Interactive Whiteboards

This past Saturday I went to a Future Math and Science Teacher's Conference. It was set up really nicely and I definitely got a lot out of it. One of the workshop sessions they had to offer was a lesson on how to use an Interactive Whiteboard. I have used one once before while teaching a math lesson at my old middle school and even then I was incredibly impressed with its capabilities. Now that I have gone through this workshop and have a better understanding of all that it has to offer I am even more impressed. My old middle school math teacher decided to do away with his textbooks and spend that money on installing a SmartBoard. I think this was a really good idea and certainly an investment for the future. It's too bad more teachers don't follow his lead. It is also too bad that aspiring teachers need to attend workshops to get a handle on new technology. I think there should be a course that goes over all the things you can do with an interactive whiteboard... because there sure is a lot!

Digital Immigrants vs Digital Native Blogs

Last week I wrote a Hot Topics paper that was about Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants. This was a subject that I had never heard of until I was assigned to write about contentious issues dealing with technology. While researching the topic I found that there were several people who believed that teachers labeled as "Digital Immigrants" (or those who are uncomfortable with technology) are inadequate teachers for the new, digital generation. In my paper I stated that we do need to incorporate technology with learning but that doesn't mean that those teachers who are not digitally inclined aren't getting through to their students in a positive way.

I thought it was ironic because today as I was searching through educational blogs for something to write about in my own blog, I came across a woman from Mass who shared a similar view on the whole idea of "Digital Immigrants" teaching "Digital Native" students. Kathy Schrock wrote, "Many so-called digital immigrants, teachers who came later to the technology arena, are doing a wonderful job infusing technology meaningfully into teaching and learning. These tech-savvy educators are teaching to the current generation of so-called digital natives in ways that support these students' varied learning styles." I think her blog will be one that I continue to follow.

Louis CK "Everything is amazing, and nobody is happy"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LoGYx35ypus

I thought this youtube video was extremely true and incredibly funny so I had to share it. It gives a comedic spin on how much our society takes each new innovation of technology for granted. We have become so impatient and don't realize that half the things we do these days are actually incredible feats that we should marvel at. However, because we are used to having everything happen instantaneously we consider any little glitch to be a complete hassle. It really made me think about all the technology that I use on a day to day bases that often doesn't even cross my mind.