Spring Term - Day One

Twenty-two students of Western Oregon University are writing a blog on the same subject.  It's my first assignment of the term for ED270 Technology in Education: setup a blog probably in blogger.com or wordpress.com and reflect on each day's class topic.  Another twenty or so will do the same on Friday.

I ask them to include some thoughts on what they learned in the day.  I too learn something, a lot as a matter of fact, during each class.  Some may not think what I learn is worthy of college credit, probably because there are few or no big words or deep theoretical topics.  I learned that preparation for class includes having batteries for the remote wireless mouses.  Didn't have to deal with that when the mouses had tails of wires connected to the computer.

I confirmed that a typically solution to the problem of not being able to login is completely turning the computer off, which on these new Macs is a challenge because the on/off button is behind the screen and essentially flush with the entire surface.  I learned that my students are for the most part digital native as they grew up with computers and cell phones in their homes.  They all had cell phones and they all had regular interaction with computers, social networking and other popular computer programs.  I learned from their blogs and reflections of the first day that much of what we didn't in our full busy day was not thought of as learning.  Maybe it was the lack of big words or challenges beyond their enjoyment.

I affirmed that I can still make mistakes and I can still recover for the most part.

I learned that most of the students are first- or second-year students and appear to be very intelligent and willing to learn and engage with the subject matter and each other.

I affirmed that I still love teaching and working with students energizes me.  I affirmed that working with students is where I'm intended to be.  Life is good.