Digital Blog Post #A

Chapter 1

While reading the chapter, I was thinking about how our generation in school had short movies and tape players as electronic resources. Now, the book describes the “digital childhood”. Children from earliest ages get access to TVs, computers, smartphones and many videogames and videogame devices. When I go to work everyday as a preschool and afterschool teacher, I see that every day. We provide electrocic learning recourses for the children to use. Several websites like "Starfall" help children to learn beginning reading skills and pronouncing letter sounds. Sometimes, I let applications on my tablet read electronic stories to them or the children use beginner reading and spelling applications on it.

This video I found on www.youtube.com discusses if modern technology is good or not good for young children starting from toddler age. 

It is enormous and sometimes surprising how much young children know about the use of computers and other technology. But modern technology also can be an unsafe environment for younger children. On special days, children at our school are allowed to bring their own electronic devices to play video games. Some of these devices give children access to the internet. I think, it makes it hard to control which websites they are visiting while using their own little screens on smartphones or tablets. To me, the safest device for them to use is our school/class computer where teachers have better access to control the websites students are visiting. 

The book also talks about the Igeneration. This is the name for the children who never saw a world without computers, cellphones, text messages and other interactive technologies. While our generation as children and adolescents kept in touch with friendas through the telephone and traditional mail, todays children use Facebook, twitter, Skype and e-mail to talk to each other. Also, homework for school aged children made easier. While our generation had to turn pages of books to prepare for homeworks or projects for school, today s children just need a few clicks to get to the information they need. 

This article "Teaching the IGerneration" by Larry D. Rosen tells how technology controls the life of our children and suggests how schools need to respond to that. 

The book describes technology and the work of a teacher. Yes, I agree with the text that technology is a great reward of teaching. The book describes three primary ways. The first is “inside the classroom” where technology helps teaching the class. According to the book, tools listed are Power points, educational software and websites, student participation systems and teacher made blogs.

Like I mentioned, I use electronic stories and educational websites sometimes in my classroom. The second way is “Outside the Classroom” and some tools listed in the book are grade recordkeeping, research, home-school communication and educational networking. When I use the internet as a teacher, I do researching for projects and materials to use in my classroom and ideas to add into my weekly lesson plan. The third way of using technology as a teacher is Inside and Outside the classroom and some of the tools listed are Group projects, Homework assignments and creative writing. As a college student and full time working teacher, I attend online classes more than traditional class meetings. Some classes I attended used Learning software to submit assignments and do tests. Also these programs helped with examples and practice tests.

I am sure technology is very exciting and always developing further. It makes teachers and students lives much easier. We can work more closely with students trough internet and with the help of modern technology. Teachers, parents and family need to work together to help our children finding a safe, fun way of learning through new technology. 

Citations

The Denver Channel - 7 News (2013, July 28) - New technology causes concern about effect on childhood development (video file) retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DpBdQQlPCJg

Maloy R, O'Loughin R, Edwards S (2013) Transforming Learning with new technologies, 2nd edition, Pearson Education

Rosen, Larry D. (2011, July) Teaching the Igeneration (article) retrieved from http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/feb11/vol68/num05/Teaching-the-iGeneration.aspx