Exams Questions Teacher and Technology Fall 2013 Ashley Kossack Group A (#3) Digital creations are like

ke an essay because they require the same collection style of information. Students still have to understand and relay the content in an appropriate format that displays their knowledge and comprehension of the material at hand. They essentially will do the same type of preparation for an essay or digital creation up to the point of their product. Whether you are reading an essay or watching a video/animation, listening to a podcast/song/mash-up, they have the common outcome of communicating their current knowledge on a topic to you in such a way that you will be able to tell what kind of grasp they have on the subject matter. Any type of submission in any form will require the same understanding, preparation/research, and must communicate in a clear way what they know and think about what you have presented to them in class. These things are extremely different in terms of creativity, entertainment and modern advances in education. One of the stand-out points from class for me was when Rennie asked the similar following question Would you rather read 30 of the same essays or watch/listen/read 30 different interpretations from your students that essentially tell you and meet the same outcomes defined in your rubric? This had a huge impact on how I will teach in my classrooms. One of the reasons I didnt want to become an English teacher is because of the amount of time they have to spend reading to mark their correspondingly similar assignments. I do not enjoy reading and get the least amount of personal benefit from it. However, English could now become a very exciting process if you

included a bit of freedom in the execution and requirements of assignments. Using digital creations as opposed to an essay give students the opportunity to get more creative and to learn new things at the same time. They can get away from the essay format that can become very arduous after youve been assigned 3 or more for the same class. In giving them this chance to confront assignments in different ways it may even enhance their understanding and deepen their thought as how they will communicate their knowledge to you. In my opinion metaphorically speaking, in opening this door for your students will in turn allow them to open many for themselves and you and them may be surprised at what they can accomplish because it will foster their creativity and individual talents. It also makes your life, the teachers, a lot more exciting and interesting as marking will be more much more exhilarating than marking 30 or more of the same essay. I will balance these aspects in my teaching by allowing my students options for assignments and projects. Permitting them to use their own ideas to communicate to me their understanding of the content because each student will be different from the next and I want them to learn about themselves by doing what comes natural to them. There will still be requirements and a rubric but less specific than old-fashioned cut and dry styles. In giving them this freedom they may learn more than just about the assignment in that they will discover new technologies and skills they werent aware they had or improve their current skill level. I would also ask that they not do exactly the same style for every assignment in an attempt to keep them challenged and encourage them to continually discover new things, whether about themselves or our digital age.

Group B (#9) It is extremely important to have our students learn about the impact of technology in a larger sense than just carrying the device in their pocket. Our society today and most of the world, is technologically dominated in a way that might be beyond the scope of students current knowledge. In that, it is also important for them to understand that technology is a luxury because saying most of the world excludes the parts that are not provided the same modern amenities as we are. They should know where the things in their surroundings come from and the negative and positive influence they have for themselves and also others. Students and people in general need to learn a sense of responsibility for their actions in society because by ignoring it and living in a inconsequential manner has gotten us to a point where the world is in a quiet state of crisis in many ways. With our role as teachers we have the chance to teach our students something aside from concrete curriculum content that may have more long-term importance than our courses. We are trying to create a future generation that is conscious of their environmental and social impacts and is active towards solving and preventing issues of concern created by our past ignorance. There is always a way in any subject area to incorporate the alternative impacts that technology has aside from making our own lives more efficient. For my purposes, in a science class, you could easily relate the use of devices to their environmental impacts surrounding the disposal controversy. Or the chemical elements inside these devices and where they are coming from (ie. Being unethically mined and illegally distributed to make their way into our technologies). By exposing the drawbacks and negativities of technology, this will hopefully encourage them to see these things as a luxury, not take it for granted as they may have previously and ignite curiosity about solutions and alternatives.

However, because technology has become such an integral part of our everyday lives we do not want students to feel guilty for its seemingly uncomplicated existence but we also do not want them to just brush of the contrasting effects it has on other places and countries. Instead, by bringing this to their attention, you will hopefully be able to impart awareness that this is taking place and inspire them to make better choices or join movements to make positive changes to these issues. As Bandi Mbubi says in his Ted talk: Demand a fair trade cell phone, Dont throw away your phones just yet because the reason we have access to the knowledge surrounding these issues is because of the very same device in our hands that are causing the problems. His possible solution on fair trade cell phones may give students the ideas that there are alternatives to immoral practices and encourage them to participate or come up with their own. From here they will hopefully understand there is opportunity for change and they have a role in the potential change. We dont want them to deny issues or feel guilty, our intent is inspire them to actively participate in the change and just be aware that what affects them affects others and not necessarily in the same respect.