Blog Post#2

"Microsoft sign outside building 99" by Robert Scoble is licensed under CC BY 2.0

As a (K-12) student, I used Microsoft Word often for projects like essays, book reports, and even brochures. Starting in middle school, it was always installed onto the computers, so I never thought to use another application at the time. It was the same for the other programs associated with Microsoft, like Powerpoint and Excel, where we’d use these for presentations and at one point, learning to create spreadsheets in math (I don’t quite remember what it was for though). But in high school and now as a college student, I switched to using Google’s applications, including Docs and Slides. At my school, everyone had Gmail accounts created for them with our student ID’s so we were encouraged to use Google more. It was similar enough that I didn’t have to worry much about it, and eventually I became more used to it, especially when I switched to newer computers from time to time and it didn’t have Microsoft installed already.

The ISTE Standards for Educators describes seven different roles that teachers can assume to aid students. For me, I think that the standard of being a Leader is most impactful because it encompasses other standards as well as having its own uniqueness. Leaders serve as a model and mentor to other educators while still working together on projects, and are able to advocate for better things to accommodate students’ needs. There are leaders for virtually anything in a school, from hosting clubs to after school activities/sports. Having that experience helps newer teachers into becoming leaders themselves.

With the “digital native” label, I agree with it being applied to today’s generation as most have grown up and been in contact with technology since birth, but only to a certain degree. As much as there are people who were surrounded by technology so early, there’s also as many people who weren’t, depending on where they live and their class in society. Between how my teachers and classmates and I use it, depending on their age, some teachers are less accustomed to some functions while younger teachers seem more active and have almost no trouble. Overall, I can’t remember a time it has impacted my learning experience negatively, since most problems ended up being related to the software itself and not the teacher. In the future, I anticipate similar difficulties if I have to use programs/technology that I have never used or am not used to, but because our generation is quick on learning these techniques I don’t think it will be as tough.