My Digital Identity
Technology surrounds us. Many of our daily task involve using technology in one shape or another. During these past few days, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my technology usage from the moment I wake up to the moment I go to bed. It has really opened my eyes to the amount of technology I use on a daily basis.
I use technology for both my professional career as well as when I come home from my job. As an 8th grade teacher, I need to be able to keep my students engaged with the content I am teaching. I always turn to technology for this. Honestly, it is what works the best (at least for me). With that being said, I am constantly spending time paying attention to what the students enjoy doing online and incorporating that into my classroom lessons. For example, I had students create an Instagram post from a historical figure as if they had an Instagram account. I then come home and scroll through various apps on my phone or watch Netflix.
My Own Map
After taking a look at David White's framework, I decided to create my own digital map based off of my own reflection. Here it is below:
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Image Source: Personal
Reflection
Overall, I would not say I am not surprised here, but wouldn't say I am happy about it. I am quite aware that I use technology frequently for multiple reasons and purposes. Part of it may be because of my age ('97 baby here). As I got older, technology kept advancing at such a fast rate. I was able to quickly adapt to the new forms of technology that kept getting released. Although I find technology to be mostly resourceful, I do realize the importance of taking a break and not letting technology consume my everyday move. Students in my classroom are finding this idea to be more and more of a challenge.
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Image Source: www.giphy.com
Hi Bridget I LOVE your idea about making an Instagram post from a historical figure! It's so creative and a great way to keep students engaged. I can imagine a fun post from Einstein or Shakespeare. You make a great point about how important it is to not let technology consume your whole day, I personally need to work on this. Since you mentioned that your students also find taking a technology break challenging, do you remind them to take breaks during your class?
ReplyDeleteYour map looks very balanced!
ReplyDeleteHello, Bridget! I think it's fantastic that you use technology to keep students engaged with the content, including the class discussions (Padlet) and the class assignments (Instagram posts). As someone who just learned about Padlet recently, what are some examples of topics that you'd cover in classroom discussions?
ReplyDeleteI can see why it would be challenging to strike a balance between using technology in the classroom and taking technology breaks. Do you have scheduled technology breaks in the classroom? Sometimes I find it helpful to schedule them for myself, or to do something that'll encourage me not to use my phone (i.e. I don't use my phone on a hike, otherwise I'll miss out on nature).
P.S. I love the Instagram post idea! I'm curious if you had any favorite historical figure Instagram posts from your students.
Hi Bridget! I found your reflection to be very interesting, and it's something that I've found myself wondering as well... is it possible to have too much technology incorporated into our lives? I know that while I rely on technology for a lot (banking, work, school, even reading), I've tried to incorporate tech-free breaks into my day: I'll go for a walk on my lunch break or take notes with a pen and paper instead of on my tablet - that sort of thing. It helps me I think, and I did incorporate it into my summer school lessons this past June & July as well (which was an experiment, if anything). I'm hoping that it helped my students, but time will tell. I appreciate you sharing your observations, Bridget! (I'm also impressed & jealous that you've mastered the entire MS Office Suite - I only use Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word!)
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