Response to Alvermann chp. 3

Ok, in reading chapter 3 in the Alvermann book I realize how guilty I have been of doing some of the very things criticized in the reading. The section starting on pg. 42 which refers to using the term 'playing' in regards to what students do on computers and with various forms of technology is something that I know I have been guilty of thinking. Perhaps this is why I am continually amazing myself (not in a good way!) with how stuffy my views were on the latest emerging technology. I say 'were' because I really do want to change them! I am trying to open up my eyes to see the educational opportunities that exist in the realm of technology. While I am reluctant to some of this change, I also recognize the importance in obtaining (and maintaining) a way to identify with my future students, and hopefully someday with my own children. I know that I speak for other [potential] teachers in saying that often this technology is threatening on so many levels, and hence it seems easier to downplay its importance or validity. It stems solely from the insecurity and inferiority of the teacher, with the knowledge that their own students have the key to this entirely distant world of information. Because it sometimes seems complex and utterly foreign, it gets knocked down and referred to as 'play'. Are the students just that much more insightful than us? Are they able to more accurately sense what our future will be like? There is truly something to be said for this innate ability in so many children and adolescents today to just sit with ease in front of various forms of media/technology and figure out how to utilize them as well as their emerging importance in everyday life.
I am loving this notion that a teacher's knowledge is no longer the sacred set of words that exit her/his mouth during a lesson, but rather an exchange of SHARED information between her students and herself. What do you think?

a refreshing change

For anyone who may be interested -- I have just recently gotten my 6-year-old iMac updated with new software and a lot more storage space, so I can now blog on my own computer for the first time! To all of you PC users this might seem silly, but for much of my college career I have struggled to find ways to make my operating system compatible with some of the websites and blogs for several classes. Now with fingers crossed, there should be no more freezing on common websites or inability to access sites. In addition, I promise you will see me posting more on my blog as well as responding to others'! As per Prof. Stearns' request, I have changed the colors on my blog -- please tell me if it is easier to read now . . . .

Ok, since I have no idea how to get my original post on my first blog into this beta blog, today will appear to be my first post. I am hoping by next week I will be able to post much more frequently, since by then my iMac will be updated/fixed and I won't have to jump on other computers just to be able to blog! I didn't realize how 'old' and 'outdated' my poor computer was until I came back to school last year and began work on my MAT degreee, finding that many of the class websites and blogs were simply unaccessible from my personal computer. I know this rambling seems pointless, but it actually is serving as a segue into my response to the Alvermann chapter (2) that we read for tonight's class. You see, when I was a child and pre-teen I was not engrossed in a television, computer, or videogame. I spent so much of my free time readingt on my own, and I never felt that I was missing out on something. All of my friends had their sport of choice that they focused on as well (instead of a sport I chose to dance), but today it seems that children/teens play their sport, go to school, and then spend so much more time (where could this time even come from?) immersed in some of the latest technology. I don't know if I am better or worse off (or neither) as a result, but I know that I was not immersed in the dichotomy that so many young people are today; spending several hours a day listening to and watching teachers at school, and then spending several more hours listening to or watching someone or something on a digital screen.
I loved the phrase 'attention economy' that Michael Goldhaber used in response to the 'abundance of information' floating through our world today. Although that phrase may have been designated for a reference to the business world, I am choosing to look at it in terms of its effects on students today. In the same scenario as above, I have noticed in my experiences in the high schools in the past few years that the students are literally being bombarded with information at all times. At some points it is the choice of the students, those who opt to spend hours on the computer after school rather than play sports, but either way I can only imagine how tedious it must be to assimilate so much at once, especially at the elementary or middle school level. Don't get me wrong, I do not favor students playing sports over spending time on the computer/playing video games/watching television, or vice versa. I don't have a preference over any of these, BUT when I read this chapter I thought about how different things were (or seemed) just 15 years ago when I was a child. Even as a graduate student I often feel overwhelmed in this age of technology, where being in this class has really brought to my attention just how much I need to learn about technology! If the students are lucky enough to have their own computer, videogames, iPod, and whatever else I'm missing -- I have to wonder, do they even know how much information is being thrown their way at all times? Or are they that good at the balancing act that I shouldn't be having pity on them in this overwhelming time, but rather congratulating them on their ability to understand and respond to it all? And finally, I wonder if their attention spans are growing or shrinking as a result of this abundance of information?