Module 3 Post 2

I believe that technology has shaped the zeitgeist of the current generation in a major way. I was just at dinner the other night with my husband and I was observing a family at a table. Each one of the children in the family was on their phone! I believe that this generation is less engaged in some of the values that were perceived to be important to past generations. These values include personal interaction face to face, family time, and live engagement in live situations. Today's generation is glued to what is happening in everyone else's life and does not care to pay attention to what is happening right in front of their face. I think of all of the time, interaction and personal conversation that is missed out on when people are on their phones and seeking the company of technology instead of the company of the loved one in front of them. I speak with my own husband about this. Sometimes I really feel like I have to emphasize to him that there is life outside of his computer, Facebook, and video games. I guess I worry about what is going to happen to the way people connect with each other? Are people going to base interaction on how people make them feel over their phone or over the internet instead of how they make them feel in person? Are people going to forget the importance of spending one on one time with significant others and will people focus on connecting with each other electronic to electronic sitting side by side in the same location?

Module 2 Post 4

Being a member of the millennial generation, I am partial to technology. Now, believe me I still struggle, but I am pretty receptive to the fact that I will just get the hang of some new technology and a year or even 6 months later it will upgrade or change. My sisters who are Gen Xers are the same way. They also grew up with technology changing and new technological advances being introduced. My parents are Baby Boomers and they are actually more comfortable with technology than I am. My dad had an IPad, and was using all of the features before I even owned one. My grandparents who were part of the Silent generation were involved with technology as well. Both sets of my grandparents had a computer and the internet. Both of my grandpa's were more eager to use the computer though, and my grandma's chose to stay away from it.  The point behind the generational look into my own family is that I believe that some generational barriers exist with using technology, but if one is eager and accepting of the use and new constant development of technology the generational barriers will blend together.  I believe there are barriers to technology with older generations teaching the millennial generations solely because some of the older generation instructors have not fully embraced technology, or feel that their teaching is in a good place without it. It is very hard to completely doubt something without trying it or implementing it. Now, this brings me to my last point. The barriers to technology start at home. I grew up and was surrounded by people who embraced technology and technological advances, therefore I easily accept the fact that technology changes.  But I could easily see how one would not accept technology if they were not surrounded by technology and technology was not accepted by their peer group.

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Module 2 Post 3

The integration of technology into the classroom is an interesting topic. As I stated in my first post this semester, I can remember playing learning games in class that taught about geography. I think that our society has built on that and using technology in the classroom has exploded. Using games, interactive learning on laptops, and second life virtual reality characters is a good thing. Teaching students about technology and letting them apply it in different ways is going to benefit them in their future careers. The use of the second life characters for IBM is completely realistic and I can see that being done by more corporations to save on budgets. In the hospital setting we are having more of our learning be online instead of in seat because of budget and because of the amount of mandatory information that has to be communicated. As for implementation, I could see video games and second life characters used to teach foreign language quickly and effectively in healthcare workers. I think if I would be able to play a game, interact with a Spanish speaking person, and have them teach me how to appropriately speak Spanish, I could be more successful in serving my Spanish speaking population. The game could be used to teach the basics of the language and second life could be used to practice the language with a real person. I think this concept could be used in the classroom as well. For example in history or geography, second life could be used to travel to different destinations around the world and take virtual tours of historical landmarks. Overall, the use of gaming can be productive in the classroom. It is ultimately the instructors decision how to embrace gaming in the classroom and which games to choose. Therefore, the instructor still has the control and the students have a chance to be more purposefully engaged in learning.

Module 2 Post 2

The "catch" in the video was that students believe that they can multitask, but in reality they can only focus on one thing at a time. Students believe that they can focus on many different things at once and that they are masters at it. I believe in the video students were surprised that they were not as good at multitasking as they thought they were. When students try to do many different things at once and neglect doing one thing at a time, the tasks do not get completed as well as they would have if they were given their own separate attention. So, if a student needs to focus on one class, and they are texting their friends, and answering email at the same time, they will not retain some of the important information that is taught during the class.  I have experienced this in my own life with my own classes. If I am trying to focus on many different things at one time, all of the things get a little bit of attention, but it takes me longer to complete all of the tasks. It is almost more efficient for me to complete one task at a time.
Instructors can address the catch by maybe running their own experiments with the students and their multitasking abilities. The instructor could assign the students to do an assignment that involves multitasking on one subject. Then they could take the results of that assignment and compare it to the results of an assignment where the students focus on one part of the subject at a time. The instructor could then present those results to the class. After the class experiences the feel of completing the assignments being able to focus on one thing at a time and then having to multitask, the student can than make a decision on which way they prefer learning. I would bet that a good majority of students would prefer an assignment that focused on one part.  

Module 2 Post 1

I think the recent developments in technology have ignited a forced evolution rather than an evolution that is being gracefully accepted. In the PBS video one of the traditional style English teachers stated that, "I feel like I am fighting the good fight," while another History teacher was visibly embracing all of the accepted technological advances. Why does one teacher feel like technology is a thing that needs to be fought, while another teacher feels like technology is here, might as well embrace it? Is that English teacher fighting a battle because she is personally fighting a battle with technology, while the other is more easily understanding it? Bottom line is that if society did not rely so heavily on technology, and if the younger generations did not rely so heavily on technology, I do not believe that schools would feel the pressure to integrate it into their curriculum. Another interesting point of discussion was the use of online resources to skip out of reading a whole book. My personal take on that is that in a future students professional life, is there going to be a time when they do not have access to the internet for information or for a quick resource? Probably not. So, I agree with the History teacher in the PBS documentary that commented on the fact that we need to decide what is really cheating and what is not. Technology is only going to be relied on more heavily, not only with a students "work" life but also with their social life. The social life of today's teenagers is continuous. There is not a break. One student stated that he would read books more if he had the time. I don't think not having time is the issue, I think that it is time management, and the fact that teenagers today are bombarded with social media on a continuous basis. If a student watches TV, goes to the store, goes to the mall, what do they see? Most likely they will see signs like, "Like us on Facebook" "Follow us on Twitter" "Shop online for more options." Society is pulling people toward their computer and encouraging continuous computer use. Even as an adult you can save a percentage on some of your bills if you switch to online paying and paperless bill statements.  Technology and the internet are not going to leave and the amount of computer usage without face to face interaction is going to get worse. So now the question becomes management. How are we going to teach our students and children to effectively and responsibly manage online education and social media?

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Post 4 Module 1

I do not believe that Bloom's Taxonomy is an outdated taxonomy to use in the digital classroom. I do still think that there are steps to learning, but I also believe that a lot of those steps are happening simultaneously instead of starting at lower order thinking skills (LOTS) and working up to higher order thinking skills (HOTS). So, take the first two LOTS, in order to remember a fact you would have already had to have some understanding of that fact to know that it is connected to what you are trying to remember it for. For example, in the nursing profession there are different specialties. I specialize in intensive care, but patients will ask me questions about other specialties such as surgery. I may not be able to  analyze their procedure, but I can remember what the procedure is based on the name of the procedure and understand what the purpose of the procedure is by the patient's diagnosis.
Therefore, with today's technological advances, I do not think that Bloom's Taxonomy is obsolete, but I do feel like the steps to learning are blurred. Students can learn at an unbelievable rate related to how quickly they make connections. I know that even my brain is operating very quickly from the time that I wake up to the time that I lay my head down. It is because in today's society I am forced to multitask on a continuous basis because society can operate at higher speeds because technology has made things faster, more efficient, and more available. Students are not any different. They are forced to multitask, and therefore need to be taught in a way that encourages multitasking and learning more than one step at a time or else they will get bored. 

Post 2 Module 1

The nature of technology has effected American society and my role as a nurse in an immeasurable way. Every time I think about past technology and future technology my mine is overwhelmed with the possibilities. As I watched the YouTube video for this assignment I was reminded of how small the United States is, and how impressionable other countries are on our society. I think this realization of how small we are compared to other countries sums up the effect technology has had on American society. Before the internet, the message delivered to the American population was controlled. Therefore, the Americans heard only what other Americans wanted them to hear. Sure there is freedom of speech and freedom of the press but I feel like when a story was published or reported there was a strong emphasis on how great the US was and how ideal the American people were. Now, with access to information from all over the world, the American society has been educated on how great other countries are, and also have been educated on how large of a threat those other countries have the potential of being. Lastly, I think technology has opened a new door of fear for the American society because there are so many unknowns about technology, and at the rate technology has grown and how quickly it has evolved, the American society now has the fear of, is my role is society going to be eliminated and am I needed to help society function? With corporations outsourcing and thinking of cheaper faster ways to achieve quality and quantity, technological advancements tend to be the answer which eliminates "the man."
As a nurse, technology in my opinion has made medicine better, safer, and more efficient. With electronic bar code scanning, IV pumps that eliminate human calculation error, robot arms that conduct surgery more precisely, and electronic charting that can communicate from one medical facility to another, technology in my opinion has brought a piece of mind to patients and families.
On the other hand, there is still room for error, and room for patient's and families to track every step and nurse or doctor has made. This can make it easy for a patient or family to file a litigation against a hospital. There are still people working the technology, and sometimes I think healthcare workers forget this fact as well as patients and families. There is never a "for sure" when you are dealing with people. Everyone is different, everyone thinks different, and everyone responds to medical treatment different. As an American society we forget this.

Post 1 Module 1

During the span of my life time I have experienced a variety of technological changes.  As an elementary student I remember only using the computer to take tests based on books for accelerated reader points. In middle school, technology became more of a learning tool mixed with interaction and games.  This was displayed in social studies class by learning and exploring via "Where in the World is Carmen Sandiago" and "The Organ Trail." During Jr. high and high school the negatives of technology along with more positives began to surface. During Art class in Jr. high we were told to search the internet for images of our favorite actor/actress so that we could draw them. At this point the security and abuse of the internet became apparent because a vast majority of the Jr. high boys were "accidentally" finding inappropriate images. At this point, the internet proved to be an avenue for a vast variety of educational avenues. During high school technology began to take different forms. During this time instant messaging and email were playing a large part in my social life. Cell phones were beginning to be very popular around my peers, and texting was replacing face to face communication. In the classroom, the computer was being used more for research. This is when I was first introduced to "CINAHL."   Also, in biology class we were using computer applications to test the effects of genetics on the feline population. Needless to say, if you mix the wrong species of cats together, the product is less than extraordinary.