Digital Reflection

There are so many reasons that people decide to become teachers. Myself, I wanted to make a difference in the way children/teenagers thought of math. There are many reasons people become “mathephobics”. But math is also a way to communicate, communication through logic, patterns, stories. Math can be harmonious if it is taught well. I had many math teachers that were so rigorous and hard to understand that I can’t even say for sure why I was not scared off. With that said, I made a promise that if I were to realize my goal and become a teacher I would do anything in my power to make sure my students experienced math at its best and not at its worst. That includes learning what I can about the world that surrounds the present day children and teens. Technology is where it is at and it is moving along fast so I have to do all that I can to understand where it has been and where it is going. In doing so I will be able to effectively communicate with my students, incorporating their “lingo” to my own. It is my belief that the top ingredients that make a good/great teacher begin with communication, care and understanding.

I chose the research topic “Digital Immigrants” vs “Digital Natives” for this reason. I am glad I did since I learned many things. I learned that there are still many questions and styles of thought about the “natives” fast moving world of technology. I learned that incorporating technology and its many tools into the classroom is a very important motivator when used properly. I learned that “unless immigrant teachers do not adapt quickly we may be doing our new generation a disservice” (2001, Prensky) Yet incorporating these tools has to be done with thought and care for “the computer is a tool to learn with rather than something we should be learning from” (2000, Jonassen). The main concern here is that Digital Natives may be losing the skill to think critically since they have found a machine to do the work for them. This is probably the biggest concern of generation “immigrants” which include those now in their 20’s on up. In full view most of our next graduating class of teachers are included in the line referred to as Digital Immigrant. It is my belief that technology is a must in our classrooms. Humans are still smarter than the machine and if incorporated properly we will not only be communicating on a eye to eye level with our students but enriching and motivating their natural curiosity to their full benefit and our own.