Blog Post #2

I have not had a ton of experience using Microsoft Word. In middle school, we were required to use google docs and so that is what I became accustomed to. In high school, we were allowed to choose whatever software we wanted. I continued to use google docs because that is what I was used to. I have only used Microsoft Word a handful of times but I am excited to learn how to use it properly through this course. 

I think being a learner is the most important standard as an educator. Each year you are given a group of children with unique personalities, experiences, and learning preferences. As educators we must acknowledge each of these differences, learn from them, and adapt to them. It is important that the kids are learning from us but it is equally as important that we are learning from the kids as well because that is what turns a good teacher into a great teacher. The ISTE website opened my eyes to the idea that teachers can be constantly learning from the internet as well which is a great point because that are hundreds of amazing resources for teachers on the internet. 

The term 'digital native' is given to people who have grown up using technology and the internet, and therefore are shaped by this exposure. The term 'digital immigrant' is given to people who have had to learn how to use technology and the internet during their lifetime, and are therefore shaped by that. As someone who has grown up in a digital society and has always had access to technology, I prefer to stay off the internet as much as I can. There are many digital immigrants who understand technology and the internet better than I do, especially some of my teachers. But if anything this has only improved my learning experience as I am able to learn from them. I anticipate that my future students will be very accustomed to technology and the internet and therefore I will most likely be able to learn from them as well. Because of my experience as a 'digital native', I believe that a child's comfortability with technology and the internet is completely situational and has nothing to do with the generation that they were born in.