Happy Easter!
I just had a very stressful week! I had two big exams, 3 papers to write and one difficult novel to read this week. Talk about busy--I'm so surprised I didn't break out with a cold sore or acne due to all this stress I've endured!
I finally have time to catch up on Heroes. I'm two shows behind, so after this blog I am going to sit back and relax for a change! Tomorrow we don't have Multi-Modal class, so I am going to use that time to begin reading our graphic novels, and some errands that need done such as picking up Sentinel for my dog at the vet.
I wanted to talk a little about Second Life and what I thought of my experience with it in class. First of all, I was totally shocked to find out that this program is used mostly by people in their 30's! When I toured it and tried it out, I felt like it was a program I would enjoy as a kid...The idea of having an avatar and walking around in a chat room seems like a waste of time to me. I'm not sure if I would like to incorporate this type of activity in my classroom because I think people would just goof off--just as a lot of us did when our characters were dancing.
Dr. Kist took us to the computer lab room where elementary students are usually observed as they use technology and I remember him saying something crazy: "This is what your classroom might look like in the future!" And then I looked around only to see laptops on the tables. I am a paper and pencil type of girl, so the thought of moving solely to laptops scares the heck out of me. Don't get me wrong, I DO rely on technology a lot, but the thought of losing the old fashion technique of things doesn't fit my idea of ideal classroom setting. You know what I think a laptop classroom would turn into? Students ignoring the lesson being taught, web surfing, solitare, textmessaging behind the screens, and working on other class work. We've all see it, we've all done it, and if you ask me, I think it is so disrespectful! Even though we aren't trying to be disrespectful, we are so exposed to technology that we can't keep our hands off it. Look how often we check our facebooks, spend hours shopping online, and sending emails. Once a computer is in front of us, this is one of the first things we do as part of our HABITS!!!
I want to walk into my classroom where there are educational habits for the students. I don't want laptops where students will always be checking their emails, browsing facebook, etc. I want students to be conditioned in things such as discussion, journal writing, or simply sitting there quietly waiting for class to start with paper and pencil ready!!
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Haha I have to agree with you on this one. First of all, my jaw dropped when Professor Kist told us our classrooms might look like this in the near future. I use technology daily, and often, but that is a little intimidating when you have it covering every square inch of your classroom! Especially since electronic devices LOVE to break on me. And another thing, I agree with your thoughts on students ignoring what you are doing in the classroom and just playing on the computer. I have to admit that in one of my classes I either text the entire time, or bring my laptop and go on facebook, or any other number of websites, and I rarely pay attention. Granted, I have a good grade in the class, but that still does not really make it right. I think our students would be doing the same thing and I think writing things by hand can be beneficial. (And not just because it will keep them from surfing the net!)
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