Though I consider myself pretty much a digital native, when I began this class I had the opinions that may show that in actuality I'm a digital immigrant. I didn't like the ideas of kids using computers all of the time and I still have some of the same worries that my kids won't play outside or know how to hold a conversation face to face. That being said, the thing that has changed the most for me is the realization that my job as an educator is to prepare students for their future, not to condition them to how I think things should be.
Even if I don't believe that all of the intense technological use is in the best personal interest of the students, it is in their best interest if it helps put them at an advantage for their future and gives them access to new ways of learning and information. The reality is that students to love technology, it's how they learn, how they find information, how they relate to one another and how they gain information about the world around them. Even if I think having a pen pal might be more beneficial, or playing a game outside is better than playing computer games, the reality is that having an email pal is probably more beneficial to the learning my students need to find success in the future.
This was the biggest shift for me- my job is to prepare students for their future regardless of my beliefs. Just because my childhood wasn't as infiltrated with technology doesn't mean I didn't love playing Oregon Trail or Carmen SanDiego. I'm sure the amount of technology I used was far, far more than my parents may have felt comfortable with but the times were changing and that's what I was being presented with, that's what was culturally relevant, and it put me at a huge advantage to be so technologically competent today and I intend to give my students the same advantage.
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