Blog Post #2

     I have vivid memories of my time in elementary school when we would work on the classroom computers using Microsoft Word; I was not a huge fan. I recall that after each time using Microsoft Word, you would have to save the document for your progress and changes to be saved. It happened far too many times when I would log off without saving my file, only to find out the next day that all of my progress was lost when I logged back on to work on it. Ever since then, I have always opted to use Google Docs. I know that with technology upgrades, Microsoft Word automatically saves work now, however, I still prefer Google because I can save everything on each Google platform to my drive and have it all in one place. 

    As the ISTE website states, the goal of these standards is to help "students become empowered learners" (https://iste.org/standards/educators). I believe the standard that best aligns with this goal is 2.4 Collaborator. This standard explains how teachers should work with their students along with colleagues to improve themselves as an educator and learn about new resources. I am a strong proponent of this standard because students can understand firsthand how different tools and techniques their teacher used may affect their education. Teachers getting feedback from their own students is arguably the most valuable feedback a teacher can get because it is a first-hand report of the teacher's skills and practices. Along with that, students can share ideas they have with their teacher that they think could better their own education. One concern I have with these standards is that not every school district or individual student has resources and access to various technology so it is important that if teachers are using technology, to ensure that each student has an equal opportunity to learn regardless of what resources they have access to. 

    I understand the idea behind the term digital native, however, I think it can not be applied as a blanket statement for the entirety of today's youth. Rather, I think it would be better used to describe individuals on a case-by-case basis. As explained in the Canvas module, there are people who prefer not to use technology, people who do not have access to technology, and people who simply would not want to be defined by that term. To be a digital native means to grow up in a time period where you never had to live without technology. There are most definitely differences visible in how I use technology and how I have seen my older teachers use technology, specifically when it comes to efficiency. In the future I think I will be a digital immigrant to whatever the newest technology of the time is. Yes, I grew up always having a computer and other forms of relatively new technology in the house, but there is always something new in the market and when it arrives I, just like everyone else, will have to learn to use it.