the learning environment and will in turn, have an impact on teaching as well. While increased connectivity through technology can have drawbacks, the fact that people around the world can share information is also an exciting thing from an educational standpoint. As a teacher, I think that the proper use of these new technologies could enhance the students' classroom learning experience.

As a teacher, I think that the final two videos entitled "Academia 2.0" and "A Vision of K-12 Students" both highlighted just how the rapid changes and advancements in technology have impacted and continue to impact the learning/ teaching environments within both standard and higher education. I was reminded just how much students in today's society and the future generations have become accustomed to the integration of technology in their everyday lives, but often, that same technology is lacking or nonexistent in their classrooms. The videos bring up the point that as educators, in order for the students to be truly engaged in what they are learning, the information must be relevant and they need to be able to take some ownership in the learning process. I would like to believe that all teachers want these things for their students, but due to the rapid changes in technology and the way in which their students learn, they are often at a loss as to how to achieve these goals. I know that it is becoming increasingly essential that I learn to incorporate new technologies into my instruction if I want to be an effective teacher and that is why I am actively seeking to learn more about how I can do so. With that being said however, that points that were highlighted in these last two videos acknowledge the fact that too often, the educational system fails to keep up with changing technology. I would like to offer the idea that while some theories (such as the fact that teachers are often scared to learn new technologies) might be true, there are also other obstacles that often hinder a teacher from being able to incorporate new technologies into the classroom. Having grown up in and currently working in a rural school district, I think that many times, lack of funding and resources, as well as proper training are often the biggest hurdles for teachers being able to use more technology with their students. Perhaps, as I learn more about the technologies available, I will also discover ideas to help overcome such obstacles.