Digital Blog post #B- Chapter 2

     The first concept I would like to talk about is digital dialog 2.1. I feel like in today’s classroom the mobile computer lab is used way more than I ever got to use it in high school. Yes there are lots of benefits to using it. The students tend to stay more focused and do their work with them instead of using textbooks. On the other hand it is good for teachers to put the mobile labs away and do things the old fashion way. I remember in high school when teachers would drawl pictures on the board to help us remember things would sometimes work better then learning the things from the computer would. Also we know these students are using lots of technology outside of school. So why spend all day at school doing the same thing. I believe that when they are at school they should be socializing during the lesson (when it is appropriate) instead of having their face in a laptop. I think teachers should limit how many times they bring the mobile lab in down to once a week or every other week. Now with the being said I think how many times you bring it in should depend on how old the children are.

   The second concept I would like to talk about is What Motivates You to Use or to Consider Using Technologies in Teaching? When I was reading this section I thought about my time in high school. The gap between junior and senior year is the time I saw the most drop outs. I do agree with the textbook that it is because students get bored. At this time they just want to be done with high school and out in the real world. I think if teachers kept it interesting and involved their favorite thing technology into their class the students would be less likely to drop out. I remember even being a senior and getting excited when my teachers would tell us to meet them in the computer lab. Not much should change from when I was in high school to when I will be teaching. Teachers could also use these computer privileges as a token economy. If they used this as incentives if they come to class or do certain assignments they will get x amount of computer privileges.

   The third concept that really hit me was the digital divide. It makes sense that low income families do not have access to technology that is need for school. When you are actually in high school and assigned a group project you do not think about if your other group members have access to the technology they need. It is not always easy for these students to get to a library to work on these project or if they can the library many not have the most updated software they need. There is also not enough time in the day for the students to do it at school, because when I was in high school we were not allowed in the library on lunch. Then we had no other time during the day to go because we were in other core classes that mattered. I think a great way to solve this problem is if the teacher was able to plan for a day or two for the class to have the mobile lab or go to the computer lab so these students can work on their projects without feeling awkward for not being able to do the project for lack of technology at home. Most high schoolers do not like to admit the fact they do not have access to the technology they need and teachers know that so if it was possible to help these students out as much as they can without their classmates knowing.

 Resources:

 Maloy, Robert, Verock-O’Loughlin,Ruth-Ellen, Edwards, Sharon A., and Woolf, Beverly Park 

      (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson  

      Education, Inc.

Norris, Brenda. Quotes Gram. Quotesgram, n.d. Web. 9 Sept. 2016.

This Is How to Help Students Combat the Digital Divide. Dir. David Nazar. Youtube. 

      DavidNazarNews, 20 Oct. 2015. Web. 9 Sept. 2016.