Blog 2

 My personal experience with Microsoft Word probably started in around 4th grade and I have been using it ever since. I have mainly used Microsoft Word for writing essays, making tables and graphs, and taking notes. In college, I mainly use it to write papers for classes. I do prefer Google Docs over Word due to the accessibility of Docs. With Docs, I am able to access the same document on any device and all of my devices support it. MS Word does not work very well on an iPad which is my primary tool for my classes.

The ISTE Standards for Educators are important guidelines to help teachers become better for their students. The most meaningful standard to me is the Analyst standard. This includes going over the results of your students to determine how well they are learning and which materials they struggle with. I see this as important because as educators, we need to be able to analyze and change our methods. Many teachers I have had in the past kept using the same teaching methods that didn’t work and students were suffering from it. I think it is extremely necessary to check our own practices and change what isn’t working for our students.

I do agree with the label of “digital native” for the youth. These kids were born into a world with the latest technology and are more likely to understand how to work it. As a child, I had access to a computer and a phone and because I grew up around technology, I believe I am more well-versed in using and understanding it. There are many differences between how I use technology and how my parents use it. I have a smart phone that can do pretty much anything I need it to and I see it as a necessity whereas my parents have phones that only text and call and they don’t feel the need to bring it everywhere they go. In the future, I believe there will be new technology that my students will have better understandings of. While I may understand my iPhone and computer now, who’s to say I’ll understand the current technology twenty years from now. I think I will struggle with new technology one day just as my parents and teachers have.