Saturday, September 14, 2013
"What is the Internet, Anyway?" Oh, how far we have come.
For class I have watched this video, What is the Internet Anyway?, and I honestly found myself laughing through the
whole thing. Not because I thought found anchors' intelligence laughable,
but rather because there was a time where people honestly didn’t know what the
internet was. And I know that time existed, I remember having the same
confusion over the @ symbol and what it represented – when I was about 6 years
old (if that). I had my own email address by the time I was 8, and at the time
I relied on my parents to tell my what the internet was and how to use it, but
when I really think about it I know we were all learning at the same time. None
of us knew really what it was or how to use it. But by the time I was 9 or 10 I
used the internet constantly, my knowledge of its uses and functions far
surpassed my parents', and though I needed to rely on my older sisters some of
the time, really the children of the family were the only ones who really under.
It is because, as described to the class, we were the ones who grew up with it,
we are the ‘digital natives’, while our parents who did not grow up with it are
the ‘digital immigrants’. They seem like apt titles for us, seeing as I am
constantly aiding my parents in their attempts to check their emails or order something
offline. It’s amazing how far the world has come technologically, and I can
only wonder: what technology in the future are my children going to need to aid me with? It’s astounding how infinite the possibilities are. And this is exactly the same for my future students. Every single one of our students is going to be growing up in an age where the internet always was. For them, there was never a time where limitless knowledge wasn't available at their fingertips. And as technology continues to develop, they're going to be the ones who understand it as simply as they breathe. As teachers we are going to need to say 100% up-to-date with all new technology. We need to know what our students are using and learn how to utilize it in our teaching environments. This is the only way we are going to be able to be effective teachers in such a technologically advanced world
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It is apparent that I am a bit older than you since I was graduating college for the first time around when the video was made. However, I agree with your comments in regards to what constantly changing technology means to us as future teachers. Somehow children seem to learn about the latest and greatest web 2.0 tools before adults. It's our job to discover those tools and use them for educational means and not just social sites. If students are not taught to use these tools as productive means their futures could be limited. They need to be taught appropriate ways to communicate as well as to be able to use their mind and put it to good use.
ReplyDeleteI can relate to your internet experience. I've been using it for most of my life. My grandmother just got a Facebook account and teaching her how to navigate it has been horrible. Things that come to me naturally take her days to get used to.
ReplyDeleteI love how you have accepted the fact that its not so much of what we need to teach our students, but to figure out and accept what THEY are using and adapt to that.
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