Response to Readings

When I read the Educase text, I must admit that I wasn't familiar with all of the language the students' used. In my perspective the language to them is technological terms to me. Terms like flickr, feed readers, and bloglines to name a few. I had no need to use or learn about most of what comes second nature to the Net Gen ers. College life has thrust me into the mainstream of technology and I accept the challenge. This time around the language is very different and I would not have been able to connect the dots had it not been for this course. I accept the label of Gen Xer, because the descriptions giving for this population of people fits me well. For instance , independence is preferred, I think that too much class interaction is pointless for an online course, and I get better time management as a result of my work efforts. I will continue to learn and be willing to use new and innovative technology in the classroom. The students' will motivate me, as well as my curiosity to stay up to date with better methods for teaching.
I didn't know about some of the read/write tools from the readings. The ones that were familiar were wikipedia, Kodak gallery, and Microsoft Exel. It was surprising to me the capabilities of these programs and the fact that I could change, author, enhance, or edit them. The category of read/write is new to me. What could most benefit me would be social bookmarking and blogging because of their connection to making school more convenient. Google Docs also known as (Writely), can be used to write and edit text. It is similar to Microsoft Word, but can be accessed from anywhere with an Internet connection and can be worked on collaboratively. Collaboration seems to be the key to these read/write tools. They are considered tools in my opinion because they assist with learning other skills. My goal is to set up a Facebook page, search podcasts, and engage into the social learning of these applications.
I was impressed with the graphs and the research that went into defining the three generations of learners. We are all together in learning environments and we must find a way to coexist and learn together. We have plenty of experience to contribute to each others learning and I believe technology actually is helping to bridge the gap. Libraries, faculty, and classrooms are still much needed resources despite the changes through informational technology. Every generation felt that classroom instruction, teacher presence, and encouragement was important.