Thanks Danielle!

Danielle was the one who organized the whole Google spreadsheet for the group project, so I just wanted to say thank you for doing that. That shows real initiative and leadership; I'm 99.9% sure everyone else in the group feels the same way. So cheers, Danielle.

Reflecting On All Those Technologies

I was surprised by many of the technologies that the people in my group chose. It never occurred to me the amount of variety that existed in the word “technology.” When I first read about this interactivity, I thought to myself: “How the heck am I going to find 10 technologies? How can each member think up 10? Surely our answers will eventually converge with one another?” I felt a lot of doubts that I would find ones that would not be taken already; I was surprised at how much technology is in the world today. It was a collaborative process, this project of ours, and we communicated effectively. All of us were able to find various kinds of technology, both unique and generic. A lot of the technologies people chose are ones that completely slipped my mind. Goodreads was one that I slapped my forehead on because that’s a website that I use a lot to find out reviews on specific books that I have heard about. Audiobooks, for me at least, are in those sections of the library that I almost never pass by (I don’t think I’ve ever used one, so why hang around them?). It never occurred to me that just because I don’t use audiobooks, other people don’t use them as well. These are invaluable to learning disabled students and readers who find it easier to listen in rather than read. Many of these technologies have benefited me in classes like READ-411, where our teacher shows us Youtube videos of important material for class. Video games, the technology I listed down, are coming in handy when I go to tutor my target dependent reader because the kid plays a lot of them. And I am able to tap into his prior knowledge of the video games, having played many myself, to aid in the tutoring. This project was an eye-opener and I enjoyed reading other people’s suggestions for helpful technologies both in and out of the classroom.

Eventual Integration

Based on the comments that I have read regarding my aversion towards the iPhone, I have begun to delve a little deeper into my "issues" with the subject. The reason why I don't have one right now is not just the money aspect of the whole thing, it's how distracted people get when they have one. That is a major turn-off for me. Especially when having a conversation. Normal human contact happening and the person you're trying to talk to is nodding while looking down at their iPhone screen. I'd be fine if it was just a little occurrence, but I see people do it all the time. More and more so during talking, 90% of the time they're looking down. Even though some may argue that they're doing something important for school or family or are just browsing; it's just moments like that which give off a bitter taste in my mouth when it comes to smart phones. However, as someone pointed out in the comment section, there will be apps added eventually that will making teaching an easier profession. Last semester, in my “Teaching Inclusion in Secondary Schools” course, our professor made a point to show which assistive technologies would benefit not only inclusive students, but other students as well. She said that many of the things introduced, which included one such program (Dragon Naturally Speaking! That's such a badass name!) that synchronized auditory voicing to texts that help certain learning disabled students, will be available for the iPhone. So thinking about it now, it would be counter-productive to completely write off iPhones in the future. But in the HERE and the NOW, I don’t see myself investing in one. Not now at least. And I know that some people argue that such a tool has helped them with school duties now, I just feel like it would be just a distraction in a college setting. I have pen and paper and a computer back home, why does every single thing need to be digitalized to how fast something needs to get done. And I may be a hypocrite when it comes to patience, I get angry when laundry takes a long time, but sitting down in front a computer to do a paper appeals to me rather than jotting it down on a portable screen. I don't know how to describe, but the feeling is pretty great when doing that. Plus the screen is bigger and everything. Professionally, smart phones will give teaching untold amounts of advantages and since the upcoming generations are being born into technology, with no concepts on how things used to be except for what their elders tell them, it would be great to meet them half-way. But, then again, I like to think I’ll still have a crappy old phone even in the future when cars start to float and laser guns are being invented. To remind me of the older generation because sooner or later, they’re going to develop plentiful and fresh ways of doing things. And it would be nice to have a touch of old school somewhere close. As sort of an anchor back to reality, to humble me a little bit. So maybe when I actually become a teacher, I’ll invest in a smart phone in order to adapt with technological improvements in the field. It's that whole natural selection feeling about it all: I don’t want to be the bird that never developed a larger wing span in order to catch more food. That would mean dying off and I must say that I prefer living. But then and only then, never before. Because the people who commented on my posts, thank you for doing that by the way, have a point. That convenient technology for professional reasons are a must-have, especially with how much things are changing nowadays and in the coming future. But at the moment, I’m content with writing something down on an index card or a notebook, walking to my laptop and doing my work. And most of all, I’m content with my crappy old phone because of the lack of temptation that it gives me. Knowing me, probably the same for everyone, if I had a smart phone with all these apps and games, then I’d never pay attention in class. It all depends on how much self-control one has and knowing me, that would be a bad combo. That’s just the kind of person I am. Oh yeah, what someone said about a GPS! I do get afraid whenever I’m lost, especially when it’s someplace important that I need to be or an emergency or I'm terrified of being stranded with no gas. But most of the time I have either MapQuest/GoogleMaps (remember those?) or my brother lends me his GPS and I bring it back in one piece. Sometimes, I like stopping at nearby shops and asking the locals for some help like the tourist I am sometimes. I know it sounds corny, but the feeling of talking to someone and them giving me crappy directions on a vaguely drawn napkin always makes me laugh. And then they give me this look and then I’m like, “I like your shop.” I know, that’s pretty weird. But then if the directions are just so topsy-turvy, then I’ll call someone to help me out. But thinking about a GPS on my phone, that would be heavenly. I don’t know, one of my friends said that I was born in the wrong century. That must be the reason for my state of thinking. Maybe I’m an old man in college student’s clothing. Like I said, maybe later, somewhere down the road, I’ll get an iPhone eventually for professional purposes. Just not now. Because now’s not the time for fear doctor...that comes later. OOOOOOOOHHHH, Dark Knight Rises reference!  Ahahaha, can anyone guess who said it?

Tagline: From ink to eyesight.

Phrase: Film gives flesh and sound to classic literature...even the masterpieces.