EDTECH537 Response to Generational Differences

As educational technologists, what did you take away from these generational differences readings? How would you handle a colleague who bought into the notion of digital natives?

I really enjoyed re-reading the Prensky article about Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants. I was born in the late 1980's and consider myself somewhere in-between a Digital Native and a Digital Immigrant. I can use technology with little issue, but I do remember learning how to write an email and when dial up made the squeaky sound as it connected to the Internet. I would rather have my friends watch a funny YouTube video beside me then send them the link because I want to converse with them as well. While I think students during this age learn differently, I don't necessarily think it comes solely from technology. Many families now have two parents who are working and there isn't a lot of homework support at home. In turn, students are turning to technology to help them with math problems they didn't understand or science terms they can't define. Technology is usually more accessible with career driven parents, and instilled in their children's lives because it's there! Whether Mom and Dad are writing emails late into the evening or watching shows on their iPads to de-stress from the day, technology is in the home. 

My opinion is a little different regarding the Digital Immigrants. It disappoints me when teachers are set in their ways of doing things and leave little room for adjustments and improvements. I'm not saying technology is the only improvement or adjustment, however, not teaching our students simple tasks like using a search engine or even keyboarding practice is disappointing. Whether we like it or not, the real world is changing drastically and simple tasks require a small amount of technology knowledge. For example applying for a job; applicants used to fill out paper work, leave it with a human resources employee and wait by the telephone for a call to schedule a face to face interview. Now, you can fill out applications online from home or at the location you desire to work. It's sent off to a human resources computer and processed. Sometimes employers (depending on the position) will call for an interview over the phone, request to Skype if the job is in a different town or state, or a face to face interview. We have to prepare our students for the real world. Despite our own opinions on technology and what our students need, they must be ready to succeed without us. 

EDTECH537 Guest Entry

For my guest entry I asked my friend Melissa Matthews to write on her experience in teaching overseas. I hope you enjoy her entry!

My Experience as an International Educator

During my last year of college one of my professors mentioned the opportunity of teaching abroad. As I have always wanted to travel the world, I decided to jump at this opportunity. I applied with a company called Quality Schools International, which has schools located in 27 different countries, and the rest was history. They offered me a position in Tirana, Albania and without putting too much thought into it, I was on a plane- not realizing how the next two years of my life were drastically going to change. 

Within a few days of me arriving in Albania, they sent me to a new hire orientation in Azerbaijan.  Here I got to meet the regional director and other educators from all over the world. This orientation and training gave me great insight into the company, their values on educating their students, and the importance they see in their teachers. One thing they valued heavily was that every student is given the ability to not only understand the topic at hand, but master it. If the student is struggling with a topic and doesn’t understand it the first time they are given the test, then the lesson is adapted to fit the student’s learning abilities so they can retake the test and master it a second time. This was already an eye opening experience to me. I felt that back in the States, students were just given a grade based upon how they performed on the first test they took, and never had the chance to really understand the concept that was taught. This company valued mastery learning and really wanted their kids to succeed. 

When I got back to Albania, I experienced a much different community than I was used to in the States. My fellow teachers along with my principal were already treating me like family, and they were extremely supportive of me, my first year teaching, and my first ever experience being out of the U.S. Right away I dove into the curriculum and couldn’t believe the topics they were having me teach to pre-schoolers. Right away I knew that the bar was set high for their students. When I got my roster, I was shocked to see that I only had 9 kids in my class, and they still had an assistant for me. They said that no class ever exceeds 20 students (and even that was a lot), and that every elementary school teacher had their own assistant. They believed that the smaller the class size, the more opportunity for children to get the best education. The day before school started, they allowed the parents and students to come in and meet the teachers and see the classrooms. I was amazed by how many parents came to see me and welcomed me with open arms. I was also surprised at the huge diversity of students that I had and how I knew it was going to be difficult to reach each student, relate to the different languages they spoke, and vary my lessons in a way they would all understand. Within the first few weeks, I was able to separate my students into different learning groups so that I could adapt my lessons in order to reach each student’s academic abilities. I was also able to work with the highest and lowest kids in a more one-on-one setting to help them further their education or mend the gaps between them and the other students. 

I was really amazed within my first few months as an educator and how well my students were doing, and how some were achieving in ways I never thought was possible with preschool aged children. I had meetings with my Director and Director of Instruction on ways that I thought we could improve on stuff within the classroom, as the teacher before me had more “toys” than educational materials, and was surprised when they not only agreed with me, but gave me a catalog and told me to order what I thought was necessary for the classroom. I had never before experienced such positive feedback from school leaders and allowed to purchase educational materials. While I know most principals have the students’ best interests at heart, funding does not allow for much educational spending, especially per individual classroom.  

Over the course of the two years that I spent in Albania, I really felt like I made a large impact on my students. I was able to reach out to each student on a one-to-one level and really develop their skills far beyond my own expectations.  I had full support of my Director, Director of Instruction, as well as the parents of my students. I was able to even spend time with my students and their families outside of the school which helped me to understand my students on a whole other level. I was able to see some of them in their home environment and how they interact with their parents in their comfort zone. I was able to take those experiences and make my teaching more relatable to their lives. 

One of the biggest things I took away from my teaching experience overseas was the importance of 

student to teacher ratio. When I came back to the States, I worked as an assistant in the Special 

Education program. It amazed me to be in a classroom with 25 plus students, 4 students with disabilities, and an assistant that is in and out of the classroom every hour. With class sizes this large, it becomes very difficult as an educator to reach every student and all their different learning abilities. In some cases it becomes more focused on classroom management and teaching to the norm. We then lose the students that are already behind and don’t allow the high students to excel even more.

EDTECH 537 Commentary Entry

Cyber Seniors is something I came across one morning while I was scrolling through Facebook. A friend had reposted it, so I thought I would check it out. I was in tears laughing as the senior citizens in the video were learning tech lingo, how to post things on Facebook and even how to make YouTube videos. After watching the short video I started doing some research on the webpage to learn more about this documentary.

It started out as a senior project for two high school sisters. They helped their own grandparents navigate through the internet and saw what a profound impact it made on their lives. So they decided to help other seniors become just as comfortable. They now have their own YouTube channel where the seniors can create their own YouTube videos- Cyber Seniors Corner. Many of these videos make me giggle, but the more important thing is it's giving these adults an outlet and a way to communicate with others. Many people fear the time when they get too old to care for themselves alone. And when a family has to make the heartbreaking decision to put their parents or grandparents in an assisted living center it may feel like they are cut off from the outside world.  This is such a cool movement that has motivated many people to teach their elderly family members how to use technology.

What do you think about senior citizens using social media? What types of social media would be fun or helpful for seniors to use?

EDTECH537 Discussion Question Entry

I've discussed in earlier posts that my purpose for continuing my blog will be continuous communication with my students' parents. While some may not have internet access, they can use the local library or log on using their smartphones. I want to make this blog as effective as possible, while still having a personal touch. I assume many of my fellow classmates are parents, or interact with parents on a daily basis. I want to know what would this blog to mean to my students' parents.

• What types of things would you want to see on your child's teacher's blog?
• How would you feel about seeing pictures of your child on the blog?
• What types of things could you care less about seeing on the blog?
• Would you like using a blog as a means of communication?
• If not, what type of communication would be better?
• Should I discontinue the blog each year and create a new one?

As I'm starting to gear up for the upcoming school year, these questions will help drive me in setting up my classroom blog. Thank you in advance for providing input! 

EDTECH537 List Entry

As I continue with my blog being centered around parent communication I began to think about the words I hear during the summer far more than during the school year. "I'm BORED." These words make me cringe... My stepdaughters are with us every other week from Friday evening to the following Friday morning. As parents we try to make sure they have camps to attend, sports to participate in and the occasional sleep over here and there. All while keeping a strict budget of a teacher/grad student and a Physical Therapist Assistant. Often there are days that are wide open. I love the wide open days... they hate them. They want to go-go-go! While I admire their energy and hope it will rub off on me somedays, it's difficult to keep these kiddos entertained day in and day out without having excess screen time. I've compiled a list of things we have been doing, or started this summer. I would love suggestions to add to my list!

-Library
-Zoo
-Water Park
-Pool
-Cooking Class
-Writers Camp
-Bike Rides
-Fort creations
-$1 Shopping


Thank you in advance for your welcomes suggestions!

EDTECH537 Links Entry

As I start to dive into the world of blogging I've decided to use this platform as a way to communicate with my students' parents. Posting the activities we have done during the week, upcoming projects, pictures from field trips and programs. This will hopefully give parents a way to check in with us and maybe even get into blogging themselves.

On that note, I decided to use my links entry to list summer reading programs for kids to use to prevent the "summer slide."

Barnes and Noble- Read 8 books, fill out the reading log and get a free book from Barnes and Noble!

Boise Public Library- I use this program with my stepdaughters over the summer. For every 20 minutes they read parents log in their time. After 10 days of reading they are eligible to win prizes. There are three levels with the prizes increasing as you move forward.

Book Adventure- A reading program through Sylvan Learning. Students read books, take a quiz on the book and will earn points to use towards prizes.

Book It- Book It is a great resource I use throughout the year. Students color in each day that they read on a monthly calendar. At the end of the month, they turn in their calendar and receive a free personal size pizza from Pizza Hut! During the summer, the log is similar however you must read 5 whole book by August 15th to be eligible to win BIG prizes!

Chuck E Cheese- This link provides a variety to reward certificates parents can use as incentives for their children. Specifically for the reading reward, the student must read 14 days and they will receive 10 free tokens to Chuck E Cheese.


Scholastic- Always an educators' favorite, Scholastic. Parents, students and teachers can use this program over the summer. Students log their reading minutes and earn virtual prizes. They also have a chance to win signed books and big prizes.

If you find any more summer reading programs in your area, please post below!



Deringer, S. (2010, May 27). 10 Summer Reading Program for Kids. Retrieved from http://www.weareteachers.com/blogs/post/2015/05/27/10-summer-reading-programs-for-kids