#1 First Chapters of the Textbook, ITSE Standards, and "Digital Natives"

                    Teachers are influened in many ways to use technology in their classrooms. An accomplished practice that teachers have is the ability to meet teaching technology standards. Also in order to obtain a teacher licensure/certification, teachers need to meet very specific technology requirements. Due to the fact that teachers are certified in using educational technology, this will influence them to use technology in their classrooms. In addition, technology allows teachers to best support and enhance teaching in the classroom. Teachers are able to improve their organizational skills by creating class websites. This keeps all homework assignments, lesson plans, presentations, etc. online, allowing students to have easy access to materials they missed, need to submit, and/or need to study. Teachers also use apps in the classroom. These apps are educational and provide teachers with fun/effective ways for students to review and understand classroom materials. Teachers are also influenced to use technology because of the fact that it is an amazing tool to help students participate in the classroom. Students love the opportunity to go fill in the blank on the SmartBoard, or solve the math problem on the SmartBoard. It makes education more enticing for the students.

               At the same time, students are also influenced to use technology in the classroom. Some students have different learning styles than other students. Students who are more visual learners are more likely to use tablets/laptops in class to look at certain diagrams, pictures, charts, etc. to help them better understand the topic that they are learning in class that day. In addition, students are influenced to use technology because it reinforces their learning. To this day I still use Quizlet. This website allows me to upload terms and definitions into a set and this site tests me on those terms and definitions by using games, activities, or just online exams. Technology also has the chance to help diverse students understand curriculum by using certain audio softwares, or translation websites to help them understand what is being said in the classroom. Students also have the opportunity to use things such as Google Docs, giving them the opportunity to work on projects simultaneously with a group of students. Google Docs allows students to use critical thinking by planing out how they want to create their projects, giving them the best opportunity to succeed in the classroom. Unfortunately there are times when students can use technology in a negative way. The most obvious reason is cell phone use. Teachers may have planned a game out on an app, but students may choose to text instead. This is one negative idea that students may be influenced to do in the classroom.

               The ISTE standards for students is a great way not only to hold students accountable for how they are using technology, but to help them understand how to master technology, and to also encourage them to use technology in a positive way to help them succeed in not just the classroom, but in their every day life as well. The ISTE standards for teachers makes sure that as role models, teachers show their students the proper ways to use technology, as well as helping students learn as much about technology and have their students be able to use technology as an asset not only for their class, but for future classes to come due to the fact that technology is such an important aspect of not only being a student, but being a teacher as well as becoming successful in life. I do have one particular favorite standard the ISTE has for students. My favorite standard is the Digital Citizen standard which states: "Students recognize the rights, responsibilities, and opportunities of living, learning, and working in an interconnected digital world, and they act and model in ways that are safe, legal, and ethical." I was really happy to see this standard, because it is teaching students how to be accountable for their actions online, as well as to understand what they can and cannot do on the Internet. I also really like how technology is phrased as an opportunity, because if they do things on the Internet that are illegal and/or unethical, they will lose that opportunity. They are being taught how to be model citizens and that is something that is super important in today's society. One standard that is currently not in my skill set is the Innovative Designer standard which states, "Students use a variety of technologies within a design process to identify and solve problems by creating new, useful, or imaginative solutions." As a student, I feel like I never had the opportunity to express myself with technology in a way that allowed me to use my imagination to help me solve problems in class to better enhance my learning of a specific subject, topic, curriculum, etc. Looking back on it now, I wish that I had the opportunity when I was younger to learn how to use my imagination with technology and be creative in figuring out new ways to study, complete assignments/projects in my classes growing up.

               A digital native refers to somebody who has grown up knowing and understanding technology. These are people who are currently children, teens, and young adults. We cannot remember a time without computers, the internet, and cell phones. They constantly use it to help them with their personal lives, but struggle using it in the workforce. A digital immigrant refers to people of older age who learned about technology as they were already adults. They watched technology become what it currently is today. They had the opportunity to learn and become familiar with the new technology, or refuse to adapt to this new way of life. They see it as a way to support them with their work, but don't understand how to use it in for personal use. Natives are more used to the presence of technology than immigrants are. There is definitely a difference between students as digital natives, and teachers as digital immigrants. Students use technology as a way to socialize and for personal issues, while teachers use technology more to create exams, presentations, lectures, study guides, etc. Sometimes, teachers struggle using technology to help them inside the classroom. Outside of the classroom however, some of my teachers still use flip phones (as crazy as that sounds, it is true!). I find it interesting how some teachers try to incorporate technology into their lesson plans, but constantly rely on their students to help them get the technology up and running. My teachers have given me the knowledge of knowing what technology to use for presentations, studying, research, etc. and without them I do not think I would have been able to master those achievements. I do not believe that their will be any differences between myself as a teacher and my future students when it comes to technology use. As a digital native, I have had technology around me all my life, and I will always be advanced when it comes to understanding and using it, and so will my future students. The only difference us that their will be new technological developents while they are students that I as a teacher have never seen before, but I, more likely than not, will quickly adjust to these advances in technology.