Digital Students

The previous blog details how the NETS standards are being used in schools today. In this blog, my goal is to discuss  how students today are different than previous generations: They are digital; and how teachers today can attain these NETS standards.

There is no doubt that the world of education has drastically changed from even that of seven or eight years ago. Today, most school districts- even poorer, urban schools that I have sent significant time in have at least three or four computers in every classroom. I have been in classrooms where students under the age of ten years old have cell phones, PSP's, and ipods, among other electronic gadgets. Technology has certainly changed the way that learning occurs in today's classrooms. With the excetion of only a few school districts, most have the use of smart board technology. Introducing smart board to the classroom has been a major change in the way that teachers teach and students learn. I can remember being either a freshman or sophomore in high school and being introduced to a smart board. We thought it was amazing! But, that was the first and last day I had ever seen a smart board until a little over one year ago. It is now about eight years since my first introduction to the device. Today, it is almost unheard of for students to not know what a smart board is. Students are being introduced to this technology in Kindergarten and use it all the way through high school. Advances in technology mean that students are consistently exposed to information that is colorful, fast- paced, and interactive. So how do we as teachers come up with this?

Just as there are NETS standards for students, there are also NETS standards for teachers which help us to incorporate this wonderul new technology into our lessons.Teachers create lessons often by using the technology for themselves first. (The internet is a great source to find new ideas.) After searching for ideas, teachers then use videos, powerpoints, graphs, charts, pictures, etc. to show students visual representations. After completing the lessons, the teacher may have students work collaboratively in groups to look up more information. Or, if the teacher knows that students have access to computers at home, they may have student submit assignments online. If this is the case, the technology can also be used as a tool to communicate with students' family members and provide feedback for each individual student. 

As stated in my previous blog entry, I believe that the most important thing that a teacher can do when working with technology (or in general) is remain informed. Attend training and informational meetings. The more that we know, the more we can help to guide our students.

Until next time...