It is truly amazing how much technology has evolved over the
last decade and how useful it is in everyday life as well as education. As I
sat in teacher development last week the speaker made a point of saying how
important it is to include technology in music education. The speaker then went
on to say that there are two different types of people who use technology: a
digital native and a digital immigrant. Bauer (2014) states, “Today’s youth
have been characterized as digital natives, having grown up in a technologically
rich world. In contrast, many adults are digital immigrants, not born into the
digital age but having come to it later in their lives.” I found this to be
very interesting and yet very true. Here is a great video on digital natives:
last decade and how useful it is in everyday life as well as education. As I
sat in teacher development last week the speaker made a point of saying how
important it is to include technology in music education. The speaker then went
on to say that there are two different types of people who use technology: a
digital native and a digital immigrant. Bauer (2014) states, “Today’s youth
have been characterized as digital natives, having grown up in a technologically
rich world. In contrast, many adults are digital immigrants, not born into the
digital age but having come to it later in their lives.” I found this to be
very interesting and yet very true. Here is a great video on digital natives:
I am a digital native, thus I have grown up with technology at my fingertips. As technology continues to evolve and take over the world, every year while sitting in professional development meetings the speaker always bring up technology. Lets face it, technology is an important part of teaching and learning. Now because of the type of teacher I am, I always freak out and try to come up with a dozen new ways to incorporate technology into my teaching. Though I use technology on a daily basis with my students, I definitely use technology more as a tool for myself. I fall into the category of lack of computers and support to do what I would like to do with my students.
When I run into any teaching issue whether it be behavior, lesson ideas, rubrics, lyrics, or bulletin board ideas I go to the Internet to find the answer. I teach in a large district with over 35 music teachers, who I never get to meet and plan with. When I have an issue I go to my “friends” and “colleagues” in my blogger world. Blogs are my favorite way to stay connected with other teachers and to see what others are doing in their classrooms all over the country. A few years back I wanted to create my own blog about my music room to stay in touch with parents and students, but this idea was shot down by my principle (a digital immigrant).
It is truly amazing how easy it is to create a digital community and support as a teacher today. New to me this week was the RSS technology. I love the idea that I don’t have to sift through old content all the time and its content that I can customize for what I need and want to keep up to date with. I use Facebook for most of my news and I get frustrated because stories from days ago will pop up and I feel the new stuff gets lost with the old. RSS is a great why to keep the content fresh and new.
Overall, this week has been a great way to look at how I utilize technology and remind me how much I really do use it in my classroom.
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