Assignment 2: Copyright and Internet Safety/ Engage Me or Enrage Me

From commonsencemedia.org, I chose a 9-12 grade lesson called "College Bound" I chose this lesson, because it is common to see people posts information, write posts, or post pictures that should not be online for the public to see. I think this is especially important for young adults who are moving on to college and employment, because nowadays employers could have access to your profile. People say that their profile is "private," but people tend not to pay attention to their privacy settings and may think that their page and their posts are private when, in reality, people can see them. Also, even if someone can only see a profile picture, that one picture allows for people to make assumptions about who you are. Some people posts pictures that make them look immature, unprofessional, or inappropriate even though they may be good people.

It is very important for students to understand that the way they present themselves online is important. Their online profiles and posts are representations of who they are and people will perceive them in a certain way and make judgements based on the information they are given. It is just like in the real world--when people meet they automatically make assumptions or make judgements based on the first encounter. If students wants to be seen as a respectable person in the real world and be considered as a potential candidate for a job, they should also consider the way they present themselves online not only to employers but their friends and peers.


Prensky- "Engage Me or Enrage Me"



"Engage Me or Enrage Me" by Marc Prensky presented ideas that I felt were a little exaggerated and dramatized. For instance, he talked about three types of students. He seemed to be accepting of the "self-motivated" and "going through the motions" students but he described a third group as the "tune us out" kids saying that they were more engaged with technology then school. He said that these students are engaged outside of the classroom with video games, etc but not in the classroom. It is true that many students are engaged more with technology outside of school, but is that necessarily a bad thing that it is not incorporated into every second of the school day? I agree that video games provide kids with rewards, challenges, and control and some students may not see the reward in school, the point of the challenge of the work, or any control in what they do or learn. Prensky suggests that we can change that by bringing more technology into classroom lessons by going as far as creating games for students to play. That is a potential way to do it, but I also think that students can learn in others ways or more "traditional" ways as well without involving as much technology. I don't think that just because kids today are surrounded by technology outside of school that they have to also be surrounded by technology in school. Not every students wants to be on a computer all day. I think what needs to be added to lessons are rewards, challenges, and student control in the classroom. Yes, good grades are an incentive but sometimes that's not enough for students. Some students want immediate reward for completing a challenging task. Give it to them. Provide fun and interesting challenges and allow them to have some control over what they want to learn more about and have more control of class discussions. That'll make for a better classroom.

Assignment 1: Understanding the Digital Generation

Reading "Understanding the Digital Generation" really made me think about my experiences in school and how much of it was based solely on memorization, preparing for tests, and regurgitating information. A lot of what we learn in school is based on textbooks and class lectures. However, the article suggests that most kids today are visual learners rather than auditory or haptic. That actually makes sense considering how much technology has influenced our lives. You can always find a student who is finding a way to sneak a peek at their phones to send a text or check their Facebook in class while the teacher is talking about something. The material could have the potential to be interesting, but the way it is being taught may make it boring. Students are already being told what to learn, so why not make it appealing to them? Whether we want to except it or not, technology is a big part of our lives and it is only becoming bigger. Teachers should definitely begin to incorporate some form of technology into their classrooms to make the learning process more interesting and fun for their students. The article states that adding picture content to the material that students are learning helps them remember more of the lessons. If that is the case, lessons should begin to incorporate visual media to help facilitate the learning process. That would help students not only do better on tests but also remember the information after having to memorize it for a test.

I am an auditory learner so I like to listen to class lectures to retain information. However, it also helps to receive information in different ways. As a future English teacher, I am always thinking about ways to improve the classroom. I remember in high school that most of the English classes I took were lectures where the teacher would read a passage from the book and then help us interpret the text. Sometimes we would watch a movie to help us fully understand the text, but there are other ways to help students learn. Taking advantage of all of the technology available to us would help the new generation of learners to have a better grasp on the information that they have to learn. I think it is important to recognize the dynamic environment that kids are growing up in and the need to adapt to these changes within the eduction system. Otherwise, students will continue to become uninterested in the material being taught to them. I know that not all of the students in my class will be interested in reading some of the books that I will teach, but I hope to create fun lessons to help them find something interesting in the material possibly through the use of technology such as visual media. I am definitely open to the use of technology in my classroom and creating innovative ways to teach students rather than sticking to the usual lecture style.