Blog Post #2

             I have been using Microsoft Word for as long as I can remember, so it is the computer program with which I am most familiar. I far prefer it to word processors like Google Docs, as they are more stream-lined but have fewer capabilities. I am also just more used to MS Word and use it for both my academic and personal writing. The details of specific formatting can sometimes get a bit tricky, but I feel well versed in the necessary parts of Word that I use often.

The ISTE educator standard that is most important to me is being an Analyst. Recognizing what learning methods do or do not work for individual students is a strength in the classroom, allowing teachers to cater to their student’s specific needs. It is also important to analyze what technologies work within the classroom and discontinue those that are ineffective. Analyzing what keeps students both engaged and learning is vital to maintaining a constructive educational atmosphere, in my opinion.

I personally disagree with the label “digital native” because it assumes that all people from a generation have about the same amount of experience with technology, and that being raised around technology makes new technology easy to learn. As I mentioned in my previous blog post, my parents used to be programmers, and thus have a far deeper understanding of technology than I do. Having grown up in an era of accessible interfaces and intuitive systems, I do not understand the coding that goes on behind the scenes. Because my parents know how technology works, while I adapt faster to how to use it, I would say that we are on a level playing field. In the classroom, though, teachers have often prepared their digital resources ahead of time, but there have still been times when students have helped guide teachers through using an unfamiliar digital interface. I would not be surprised in the future if this phenomenon repeated itself, the students having learned how to use technology faster than the teacher.