What does it all mean? Chapter 9

This chapter sums up the idea that we need to see the potential in technology, if not totally except it into education.  For example, the chapter mentioned how many parents are hesitant to letting their kids play video games.  They fail to see the possibilities these games have in developing critical thinking and communication skills.  Parents need to begin to be more optimistic about technology and how it can be helpful.  If we can get kids to play educational type games and remove all the violent ones, many positive outcomes can occur.  Another reason parents maybe be hesitant in using video games is because their kids won’t be getting as much exercise.  I think this is an important issue to address, especially because obesity is on the rise.  As much as we stress students learning about technology, I think we need to just as much, if not more, stress the importance of exercise.  It would be neat if we could continue to develop more active games such as the Wi to get kids moving, learning, and gaming.  I also think that parents need to become more involved to understand this potential, which can help quicken the change.  They should be learning how to use all the technology or programs their kids are for a couple of reasons.   One, it would be a good relationship builder and two, it can help the parents keep track of what the kids are doing for safety reasons.   

As a future teacher, I will need to continue to understand and explore more deeply all of the possible uses of technology.  It will be interesting to see how much things will change in the upcoming years regarding education and student dynamics.  The way students interact and present information or ideas to others may drastically affect who and how they grow up to be.  What values will they learn and how will their respect for others grow or change?  Will they be better critical thinkers and communicators?  So many unanswered questions that I feel in time will unravel, but they all point back to the same source of change – technology.  One topic that was brought up in the chapter was about how kids can develop their interests and become more encouraged to learn about it because they can communicate with people who have similar interest.   I think this is very beneficial because it is one way students can take pride in the things they like and can be proud of who they are.  They can develop their self-esteem from different sources, besides just the classroom.  This is powerful because with the pop culture and kids just wanting to fit in, their communication and friendships with people of similar interest can decrease the cases of depression.  I feel that because they have this one place where they fit in, their self-esteem may rise and they will be motivated to learn and come to school.