Blog Journal 2
From the time I was in kindergarten, I have been using technology in the classroom. We had technology class every week as an elective during my elementary and middle school years, and then it was further incorporated into each of my high school classes as using devices was much more common then. I remember specifically in middle and elementary school, we spent a great deal of time learning about MS Office apps. We learned about the tools in Excel, typed out assignments on Word, made presentations through Powerpoint, and more. I think getting older, it became easier to use Google programs because I did not have a computer that I used all the time. That way, I could access my documents and data from wherever I was, even on my phone. Additionally, it was easier to collaborate because the ability to share a document efficiently is very helpful.
Standard 2.4.b, Learn Alongside Students, under section 2.4, Collaborator, states "Collaborate and co-learn with students to discover and use new digital resources, and diagnose and troubleshoot technology issues." This standard reminded me of in high school when I took an AP Computer Science class and our teacher quit halfway through the year. For the second half of the year, we had a teacher who was a recent college graduate with a business degree. He did not know the technology much better than we did, but I ended up doing very well in the class and on the AP exam because we collaborated, worked with each other, and helped each other learn the digital resources we had at our disposal. I think with technology growing and developing at such a fast rate, it is unreasonable to think you will know how to use everything, and some things do need to be a collaborative "let's figure this out together" activity.
I think "digital native" is a fine term to describe members of this generation in terms of their digital literacy, but I think assuming that the entire generation is full of digital natives would be naive. Not everyone in this generation can afford technology. Many school districts do not incorporate technology into the classrooms or require it for this reason, and the schools themselves cannot always afford to provide class sets of devices. Additionally, using technology effectively is different than just knowing how to do things like operate your phone that you use every day. Just because people are digital natives does not mean they know how to efficiently operate MS office products and other softwares that are more specific. I think people my age use technology for more purposes. We do research online, read online, communicate online, do work online, etc., whereas older generations use it in more limited capacities. I anticipate that even though I am a digital native that my future students will know how to use certain technologies more than I will because technology is advancing even more as the years go on.
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