The Information Diet

While reading “The Information Diet” I was realizing that I am ‘overweight’ when it comes to accessing information. I constantly and consuming information during all hours of the day (except while sleeping). The Information Diet is like any good diet ...not fad. Everything is okay in moderation. We need to acknowledge where we get our information, where we go shopping. We need to pay attention to what it does to us, does it make us bloated and tired? We need to make sure we are reducing the negative, cut out the fried foods. We also need to know how to enhance the positive, adding in vegetables. I know that it has been said that there is no such thing as “information overload” however, at times I feel like I cannot handle any more information. I have realized that I am not necessary overloaded, I am fatigued, and I am not longer processing at that moment the information that is coming in, it is being stored to process later. I am hoping that over the next few weeks I will become a better information user rather than just and information eater.

Students as Designers

As someone who is very much a Type A personality, it scares me to let go of the reins and let students soar. I need to remember that there is no one way, best way, or optimal solution. I need to scaffold for my students in order for them to design. I do not need to set strict parameters, it is important for students to show their creativity. I want my students to use their imagination and feel as though they are learning through their own design and creation. If we do not allow students to design at a young age, it will be a foreign concept to them as they get older. What have you done in your classroom to allow your students to be designers?

Affordance Analysis

Technology is being used more and more in classrooms. However, most teachers have not been trained on how to appropriately include it, and we have most definitely not done affordance analysis. To be honest, before reading this article, I didn’t really know what affordance analysis was, it is not a term that I have heard or used often. However, I do think it is extremely important when choosing the technology that my students will be using. 

I believe we are all guilty of throwing our kids on the computer from time to time when we’ve had a long day or are just exhausted. We do that without thinking about the goals that can be achieved through technology. Most of the time teachers, myself included, use technology to substitute other tools rather than use them for their full potential. This is definitely something that doing an affordance analysis would help with! Taking the time to sit down with the tool and work through whether or not using this tool would enhance the learning goals is crucial. If the tool is not going to help move towards these goals, then there is not a good reason to use it. Affordance analysis is all about choosing and using tools appropriately. One tool may work for one goal while a different tool is better suited for a different goal, it is okay to try different tools! I feel as though many teachers get stuck using what they already know and don’t know how to find what else is out there!

The Victorian Internet

The Victorian Internet has by far been my favorite book that we have read so far this semester! Not only did I get to learn about the progression of communication through the telegraph, I was also able to relate to how people were feeling about new technology being introduced. I grew up in a world where there were computers and cell phones and was exposed to these things at a fairly young age, therefore, these items are second nature to me. However, my mom and grandparents did not grow up with these technologies. They are still learning how to use the basic technologies, where I was born into the generation where these things came naturally. 

It seems as though every time I turn around there is a new iPhone, a new gadget, all requiring the latest and greatest technology. Don’t get me wrong, I love technology, but when do we stop? When do we say that what we have right now is enough? When do we let kids be kids?

In my classroom, every student is fortunate enough to have access to multiple electronic devices in their home. Like I said, I grew up with technology, but not to the extent that it is today. My students have everything at their fingertips, the can chat with friends, they can fast forward through commercials or skip songs they don’t want to listen to. This has made students very impatient, they expect everything to either happen in an instant or happen on their time. Students rarely talk to their friends face to face when they are at home. When they come into the classroom they do not know how to appropriately interact with peers. As a teacher, I feel like I am going backwards and need to teach them these basic life skills in order for them to not only succeed in my classroom, but in life! As great as technology is, it is being used as a “filler” both at home and at school, which is not it’s greatest use. Teacher friends...what are you seeing in your classrooms? Do you think technology is playing a part in the development of our students?