Becoming an e-Teacher

Chapter 1- Becoming an e-Teacher

       Electric childhood is the term used to describe adolescents, infants, toddlers, and pre-schoolers that are "immersed" in media and interacting regularly with a variety of technologies. Adolescents are said to spend an average of 6 1/2 hours with media per day. Generation M is a term used to define children who have grown up using computers, the internet, and other media. Computer technologies have perpetuated society in a multitude of ways: Computer use begins with the youngest learners and continues from there, gender differences are not pronounced, there is a digital divide, parental education is a factor in technology use, computer use is different for different groups, family income affects technology use dramatically, and multiple technologies are in use.
      Philip Jackson (1968) said that "teaching responsibilities must be managed at the rate of some 200 separate and important interpersonal interactions every hour, 6 hours per day, 180 days of the year. The complexities of teaching are being tackled everyday by the vastness, speed, and efficiency brought about by computer technology.
    New technology can enhance the development of lessons and the level of engagement in students. I found Project Tomorrow to be an interesting program. This is an organization that collects the views of teachers, students, and parents through studies.
    When I considered being faced with competing perspectives about the value of technology for learning, I realized that this means I need to recognize my own standpoint. Hopefully, this will be something I obtain from this class. A whole new concept for me, which I appreciated, is the idea and goal that teachers should "provide educational activities in which students and teachers are not just consumers of what technology offers, but are active creators, shapers, and evaluators of the information and experiences that technology presents."

Questions:
1. What challenges do today's teachers face in regards to online class newsletters, blogs, and e-mail within the scope of parent-teacher collaboration?
2. Are teachers becoming responsible for technology education for parents in order to promote collaboration?
3. Has the growing issue of cyber-citizenship been addressed in terms of research and guidelines?