Blog Post 3

Michael Wesch: A Vision of Students Today  
I think in most cases this video was spot on representing the classroom setting in colleges today.  I did not really have this particular problem until I went to a four year university.  My first two years was completed at a community college.  It was a smaller atmosphere were there was maybe thirty to thirty five students in a classroom.  The teachers seemed to really want to know who you were for the most part.  I can not think of particular teacher that made me feel they were unapproachable or they did not care.  It was when I transferred to a four year university, not the University of South Alabama, that I could relate my college experience to this video.  I thought it was crazy that to my professors I was just a number, or a folder on the table.  I felt I was wasting my money because I was not really getting anything out of my classes.  I did not like the system so much that I ended up taking a break and regrouped to figure things out.
I thought the video was great the only thing I would have added to it would be to go to different areas of the college.  I think it would have been a good shot to see someone actually buying there books and showing how much they cost.  The campus library would be a good area to shot to see what the students were having to study and for how long because they didn't understand what the professor was talking about.  You could even go to a students place of work to see how many hours they work to pay for their education.  I think it is a great topic that should be addressed more.

"It's Not About the Technology" by Kelly Hines
I thought Mrs. Hines post was very true.  I particularly liked the part about how learning and teaching are not the same thing.  A teacher can talk all day long about a particular topic and the if the students did not comprehend what was being taught then the students didn't learn anything.   I agree with the comment that she said about how teaching in the 21st century will be about working smarter, not harder.  I think there is a lot of truth to that.  
When Mrs. Hines wrote that good teachers must also be good learners it made me think.  Of course I know as educators we will always be learning new things, but I was kind of only thinking inside of the box about that topic.  I think it is a great point that we will need to know where our students come from.  Now that I think about it, it is very important to stay up to date with trends of the time, and what new thing is out there that the students want.  I think if we do these things then we could be more relateable to the students as a whole.
The topic on how technology is useless without good teaching is a very important point.  A teacher can have all of the new technology equipment out there but if they do not know how to get the lesson across to the class then it is useless.  If you already have a great lesson why not enhance it by using technology.  Lets face it students today love to use technology, but I don't think teachers should use it as a crutch for there lessons because they don't know how to teach the topic.


Karl Fisch: Is It Okay to Be A Technologically Illiterate Teacher?  
I had never thought of technology in the way that Karl Fisch wrote about.  Now that I have read this my thinking has changed.  I have always been one of those people to say I don't like technology, and now that I think about it, it seems more like that I didn't understand how to use technology.  After reading this I have realized that technology is not going anywhere so I might as well learn all I can about it.
I think it is a good point on how being technology illiterate today is comparable to not being able to read and write in the 20th century.  I think it is important as educators that not only do we become educated in the technology field but we stay up to date with it as well.  So to answer the question "Is It Okay To Be A Technology Illiterate Teacher?"  I would have to say in the 21st century no it is not okay.  We have to learn all areas of education and technology should be one of them.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count
I personally think it is amazing how fast the Social Media Count grew in a matter of seconds.  I think social media is useful in a lot of different areas for example getting information, staying in contact with people, or even keeping up with what is going on in the world.  As for what does this mean for my career I think it means I need to stay up to date with the technology world.  If these are the thing my students are using on a daily bases then I should become familiar with them.