Discuss how you will approach teaching students who are all digital natives and have spent their entire lives growing up online.
People are constantly online, surfing the web, using Twitter, Facebook, and so on. The longer the internet is around the more advanced it becomes. For some adults, it is hard to keep up with the new fads online. My father only gets on the internet to send emails and look up when the next Cardinals game is. Many younger children know how to do things online that I did not know how to do until recently. It is important to keep up with technology as a teacher to know what is going on in the students' lives and to have their education pertain to their every day lives.
First, it is important to read and keep updated about what new sites are coming out online. It is good to check them out, even join them. If it is too complicated, watch a tutorial or a walk through.
I think a good step to take is to take a technology class at least once a year. If I am not sure how to work something, it would be good to get a step be step tutorial on how to work that particular site and what it is used for. I also think it is good to learn how to edit and upload and keep up to date with different forms of presentations like Prezi or PowerPoint. These types of presentations are a great tool to incorporate into the classroom to keep the students engaged.
Of course, it is not necessary too be able to invent the next version of Google, but it is important to know the basics of the technology that many students have second instinct knowing how to work. Being able to ask students questions is also a good way to get them engaged and they are more than willing to help.
I mentioned in another post that I still have college professors that use projectors. If we are still using PowerPoints when there is something new and more interesting to the students, they are less likely to be engaged. Therefore, keeping informed and in-the-know is the most important way to help students learn.
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