Blog Journal #2

    Personally, I have always used MS word when it came to school. So, my experience is pretty high, yet I don’t know much about the design features. Often, I used MS Word for very basic purposes such as writing essays and making simple text graphics. My lack of design knowledge was especially apparent when creating the newsletter. Never had I played with columns and adding so many graphics to one MS Word document. Typically, with documents like this is preferring to use other software such as Photoshop or Canva. I feel like this software provides more resources to be creative and that is why I prefer to use them. 

    ISTE Standards for educators help to provide educators with standards to create “empowered learned.” These standards outline different ways teachers can make their classrooms more engaging, moving away from traditional practices and further advancing education. The standard that I saw as most important was 2.2 leader. These standard pushes teachers to focus more on students’ development in leadership positions and creating educational opportunities that promote empowerment. Often in these standards, teachers will want to change and shape education to fit the developing society, provide access to all meeting diverse needs, and be a model and promoter for developing learning tools. I found this to be the most meaningful because this is exactly why I want to be a teacher, as a teacher I want to promote future leaders and help students feel empowered in their world. 

    The label “digital native” refers to the generation of children who grew up surrounded by technology. Those referred to as digital natives often are judged for having shorter attention spans, a dislike for reading, and a preference to learn around technology. While I think some assumptions about digital natives are true such as learning about technology. I would personally identify as a digital native and I know I work better when working in a digital-media-rich environment. Yet I think this also relates back to the ISTE standard 2.2 I talked of before. As teachers, it is our job to adapt and lead new methods of teaching that better fits the generation of students at the time. On the idea of digital natives being judged for having shorter attention spans and a dislike for reading, I feel these are untrue. Some people have these issues in every generation of people, it really depends on the person and how they act around the tools provided to them. If technology is given an educational framework, then students will use it to further develop their knowledge.