Blog Journal #2: All about MS Word, ISTE Standards, and what is a "digital native?"

    Growing up, in K-12 all the way to current, I have used Microsoft Word frequently. I used it mostly when I was younger on our home computer before I had my own laptop. Once I made it to high school, I shifted from Microsoft Word to Google Docs because all of my classes used Google Drive, Docs, and Slides through our school email. I enjoyed Google Docs in high school because everything was just in one place and easy to transfer, but now in college since we can pick and choose which softwares to use, I prefer Microsoft Word. I also enjoy Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Powerpoint because most of my professors use those softwares, so it makes it very easy to download onto my laptop and go from there.

    The ITSE Standard for Educators that means the most to me is Learner. The reason I agree with learner is because you are kind of doing all of the standards in one. While you are learning and improving their practice, they are exploring, educating, and being a leader all in one. To me, learning and collaborating also shows leadership because it teaches others that collaborating and listening to others ultimately teaches us so much. I think "learner" is extremely important for K-12 educators because they are teaching students to set goals and improve teaching methods through technology. I mean think about your upbringing in school, would you have been as successful if we did not have technology? Technology is such a huge part of all of our lives and our education and without it we would be a lot less successful. 

    When talking about "digital native" I do agree with what Mark Prensky said. A digital native is someone that was born when technology was already around- they were born into it. When I was born, 20 years ago, technology was already around but iPhones and such were not a thing yet. I understand technology extremely well and it came easy to me, whereas my parents, also known as digital immigrants," who are both in their fifties, were more confused on all this new technology, but eventually caught on well with some help. Then there are my grandparents that are in their 80's and yes, they do have iPhones and iPads now, but it took many sit downs with them to help them truly understand how to work these devices and help them fathom what all this technology is capable of. I think that learning has become easier because we can figure out pretty much anything with a click of a button, but I also think that technology has made us lazy in a way. In our parents generation, they had to use the dictionary or collaborate more with friends to study, whereas now we can type a question into google and get an answer instantly. Personally, I still take notes on paper because it helps me retain information, but now it is so easy to type up notes which can make studying and homework go by a lot faster. Differences that I anticipate between me and my future students in terms of how we use technology right now is honestly hard to fathom. I feel like technology is so advanced already in 2021 that I cannot really think of what else we can do to keep advancing it, but I know there is more to come. I definitely think that there will be more use of technology when I am in my job one day, but I hope it does not take away from the importance of social collaboration in person and in the physical classroom.