Power of the Web

In the article, "The Power and Peril of Web 3.0," I learned a great deal of information. I believe that the author Jason Ohler brought up some pretty good points about the information we find on the web. As we all know, there is a great deal of personal information that is put on the web for many people to eventually find. In order to find the information we are looking for, we must be willing to evaluate our resources and see if they are valid resources.

I agree with Ohler because I think that students should learn how to search properly so that they find exactly what they are looking for. When we use the search bar, we get millions of hits upon our search; however, if we narrow down our search or focus on the main points, we may be able to find what we are looking for in a quicker fashion. I believe in order for this to occur, we, as educators, must be able to educate our students on the web. As the web continues to grow, there are more concepts we can begin to understand. We need to be able to educate students to look up appropriate information and not waste their time on searching every hit to see if that provides them research.

Although technology has its ups and downs, we need to be able to incorporate it into our everyday lives because it is only going to continue to grow. It provides another source of intelligence that we may find useful for some information. Even though it sounds like the easy way out of finding information or research, we are developing better skills in a technology sense. Instead of avoiding it, I believe educators need to be able to incoporate technology and the web into their classrooms now because we have time to plan for it before it grows at a faster rate.

Ohler, J. (2010, May). The Power and Peril of Web 3.0. Learning and Leading with Technolgy, 37(7), 14-17. Retrieved September 28, 2011, from http://www.learningandleading-digital.com/learning_leading/201005?pg=4#pg16

Where, Oh Where, Will Technology Take Us?

In the article, "Navigate the Digital Rapids," I found some key points that I would certainly agree with. I thought it was great to see that there are different types of technology one can incorporate into the classroom depending on the age level. I think that if we start our students off at a basic understanding of technology and find ways to enhance their learning then we can continue to grow with technology in the classroom as time goes on.

I believe that the old saying, "You will never know, if you never try," goes hand in hand with this article because technology is a big jump that someone has to be willing to take. I think no teacher wants to necessarily incorporate technology into their classroom because they anticipate distractions among their students. I agree with this this article when it says that the teacher must take control. This is significant because if the teacher shows control, confidence and capability then the students should know their consequences if they seem to get out of hand.

It is always scary to take that first step in a new direction but after that there is always room to learn what is needed. This article basically says one must struggle before they succeed. Once everything is figured out then we will be able to offer different digital footprints for each student through their adolescent years. We want our students today to be given every opportunity of greatness and success. By being able to learn in different ways, we are broadening their knowledge in many ways.

Overall, I found this article to be very interesting because it allowed me to see the necessary steps to be successful with technology. By being successful these days, one must take new steps and challenges in their lives and I think technology in the classroom is our first greatest step to a new beginning.

Lindsay, Julie, and Vicki Davis. "Navigate the Digital Rapids." ISTE-Learning & Leading with Technology 37.6 Mar./Apr. (2010): 12-15. Web. 15 Sept. 2011. <http://www.iste.org/Libraries/Leading_and_Learning_Docs/March_April_2010_Navigate_the_Digital_Rapids.sflb.ashx>.

Speak Up for the Future

In the article, Speak Up, technology was introduced as being a major part of education today. Students are becoming more educated with technology today it seems as if it can be a distraction; however, at the rate we're going, we will be able to incorporate technology into our classroom for the anticipation of teaching rather than distracting our students.

WHAT: After giving and receiving various surveys about the use of technology used among schools, it was obvious that technology was making its way into the classroom in one way or another. While reading this article, I was interested to see that, in the future, teachers as well administrators were absorbed in the fact that eventually each child would be able to use a laptop in the classroom. Today, we rely so much on technology it becomes second nature. At the rate we are going, each classroom student will be able to monitor their own computer with various types of exercises as a way of learning on top of what the teacher is teaching. As technology grows, so do we, we become more educated inside and out. It was also interesting to see that technology can play a major role in each individuals learning. The typical teacher usually uses a great source of technology now by creating power points, music, visual elements for their lessons. Project Tomorrow and Speak Up are teaming up to help technology work in the classroom. It is proved that students in a digitally-rich learning environment are more successful than the basic teaching. Technology gives us a different perspective on learning and we must find a way to incorporate it into learning to make it fun and interesting for every individual.

SO WHAT: The author of this article makes a bold statement. A statement, in fact, that prepares us for our future to come. Technology has continued to grow over the years, expanded in ways some never thought could happen. The only way to use technology to our benefit is to incorporate it into our classroom lectures/lessons. I believe the purpose that the author is trying to make clear is that we are the future. By the time we are classroom teachers, technology would have or will be already taking over the classroom in spectacular ways. Instead of working against it, we must work with it and use it to our benefit.

NOW WHAT: I believe the steps to the future with technology are very basic. We can incorporate different technology structures into our classrooms allowing students to learn in a variety of ways. I imagine that there are not enough ways to teach a classroom full of children. By being educated in technology, we are broadening our horizons for teaching beyond the traditional "box." Once we are educated, we will be able to share our knowledge with our students. By allowing students to create their own visual elements gives them to ability to grasp the information in a different way. As the years go on, technology gets more advanced; therefore, that leaves us striving for more ways to enhance education.

Speak Up: Unleashing the Future