Reflection on Influential Technologies

For my three most influential technologies, I chose the three devices that I feel I use the most which are my cell phone, laptop, and Kindle. I use each of these three devices at least once a day and they are essentially built into my daily routines. The first thing I do every morning is grab my cell phone and check it for any notifications that I missed during the night while I was sleeping, like text messages, emails, or Facebook posts. A lot like one of the girls in the video, "Learning to Change, Changing to Learn: Student Voices", I also use my phone to text as communication with my friends much more than just talking. Especially now that my friends are I are living farther apart from one another, than just down the dorm hallway. My laptop gets used on a daily basis as well, to keep up-to-date with social media, random browsing, and currently for school work, and I read on my Kindle every night as I am going to bed. As you can see from the photo I have attached, the area next to where I sleep has been optimized for these technological rituals with my cell phone's charging dock and Kindle stored right next to my pillow.

With my cell phone, information just a few taps away, so whenever I have a question about anything, my first instinct is always to reach for my cell phone to Google search it. In this way, I noticed I have become more interested in how things work, and asked a lot more questions about things that I normally take for granted. For example, the other day while I was sitting in my boyfriend's car a random question came to mind, why are roads made with asphalt when most sidewalks are cement? With a few taps on my phone, I was able to find out that paving a road in cement is much more expensive and takes much longer for curing which means we would have to wait much longer before being able to drive on those roads again. With this ease of access to information, you could even say that I've begun to think in a different way where I question things much more, as the boy at the end of the video describes.

(I am using a generic image of my cell phone because my actual phone's screen is cracked pretty badly.)

My laptop, similarly to my cell phone, has made information much more accessible. However, the main purpose for my laptop has been school, including processing required for this course. My laptop goes nearly everywhere on campus with me in the neat cover that I have for it. In fact, this is my sixth online course that I've taken in my educational career, so having a laptop has definitely impacted the way that I not only learn, but attend classes! I have found that online classes for me have been easier to keep up with, as I can do the work on my own time. It's also been more comfortable because I have access to all of my favorite tools within my laptop as I do my course work. However, I mainly use my laptop for its internet browsing capabilities, especially for online shopping. Especially during my undergrad years where I didn't have a car, the majority of my shopping was done online. I'm also a huge Netflix user, so I use my laptop for streaming shows and movies. I've noticed recently that whenever I'm eating a meal at home, I can't seem to begin eating until I've got my laptop and a show all queued and ready to watch as I eat.

Lastly, my Kindle has dramatically changed the amount and ability to read books! I no longer need large book shelves to store all the books that I read, instead it all gets stored on a single device which saves me tons of space at home. With the expansive library of books available to me on the Kindle bookstore, I don't miss any good book titles and I can even still mark up the text as I need. My Kindle has allowed me to buy books for my classes at a decreased price, and even includes search features in the text so I can find exact quotes in class discussions! One of the students in the video mentions using technology to learn new languages, well with the right book selection, I can read a book to learn to cook something new, to change a fixture in my house, or even how to use technology!

PEW Survey Results: Teachers' Technology Use

Overall, the results from the PEW survey weren't too surprising, especially in regard to the high level of impact technology has had in classrooms given the increased use of technology in the world. As a substitute teacher, the vast majority of the classrooms I've been in are equipped with technology, such as Desktops or Laptops for student use and Smart Boards. My young cousins have even told me about their schools buying iPads and Macbook Airs for every student! Even within my own public school experiences, I always had access to a computer in school, my school offered computer-based classes, and my subject-area teachers would often bring us to the media center or a school computer lab for some classes. Therefore, the PEW survey does an accurate job of showing the level of impact that technology is having in classrooms, despite the disparities that it shows between rural and urban classrooms.

Having been raised in a school culture where mobile phones were not allowed in classrooms, I was surprised by the 73% of teachers that said "they and/or their students use their mobile phones in the classroom or to complete assignments." While I'm not sure if this also includes students using their phones when they aren't supposed to be, it's surprising to see such a high percentage of teachers supposedly using cell phones in the classroom to complete assignments!

Personally, I like to believe that I would rate comparatively to the other "teachers under 35" who are more confident with using new technology. I say this mainly because of my background with technology, and the fact that when I sit down with any new technology I'm usually able to get myself to work it fairly quickly. I also own a smartphone, laptop, tablet, Kindle, and use social networking like many of the other teachers surveyed, and I use technology to stay current about the field.