Week 2 - Post 2 - Reflections on the Course

            It is only week 2 of Teaching and Learning in a Networked Classroom but I have already learned a lot. Most importantly, I am developing an understanding of how critical it is to teach students how to use technology. I have sometimes felt that students must know more about technology than I do since they have grown up with it and they play around on it more. However, I am discovering that exposure is not enough to say that one is literate in technology. Students should be instructed on how to appropriately and respectfully use technology to develop new skills.  In his article Blogs are Not the Enemy, Jeff Utecht makes the point that it is important for students and teachers to discuss and reflect on work completed through blogging. He compares blog work without reflection to papers passed back from teacher to student without discussion. Blogging actually reminds me of all the online coursework I have been doing to earn a master’s degree. Discussions with professors and classmates give new insights into readings and comments help me think more critically about my own ideas. It can be the same for our young students if we give them the right tools. The You Tube video Did You Know sheds even more light on the importance of becoming technologically literate. The video points out that we are currently preparing students for jobs and technologies that don’t even exist yet.

            The You Tube video Digital Dossier describes a digital dossier as all the digital tracks you leave behind. The tracks start with a sonogram before we are even born. Hospital bracelets with barcodes, photos spread through Flicker and Facebook, credit card purchases on Amazon, a GPS in our cell phones, and film footage from security cameras make up our footprint. We would have to try incredibly hard to live off the grid at this point in time. While I don’t have anything to hide, it feels a little uncomfortable to know that there is basically a record of my every move since birth. I think this is another reason why it is so important to teach our students about the responsibility and caution that is needed when using the Internet. My own digital dossier is probably much bigger than I even realize although I have tried to be diligent about my Facebook settings and other information that I want to be private.

            One question posed this week was, “What is there online that identifies you?” Until this course, I feel like I haven’t contributed very much to the Web. I use it to check my Facebook, although I never post anything. I read and send emails, shop, and research online. Now my blog, various email accounts, Skype, and a few other new tools make me feel more connected. I really enjoy using Etsy, looking at crafting websites, and researching topics of interest. I would like to create more of an online identity by keeping track of the websites that I find interesting so I can revisit them and share them with others. I know the basics of using Web tools such as email, social media, research, and Skype. After week 1 of this course, I know how to create a blog with links and videos and how to use a wiki. I would like to learn how to create a Podcast and use Google Reader. Right now I’m using technology to write word documents, research on Google, Skype with family, and connect with friends on Facebook. I’m sure that after this course I will have another set of tools to draw from and introduce to my students.