I am very excited to have you here! For my first blogpost, let me give you a brief introduction of myself. My name is Chris Rodriguez, and I am a senior here at California State University, Northridge. I am majoring in English Subject Matter, as well as receiving a minor in Queer Studies.
Education is very important to me, and as a student, it has been a very long journey so far. I plan on getting my Master’s Degree in English after I receive my B.A., so I am very excited to almost finish my education journey. However, as we all know, learning is an ongoing process that even exists for teachers— not only students. All I know is that my heart belongs in the classroom.
Therefore, I am passionate about what has the power to affect my classroom. As a 21-year-old who falls under the Gen-Z spectrum, I have not only grown up with technology, but I have also witnessed the rise of social media right before my eyes, meaning that I have been on both ends of the spectrum. Due to my poor attention span, I have been in the shoes of the student who constantly goes on their phone. However, I am also a Supplemental Instruction leader at CSUN, where I have to constantly ask my own students to put their phones away to show respect.
What’s my take on media technology within the classroom? I cannot deny that technology increases efficiency, which makes lesson planning smoother. Also, this usage is much more environmentally friendly. Students are not only able to take notes on their chrome books, but they can also fill out handouts through a Google Doc. There are digital textbooks now as well. However, the attention spans of students are rapidly decreasing, especially with such easy access to social media apps that produce rapid content, such as TikTok. As a result, school has become less about learning and more about classroom management.
I have seen this result firsthand. This week, I spent time at Northridge Academy High School to complete my required classroom observations hours for my English Subject Matter major. In most classes, students are expected to place their phones in a box at the beginning of class. In other classes, there are less restrictions, causing me to only see heads facing down at their phones. Even with the stricter restrictions, however, students are still facing down at their chrome books as they watch YouTube while the teacher lectures. Due to this, students are barely processing information. Instead, they are repeatedly asking questions about the directions thastated at least ten times. In other cases, students are simply leaving their assignments blank since they are unsure of what to do due to missing the directions or lecture content.
I love the usage of media technology, and I love classrooms, and I especially love combining both— especially during Kahoot time! However, due to how distracting technology can be, I strongly believe that there should be stricter restrictions on technology usage.
Don’t make me sound like my Mexican mother. That phone is giving you depression!
Anyway, that is all for my first of many blogs! Remember, you are never alone. I hope that this blog will feel like a comfort blanket, or like your older sibling. Thank you for reading, and have a nice self-care day!
Hi Chris, great job with your first blog post this semester. I found it very engaging how you describe such relevant technological topics. I think you make a very strong point about how apps such as TikTok are harming the minds of young students since the rapid content is creating multiple fast dopamine releases. This results in an even more difficult time in the classroom because it does not provide a similar neurological response, causing students to become less engaged. I find that it is incredibly difficult to develop a solution to such a problem because of how prevalent these apps are within society. This also leads me to believe that these apps are here to stay so as future educators we have to find ways to work around the destructive technology and use technology ourselves that can benefit our future students.
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