How Awesome is Technology?!
As I sit in the middle of no where watching my husband play softball, I remember I forgot to create an edmodo assignment for my class tomorrow. I know we will be out here pretty late and when we get home I will need to focus on getting kids ready for bed and packing lunches for tomorrow. By the time all of that is done, I will be one tired puppy and any hopes of remembering to post an assignment would not be promising. What’s a tech-loving teacher to do? Download the edmodo app and post from my phone if course! It is truly amazing how far we have come technologically speaking. In fact after downloading the app, creating and posting the assignment, I am now blogging from my phone as I shiver and cheer the grey team on!
One of the essays I read for my graduate class last week mentioned that this generation of students we are teaching has never NOT had Internet, wireless access, cell phones, or social media. It’s not a matter of teaching them how to use it but rather how to responsibly and respectfully contribute to the world wide canvas that is the Internet. In the same essay the author, Stephen Wilmarth, further explains that our students are no longer consumers alone. They are creators and contributors daily. If they update a status, tweet, blog, or upload they are contributing in ways that we never dreamed possible! I’m still amazed everyday when I post that people are actually reading what I write! And not only people I know, am related to, or work with either! Complete strangers from all over the world are reading my ramblings. It is an amazing feeling! I have more followers and friends online than I have ever had in real life!
This amazing sense of “no boundaries” means we need to be even more mindful of how we present ourselves on line. Digital citizenship is becoming a mandatory element in our curriculum. We must model it as well as provide written guidelines. Our students need to see teachers and parents using technology for all the good it can provide. They must also understand the consequences that are in place if it is used disrespectfully. Remember once the post/share/tweet/upload button is hit it is out there for the world to see and extremely difficult to completely erase. That being said, create on my friends! I love reading what you’re all up to!