The first concept to catch my attention was the pervasion of digital media in the lives of children. Specifically, the amount of time spent with/on technology by children as young as five. Not too many years ago, this would have been an appalling statistic, but I think society is doing well in acknowledging the benefits of growing up amidst so much technology. While there are still merits to a parent telling his or her child to "just go outside," I think it can be quite beneficial to the child to become as familiar as possible with digital media as it becomes age-appropriate. Regardless of your attitude toward the facts, however, they are still facts. The younger generations are becoming increasingly technologically inclined, and if we, as teachers, want to catch their attention, we will have to keep up. If they are spending their lives immersed in technology, then we must use technology to reach out to them, or all of our painstakingly crafted lesson plans and years of education will be in vain.
I thought the sections about technology-based libraries and technology-based textbooks were extremely appealing. I found myself getting incredibly excited about using some of these tools to better myself as a teacher and to reach out to my students more effectively. As I write this, I am creating an account on Delicious so I can begin to accumulate information and stay as current as possible. Wow, I just got distracted looking at free resources for math teachers on TeachersPayTeachers. I need to move on.
This brings me to the third concept. Since reading the section about "building your digital identity as a teacher," I have already begun to do so. I am looking forward to using the activities at the end of each chapter to help in developing my digital identity. I feel that demonstrating a well-rounded knowledge of technology will be extremely beneficial to my students. It is my intention to accumulate as many resources as I can to help my students with tough concepts. I remember a middle school teacher of mine who had his own website for the class (practically unheard of all those years ago), and that one aspect alone has made him stand out in my mind as one of my favorite teachers. I hope to be as memorable as he was when I am teaching.
In conclusion, I actually enjoyed reading the introductory chapter. I can't ever recall becoming excited while reading a textbook, so I look forward to all that this class has to offer.
Resources:
Maloy, R., O'Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., & Woolf, B. (2013). Transforming Learning with New Technologies. 2nd Edition. Boston, MA: Pearson Education Inc.
