Ch. 1-3 "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts" Reflection

"The possibilities are endless!" as quoted by Anne Davison page 25 of "Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts" when talking about using technology in the classroom. I agree with this statement completely. In this new age where technology is taking over, students are learning not only in the classroom, but are also learning more outside the classroom on their own time using technology such as ipods, internet, and even their cell phones. As stated in the text, this is the hardest time to get into the field of education because technology is changing everyday and teachers are struggling to both understand the current technology but also prepare to learn the new upcoming technology that hasn't been invented yet. It is also difficult because teachers are a step behind their students in learning this technology because our students are the ones growing up in this era and have been exposed to this technology since day one. This reading has made me realize that as a teacher we will always be learning something new and will never feel "ahead of the game". Also, when using technology such as wikis and blogs the students are not only learning inside the classroom, but continue to learn out of school hours. Another advantage to using blogs and wikis is that there are no more excuses for "I lost my homework" or "I didn't know that was due today".

As a result of this new thinking, as a future teacher I will do a few things differently. I will go about teaching my classroom using techniques and technologies the students are interested in and use outside of the classroom although not depend on it. By using technology they are familiar with and like using, the students will most likely be more interested in completing their homework. Using blogs and wikis, I will keep an updated blog to document activities, pictures, and homework for each of my students, and their parents to see. Through this text I received a better understanding of how to use blogs and wikis in the classroom and now understand the reason behind using this technology. Although I find this new information fascinating, I am still sticking to my gut when stating that I do not want to be a teacher who depends on technology to teach the students. One of the main reasons I have always wanted to be a teacher is to work hands on with my students and build relationships within the classroom, and I feel technology is taking away from that bonding experience.