“Tablets within the English Classroom”

            Technology that is used outside the classroom recently allowed for me to have an eye-opening experience. As I was substituting in a High School a student had her Ipad on her. As she was engulfed into her screen I asked her kindly if this activity was appropriate for the classroom. She simply put that she needed her kindle application to finish her reading that was due. As I gazed at her screen I noticed she was reading “The Fault in our Stars”. This book had an over powering impact on my adult life in the last few years. This book made me ready for troubling instances, and conversations within the classroom. Before this post turns into a promotion of John Green, allow me to focus on this student. I took trust within her as a substitute to allow her to engage in possibly an outlawed device within her school. I read the handbook, and tablets were not on the list of objects not welcomed within the classroom. I was covering a “flex” period (study hall) and was just moved that she was taken the time to actually engage in her schoolwork.

            I literally took note of this in my notebook. Kindles, Ipads, and tablets are some of the newest forms of technology. Though these devices are easily prone for distraction, they connect the students instantly with endless amounts of information. Particularly when it comes to literature. I later learned that Wi-Fi is turned off within most public schools in the area. This allows the students to only access what is originally saved, prior to class. As a future English educator tablets allow for literature to be one click away for the students. Some schools only have a limited amount of hard copies. Tablets offer many free versions of literature (especially canonical classics). In college alone I have downloaded close to one hundred texts on my Ipad. The tablet has been a way for me to stay relevant within my classroom discussions. The student I confronted also showed me how she had each book from her summer reading list on her tablet.

            Though distracting, a tablet can be tremendously beneficial, especially in an English classroom. When a student is reading he or she may have trouble with a certain word in a text. When the text is in hard copy form they may look over the word and move on never fully understanding what they have just read. More importantly, they just past on an opportunity to grow academically. A tablet allows for the word in question to be defined immediately with one tap of the screen.

            Also, I promote reading with a pen in hand. Even when reading for leisure I do so to better myself. I scribble, underline, and comment as each form of literature is read. Students are able to highlight as they read just as easy with a tablet. While they highlight they are able to make quick notes and later these notes are easily accessible. They can search their notes and compare them to the world of readers who to have highlighted in the same text. I do not want to see a classroom full of distracting tablets in front of each and every student. I do however, believe tablets can and will be immensely beneficial for my future learners of literature. I love carrying a book. I love the feeling of turning a page. Tablets are just a way to connect a more technological society to the world of academics.

"Technology Autobiography"

       A smart phone, email, and my laptop have been the three most influential forms of communication technologies in my life. For better or worse each item has impacted my life. Each form listed has come with its own process. As I watched the video “Learning to Change, Changing to learn” I realized technology though often used as pleasure can be overlapped with the bettering of a person (especially communication technology).

            As a child of the nineties I have to rank my “Smart Phone” at the top of this list. As a communication technology it is capable to access all of the technologies I have mentioned in the previous statement. Having my email directly at my fingertips at all times is extremely beneficial. My smart phone is able to access each of these technologies and is fully compatible. My email is forwarded straight to my phone. My laptop backs up everything that is within the memory of my phone. The compatibility between my phone, and my laptop has created steps forward for my learning process. New information is streamed directly to the palm of my hand. Internet accessibility allows my academic life to travel with my every move. I can be contacted immediately for substitute teaching jobs. Websites, digital-books, and peers are always one click away with my smart phone. As with any technology my smart phone has had its downside towards my learning experience. Early before I respected the power the phone had to distract me from my academics, I allowed it to do just that.  I had to mature as a person to learn that each device had its appropriate time and place.           

            As an English major, writing has changed my life. Responding to text and writing for class has allowed me to move progressively towards my goal of becoming an educator. “Email”, in so many ways has made my writing substantially better. My writing is strengthened each day through email-based conversations with my professors. I have fully advanced most predominately through the use of email. My writing has grown through the comments and suggestions threaded in each email. Writing tips, and motivational blurbs have allowed me to grow academically. Email can be damaging towards learning as well. Emails may be lost. Computer crashes could result in files being forever whipped clean. Junk mail can overwhelm a folder and allow for emails of importance to never reach the recipient. For me, the positives of email outweigh the negatives. The benefits my writing has gained is immense. The writing I do is a process. My laptop is where I place my ideas.

            For many students a “laptop” embodies much of the importance towards his or her learning process, as shown in the video “Learning to Change, Changing to Learn”. I too have benefited from my laptop. Though similar to a cell phone, the laptop has generated distractions in the past for my learning experience. I now am able to separate these distractions when learning or creating is taking place. Each student in this video smiles as they talk about each different device. I feel the same when I gaze at my laptop. My personal, academic, and professional life is connected. The one student tells how video games allow him to work on problem solving within the classroom. He understands the importance to be able to draw connections between passions and expected work.

            Within the short Internet video one young lady addresses the fact that her phone allows her to take pictures for projects. I may not use my phone for this same purpose, but the accessibility I have with my phone in my hand allows me to draw a similar connection with this young lady. The young people in this video focus on the learning that stems from these advances in technology. When I gaze at my phone I think of email, which connects me to my laptop. The young people within this video find enlightenment in each of their selected objects. I too feel the ability these devices have over us. These students in the video seem to have figured out how to benefit from these advances sooner then I did in life. They allow these devices to define them. Early in my life I would have allowed my devices to distract myself from understanding myself academically. These young people allow for the definition to create a cross between academics, and pleasure. It is important for the viewer to understand that pleasure and learning should never be separated.