Technopoly Ch. 3-4

I apologize for the late post on these chapters- we celebrated my husband's granny's 90th birthday this weekend- all of the family in... it was a crazy weekend, but a great one!

The thing that I loved about the reading this week was that we learned so much history behind technology.  Often, I fall into the trap of thinking of technology as just the most recent things- computers/tablets/smartphones etc.  I don't really think of the assembly line, or railroad, or child labor as being "technology."  

One of the biggest things that struck me was on page 58, when Postman said, "We believe because there is no reason not to believe."  I remember in high school and college, a lot of the teachers spent time teaching us how to discern between "good" sources and "bad" sources. This day in age, you can answer any question by simply "Googling" it.  But, we do have to make sure that we really think about the answers that we discover- do they make sense?  I think that Postman hits the nail on the head when he states that many people believe anything, simply because information is readily available to anyone with an internet connection these days.  

This hit me because I want my students to be able to discern and think about answers to questions.  I do not want them believing something simply because they heard it, or saw it on the internet.  Sometimes I feel like we are raising a generation of kids who don't have to/want to think because they can just look it up.  I want my students to be thinkers, and technology can both help and hinder this.

Technopoly Ch. 1-2

Technology... good or bad?  That is one of the questions that Postman asks in his book, Technopoly.  Postman warns that with every new invention, there are downfalls that are not predicted.  Take the internet, for instance.  We now have a wealth of information at our fingertips- we can discover more information on a subject in 10 seconds than my grandparents (or maybe even parents) could have in a week 25 years ago!  But with that great discovery also come some downfalls.  Students can view inappropriate videos, articles, information just as easily as I can discover useful information.  I teach 3rd grade, and one day walked into the lunchroom to get my class only to discover 2 of my students had been singing a song with the F word in it.  When I asked where they learned that song, they said it was a youtube video.  So I would say that is a negative side of technology.

On the other hand, a 4th grade student at our school recently had a brain aneurysm.  Of course the community wants to help out and support the family while their son recovers- we also don't want 300 people calling the family to get information.  So how can we get out information to those who want to know it?  Why, start a blog of course! Through the blog, we are updated on the child's status, as well as what we can do for the family.  So to this end, I disagree with Postman that technology takes away community.  In this case, I would dare say that technology is helping us build community, and support one of our own in a time of need.

Now, I cannot say that I am a die-hard techie.  There are times when I prefer to teach on the whiteboard instead of my SMARTboard, because at times I really do think that thing hates me!! I think my relationship with technology is love/hate.  I also think that technology is blurring the lines between my personal and private life.  I personally, do not "friend" parents on Facebook- I don't have anything to hide there, I just think that there needs to be some separation there.  However, it is also a great tool that could be used to keep in touch with former students/families.  Technology blurs the lines and I don't think they will become any clearer in the future.

About Me

I already introduced myself in my youtube video, but I wanted to see what a blog post looked like on my brand new blog! I have wanted to start a blog for a while now, but I don't feel like I have anything useful that anyone would bother reading!

I am Kelsie, third grade teacher at Coyote Hills, located in Aurora, CO.  I taught 2nd grade for 3 years and made the switch to 3rd grade this past year.  Today was my last day of school for the year! We had a pancake breakfast and watched a movie... not super educational, but I wanted to just enjoy my last hours with them today.

Things I am currently loving: Any fresh fruit and vegetables (One of the major reasons I love summer!), grilling at night (more accurately, eating the food my husband grills), Downton Abbey season 3, North America, the pool, magazines, and Lone Wolf by Jodi Picoult.  Thanks for reading, hope to "see" you soon!