What is the single most important digital technology in your life?

What is the single most important digital technology in your life -- the one that you couldn't do without? 

Technology is so immersed in the framework of our modern lives that it is sometimes hard to imagine what it would be like to not have our laptops, desktops, iPhone, iPods, iPads, Nooks, Blackberrys, and GPSs.  What would our lives be like if we suddenly couldn't text our family and friends?  If we couldn't email while walking down the street, Skype at the click of a button, or pick a restaurant and look up directions while driving downtown?  The answer that sometimes comes to mind is: easy.  Yes, easy.  I think about these things and about the amount of time and space they occupy in our lives (okay not necessarily physical space - I've seen the size of those chart filing cabinets that they used to have in the dark ages-- you know back before files went digital- way back in 95.)  But when you think about the height of our expectations today- the amount of achievement now immediately possible, and thus expected, on a day to day basis verses that of twenty, or even fifteen years ago it's a little overwhelming.  How are we to meet our daily potential when the limits are forever being broken by the new and latest technological means?


So life would be easier, less stressful, perhaps even more enjoyable without the mass of technological enterprises at the forefront of each of our lives.  But the problem is.  We love it.  We rely on it. We need it.  Or so it seems.  The reality is that our lives are centered around the ever extending technological realm, and without it we virtually can't function on the same level as our technologically oriented peers.  Plus there are those aspects of technology that we just simply can't do without.  That we have placed in such a central part of our existence that the idea of going without them is likened to the notion of going without water or food.  No iPad?!  But how will I live?  I need to trade stalks, read books, chat with friends, plan my life, my retirement, my children's education, write my grocery list- I NEED my iPad. Okay, so maybe I'm being a bit dramatic, but seriously, we use these things in virtually every arena of our lives in some respect or another.  To take it away would be devastating to the efficiency of our technologically centered lives.  

This go to item for me is my iPhone.  I know, I know, everyone says that, but maybe that's because its true.   My iPhone is the primary portal for my phone calls, text messages, facebook chat, IMs, and email.  With my  iPhone I  manage my finances, take pictures and videos, write lists, listen to music, and play games.  Its especially central to my communication with my husband who is in the military and equally reliant on his iPhone.  Without it we would be at the mercy of the limited computer access at Marine Corps installations in places like Afghanistan and Kuwait.  While most of these bases are equipped with wifi they're not exactly handing out laptops to their men.  With his iPhone Danny is able to use the wifi so that the two of us can actually have a face-time conversation.


SO what would life be like without it?  I don't know, but I know I don't really want to find out.  Sure, life might have been easier if I had never known the ease and efficiency of leading an iPhone life; if I had never know the joys and benefits of seeing my husband and accessing facebook via my cell while at the grocery store.  But I do know these things, and I have come to expect them, to depend on them, and even enjoy the benefits of them.  The stress generated by the every expanding realms of these technologies wouldn't be alleviated by their elimination, it would be heightened by our subsequently expanding expectations.

What it means to integrgate technology into the classroom

Teaching through technology is an ambitious, sometimes even daunting, enterprise.  Technological innovation is uncharted waters for many teachers and all too often this discourages educators from incorporating a wide range of new and innovative ways of engaging their students.  Often these educators will cite the many disadvantages and dangers of technology use for the purpose of defending their refusal to evolve their teaching strategies.

Because of the vast and consuming nature of the technological realm, there are bound to be issues arising from it, even with its innumerable advantages.  These issues include the dangers of information exchange- particularly in regard to children having access to web based social networks like twitter and facebook, an increase in technology related issues in spelling and grammar, and fostering an attention deficit disorder society in which the integral roles of parent-child and student-teacher relationships and learning environments have been replaced with the ever evolving realm of iPods, Nooks, PCs, and the World Wide Web.

These are real issues and they shouldn't be taken lightly.  However, citing the various issues related to the ever expanding technological realm does not discredit its innumerable advantages.  Like it or not, the globally central role technology is a reality, and refusing to integrate it into the classroom environment is doing a grave disservice to students whose lives depend upon it more and more each day.  Moreover, only by embracing the integration of technology into the classroom environment do we create the opportunity to educate our students on the appropriate ways to engage in the vast and immediate exchange of information via the world wide web.

Ultimately, technology's benefits far outweigh its disadvantages: research that use to take weeks and countless library visits can now be conducted in the span of a day, contact with experts within innumerable fields is available with a few key strokes and the click of a button, their is a wealth of free resources when it comes to educational videos, curriculum guides, and learning tools, and you can cater your findings to fit your unique requirements and needs.

Let's get with the times ladies and gentlemen.  Let's embrace the technological revolution and integrate it into our classroom lives.

Introduction

Hi there!

My name is Kelly and I am a M.Ed. student at SNHU.  I will be teaching grades 7-12 in the fall and I couldn't be more excited about it.  The courses I will be teaching include: English, History, Philosophy, & Debate.  I enjoy running, swimming, and hiking with my husband and our dog, Keenan.  I look forward to learning how to effectively incorporate technological teaching strategies into my classroom and hope this class will help me to develop new and innovative ways to engage my students.

Cheers!