Chapter 1 Reflection

Blink and things change. Technology is ever shaping how world leaders and world companies do business. We've gone from working less in isolation or local to global collaboration using technology. With the cost of doing business much cheaper abroad, many U.S. companies are also moving out of the country. Asian countries are now quite competitive in the technology market and in fact have surpassed the United States in areas.
There are many financial benefits to developing the new technology. Online shopping has exploded with companies like Amazon. Online blogs, wikis, e-mail, and instant messaging allow people to collaborate from great distances quickly and in relative private. Many companies use online tutorials for their staff. Some companies track customer purchases, customer satisfaction as well as job candidates.
Techonology in education is similar. It is constantly changing and with technology so 'second nature' to our students, we need to recognize this and adjust the way we teach. The United States sees the need to improve the technology taught and used in education. With Web 2.0, we have a new collection of web-based tools to assist in educating both the young and old. Much of it is free and quite easy to access with the use of a computer and internet. Many of the recent studies say using 21st century tools in the classroom will help close the gap between how students learn in their everyday world (video games, cell phone texts, personal computer use, etc) and how they learn in the classroom. To be literate today, students must not only be able to read, write, and think but also they must be able to process information, navigate existing technology, and collaborate and communicate what they have learned using technology.
I guess Chapter 1 really talks about keeping up with the times. Technology is changing so rapidly, and in order to remain productive in today's job market we need to learn those 21st Century skills. It is pretty scary to think about how much I don't know. I read this chapter early on and didn't even understand some of the tech terms. Thanks to our class, I am taking bitty steps towards being a more productive 21st Century learner myself. My own mother has generally been ahead of me in this area. Kind of embarrassing but true. She has had the time to play around with many tech. tools whereas I couldn't find the time. Thanks for allowing me time to play.