Week+1

This week there was a power outage during class which just goes to show we need to be prepared for anything happening when we teach. I did not find it surprising that schools are becoming more technologically based. I think that technology, with everything, is good in moderation. I have to agree that I think students, and people in general, can not really multitask. That is, unless the secondary process is committed to routine like knitting, if new thoughts are being expressed and thought is involved, there are no instances I can truly say I have multitasked. That is, I have not committed my thinking to two separate events. I question whether students texting in class are actually listening to the lesson at the same time. What I mean is, I question whether students have committed texting to routine so much that it requires no thought. I can work on two things roughly around the same time. But my mind is always committed to one or the other.

=__Wikispace__= This web application will serve to make classroom material available to students. It has limitations that I have noticed. Spell checking does not always work. Well there was not any for my first six weeks of use anyways.

The wiki space idea is great. I am definitely going to benefit from this, when it comes to posting homework and assignments, this will be invaluable.

FOLLOW UP: I'm setting one up to use it for science class See here

=Reading Response:= =Understanding Digital Kids= []

Are students wired differently? "i.e. because of digital bombardment, [student minds] are changing physically and chemically. They are actually neurologically wired differently than we are." I will agree, they are definitely using technology more often. But do they actually learn differently? Yes, since accessibility is at the click of a mouse, but not entirely in my view. Students still need valid examples, guidance and feedback for their ongoing learning to be challenged. This follows with the readings statement that "New technology and global digital growth is affecting today’s students." I am a bit sceptical and question the extent of the chemical and physical reconfiguration that is discussed however. Can all this really happen in a mere decade? I doubt this. Not when you consider how long it takes for evolution to take its course, but again, I'm probably taking the text too literally. Do I believe that students will learn differently than older generations? I can attest to this. I even think I might be part of the 'digital as first language' (DFL) group having played with computers ever since I can remember, although the internet wasn't quite as robust when I was young as it is now, so maybe I am actually 'digital as a second language' (DSL ). I enjoyed the "Five Apes" analogy: I agree that sometimes I felt teaching was following a method since "that's the way we've always done it! (TTWWADI)." As teachers we need to continually adapt or try new methods to the betterment of students. A high school teacher needs to reach out to all the students in a way that works.