Reflection on Influential Technologies

While reading the prompt for this assignment I tried to think of the three technologies I use most on a daily basis. The first of which is my camera. For the past year my life has revolved around photography. I have spent countless hours working in the studio and darkroom attempting to create the perfect image and my camera is the first step in the process. My camera has taught me more about science than I would have ever expected to learn in any art class. My camera has taken me places I wouldn’t see myself going, introduced me to people I never thought I would meet, and taught me how to see life in a different way. 

  

The technology I can’t seem to go more than an hour or two without is my smartphone. My iPhone is always within arms reach; ready for the inevitable buzz it gives off every few minutes. My iPhone also allows me to access knowledge almost anywhere, anytime which is pretty incredible. One of the ways I access this plethora of knowledge is Google, my third technology I can’t go without. Previously I referenced Google, I may have painted it in a bad light. This was not intended; Google is a useful tool and source that can produce an answer in moments. I use Google regularly for researching different techniques and styles to incorporate into my art. The ability to do this on my phone is indispensable because I can add or change things at the last moment.

My answers differ, but have the same principle as the students in the video. My pieces of technology are different, but they have impacted my life in a way that without them I would be a different person. In the video the kids describe what technology they use and how it has impacted their lives. Many of the kids talk about using technology to create things like videos, music, and websites. These are useful skills that not only allow the kids to create but also learn how to problem solve and use critical thinking in a situation outside of the classroom.

Pew Survey Results: Teachers' Technology Use

In general, I found the survey results to be similar to what I expected. Like most teachers surveyed, I agree “search engines have conditioned students to expect to be able to find information quickly and easily.” This condition, called the “Google effect”, is making it harder for teachers to actually get their students to retain information. This can be counterproductive for students because they begin relying on transactive memory, more so than explicit memory. 

Being a millennial who has grown up with ever-changing technology, I am very comfortable using different forms of technology. I think this will benefit my teaching abilities, as technologies become more and more prevalent in the classroom. I use different platforms of technology when TAing, because it allows the students to learn the information different ways. I need to improve on my reluctance to use technology in certain circumstances. I have found that sometimes it helps if students use more analog methods of learning, like pen and paper or opening a book, but this all depends on the student.

Based on my experiences throughout high school I found the teacher responses to be fairly accurate. My high school is in a fairly affluent area, but the director of technology believed in a more traditional method of teaching and learning thus was a bit behind the curve on many things. For example, the campus was outfitted with Wi-Fi just two years ago. I did not seem to have a problem with this, but I think more integrated technology would have improved learning, especially in traditionally harder subjects such as math and science.