Digital Learning When I started this course I felt that I had a solid background in technology and literacy. However, what I found is that there is always room to grow and learn. I became immediately aware of some of my strengths and also the areas that I could improve, as took time to self-reflect, listen to different voices/ideas of my peers, and dug a little deeper into resources and research. This I believe can assist me in become more technically literate. Ironically, I am always telling my pre-service teachers that effective teaching goes for depth verses breadth. Yet as I think about where I thought I was in my learning, I am finding that I still have only touched the surface in this digital world I am touring. I am finding myself repeated over and over I didn’t know that or that is interesting. I am starting to learn many new and exciting ideas, especially from my peers through the varied discussions. I have been impressed with the safe and risk free climate and wonderful ideas, after reading the diverse perspectives of my peers. The dialog interactions are exciting, supportive, and motivating. I feel and have asked questions and answered many questions. Talking online and sharing ideas and concepts I really never thought about the impact it has on a student and now that I have assumed the role of a student I can see the benefits. I have used the Library of Congress before in my classes and it was always enjoyable and interactive for my students and myself. However, the searches were always on a specific topic and I have not gone for as much depth as I did with this tour. I found myself saying wow that is neat I could use that lesson plan or I can get that primary source on PDF. I was surprised at the depth of information that you can unravel. I felt that I have only been skating across the surface! In reality I have just bounced through the digital world as noted by Bell (2010). Bell’s, article Belltones: What Kids Know (and Don’t Know) About Technology, discussed that it was often assumed that children today are “Digital Natives” because of their experiences growing up with technology. She claims that children are very comfortable with using and exploring technology but they have no depth when it comes to searching, evaluating sites, or staying safe (Bell, 2010). She applied the term “bouncing” from the work of David Loertscher which he contends to describe when an adult of child just types in a term in the browser and moves quickly from one resource to another (Bell, 2010). I think this described where I was at the beginning of this class. However, I am learning and growing as I dig deeper. Reference Bell, M.A., (2010). Belltones: What kids Know (and Don’t Know) About Technology http://www.mmischools.com/Articles/Column/Belltones/BELLTONES-What-Kids-Know-%28and-Done28099t-Know%29-About-Technology-60473.aspx
When I started this course I felt that I had a solid background in technology and literacy. However, what I found is that there is always room to grow and learn. I became immediately aware of some of my strengths and also the areas that I could improve, as took time to self-reflect, listen to different voices/ideas of my peers, and dug a little deeper into resources and research. This I believe can assist me in become more technically literate.
Ironically, I am always telling my pre-service teachers that effective teaching goes for depth verses breadth. Yet as I think about where I thought I was in my learning, I am finding that I still have only touched the surface in this digital world I am touring. I am finding myself repeated over and over I didn’t know that or that is interesting. I am starting to learn many new and exciting ideas, especially from my peers through the varied discussions.
I have been impressed with the safe and risk free climate and wonderful ideas, after reading the diverse perspectives of my peers. The dialog interactions are exciting, supportive, and motivating. I feel and have asked questions and answered many questions. Talking online and sharing ideas and concepts I really never thought about the impact it has on a student and now that I have assumed the role of a student I can see the benefits.
I have used the Library of Congress before in my classes and it was always enjoyable and interactive for my students and myself. However, the searches were always on a specific topic and I have not gone for as much depth as I did with this tour. I found myself saying wow that is neat I could use that lesson plan or I can get that primary source on PDF. I was surprised at the depth of information that you can unravel. I felt that I have only been skating across the surface! In reality I have just bounced through the digital world as noted by Bell (2010).
Bell’s, article Belltones: What Kids Know (and Don’t Know) About Technology, discussed that it was often assumed that children today are “Digital Natives” because of their experiences growing up with technology. She claims that children are very comfortable with using and exploring technology but they have no depth when it comes to searching, evaluating sites, or staying safe (Bell, 2010). She applied the term “bouncing” from the work of David Loertscher which he contends to describe when an adult of child just types in a term in the browser and moves quickly from one resource to another (Bell, 2010). I think this described where I was at the beginning of this class. However, I am learning and growing as I dig deeper.
Reference
Bell, M.A., (2010). Belltones: What kids Know (and Don’t Know) About Technology
http://www.mmischools.com/Articles/Column/Belltones/BELLTONES-What-Kids-Know-%28and-Done28099t-Know%29-About-Technology-60473.aspx