Blog Post #1

Teachers and students are both influenced to use technology in the classroom on  a daily basis but for both their influences come from different places. For example a teacher is influenced by the new standards set by states and county schools and how the students they teach should be technologically literate by the 8th grade. These standards influences teachers to learn the technology themselves so they can better teach their students and prep them for their lives outside of school and in the real world. Teachers are also influenced to use technology because usually the technology makes their jobs easier and more efficient, for example when a teacher needs to make a lesson plan or take attendance a computer will be able to help the teacher do this quicker and more efficiently and this gives them more time to spend with students helping them with anything they may need or even giving them a little more to themselves.

Students influences for using technology are based on the influences of the teachers, for example while a teacher may need to have a student learn the basics of PowerPoint the students just knows that he needs to use a visual aid for his presentation so this may influence him to use PowerPoint and learn the basics of it without the teacher setting him down and forcing him to use it. Another influence of students may be other students, while teachers have a large influence on students other students have just as big of a role. This may appear in group projects or competitions, when paired up with one another students can show each other their tricks for technology and teach each other what they may not have known apart, this alone can influence students to get better antiquated with the technology they are using.

The ISTE standards are in my option pretty well written and go pretty far in preparing students for the real world and help make sure they understand how technology can help you be a more productive member of the world but also how it can hurt you if not properly understood. Of all the standards the one that stuck out to me and made me happy to see was standard 2a of the student standards about learning how permanent the internet because as of now I don't believe that many people realize this and this could impact their future when searching for a job or applying for college. The standard that I don't think I personally currently meet is the student standard 5a, I can't really use algorithms with information as I lack the skill to make algorithms.

I do agree with the term digital native for today's youths, I think this term and the people it describes fit together very well because when people say digital native its not an insult its just an easy term to describe those who grew up with computers and learned how to use them from a very young age like a second language. I have seen differences between myself and those who are considered digital immigrants, when I see older people get new technology many of them can't just learn out of them box, many of them must be shown how to work it and all the features unlike with me and other people my age and younger, many of us can pull things right out of the box and have it figured out within minutes and learn as we go without much help from the instructions or others. I do think this lack of self learning when it comes to digital immigrants has impacted me and the way I learn with technology, sometimes when my teachers couldn't figure out new tech without help it would delay our classes because they would be to scared to try and figure it out on their own. I do see some differences between myself and future generations of students, I see future generations programming their own computers and integrating even more with technology and less separation between life on and offline when learning and I also see online classes becoming more popular with homeschooling and college students which I can't speak to as a good or bad thing.