Blog Post #2

I've had a lot of experience using MS Word as a student. My K-12 school provided all Microsoft apps with my school email, just like FSU does. This meant that I had access to these tools at such a young age. I was also in a computer class in sixth grade, so I learnt the basics of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. I will say that when it comes to doing homework assignments, I prefer using MS Word. It's easier to submit to a file dropbox, and it ensures that my work isn't being changed after I submit it. On the other hand, when I'm taking notes or doing virtually anything else, I prefer using Google Docs. This is because it's saved to my Google Drive, so I can access it much more easily on any device than I can with Microsoft apps.

The ISTE standard for educators that I think is the most meaningful is the learner standard. I feel that teachers should always keep open ears and an open mind while teaching. No one is ever finished learning everything that our world has to offer. It is very, very possible for a student to be able to teach the instructor something new, and that's okay. This concept should be talked about and more accepted, because not only would it encourage students to speak their mind when they have something to say, but it would also help the teacher to feel more at peace with the thought of learning from their students. I personally believe that this would help to build a stronger connection in the classroom, thus leading to even better class conversations when covering new topics.

Finally, I do think today's youth can be labeled "digital natives." Nowadays, kids are being introduced to the internet at such an early age. I remember getting my first phone in first grade because I missed the bus stop back home, and my parents decided they wanted to be able to contact me in case of a situation like that again. My parents closely monitored my app usage and screen time, so I wasn't fully in the loop until high school. I had Snapchat throughout middle school, but I didn't make an Instagram account until my sophomore year of high school. After that was when my parents removed my phone limits on the app store, and then I was able to expose myself to the glories of TikTok.

Even now, I find myself talking to my boyfriend and my roommate (who, thankfully, happens to be my best friend), and they'll both start quoting something that I haven't heard before. It always ends up being something that trended around 2022, so I hadn't seen it then, never saw it come up again, and it baffles them every time. Today, parents aren't being as strict with technology restrictions, and this cycle is starting with kids so young. I can already see myself as a future teacher: my students will know all of the vines and trends that are happening at the time, and I'll likely have to learn from them the same way I'm learning  from my friends now.

This is similar to my experience with my history teacher in 2020. This was at the start of COVID-19, so school had been moved online through Zoom. Some kids had chosen to go back to brick and mortar, but I was one who chose to stay virtual. However, my teacher didn't know much about technology; one day, she started a Kahoot with the class, but she didn't share the link or QR code with us who were online. On top of that, she had turned her volume all the way down and walked away from the laptop, never checking back in. We tried yelling out to her and we tried holding up signs, but it didn't work, and we all missed that class. This was a crazy experience that really showed the differences between digital natives and digital immigrants, and I simply hope I will never fall that far and be that bad at communicating, especially when teaching a generation where everything is online.

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