Blog Post #2

 I have used Microsoft Word as my main word processing software my whole life. I have only used Google Docs a handful of times, and I much prefer Word. This may be biased as I got used to Word at a young age, but I still love to use Word. After the tutorial of how to use Word to make a newsletter, I have been enjoying using it a lot more. Wrapping images around the text and using columns has made Word so much more accessible for me and now I enjoy using it even more.

The most important ISTE Standard for me is Collaborator. My favorite classes throughout high school and college have been the ones where the teacher feels equal student. That is not to say that the teacher does not have authority in the class, but the teacher wants to learn along with the students. In my Asian American Literature class here at FSU, my professor has the seats arranged in a circle, and he sits in one of them. The class is designed to feel as if the professor is another student, learning from us and us learning from him. This is why it was difficult for me to pick between Collaborator and Learner. In my opinion, the two go hand in hand. If a teacher acts as a collaborator with students, the teacher will naturally be a learner and vice versa.

I think the term "digital native" can be a little controversial. As we discussed in class, the term generalizes all young people as digital natives, not taking into account how each parent raises their kid. Not every kid is able to have access to phones or computers. It does not factor into account wages or how parents feel about giving young kids technology. It is true, that more young people know to use different technologies than older generations, but it is still an assuming term. Many issues can arise when becoming a teacher in this new age of technology, with the main one being the skill gap that arises between various students and how well they know how to use technologies. Some students may be experts, and some may have never opened a computer. This will mean that I will have to gauge the students computer skills with a diagnostic assessment. When the students know how to use technology to a high degree, the class will be able to more fluidly run and the students will be better learners.