I have been using Microsoft Word for almost all of my schooling. Admittedly, up until about second grade we were not using technology to complete assignments, we would just use computers to take quizzes on. I did have Apple products when I was younger, and my parents did not want to pay for the Microsoft Suite so I often used an app called Pages, but I would use Word in school. By the time I was in high school, using Google Docs was the bets because you did not have the physically save the document onto a hard drive and pick up where you left off. Now, I will usually start writing my papers on Docs, and once its time to format and such I will finish on Word to make sure everything is up to standards.
"Students creating podcasts" by shersh is licensed under CC BY-ND 2.0.
The ISTE standard that is most important to me is "2.3.b Establish a learning culture that promotes curiosity and critical examination of online resources and fosters digital literacy and media fluency." This standard means that an educator's duty is to cultivate a love for learning while ensuring that students are able to navigate technology which is ever so present in our society. I like this standard so much because it is implemented in K-12. Technology evolves so incredibly fast, and from the time someone is in Kindergarten to the time someone is about to start University or College, learning and teaching can change so much. From having physical workbooks and textbooks, to technology being a need in order to purse education, it is important to teach children digital literacy.
Digital natives are youths who are comfortably familiar with technology and the internet. Digital natives can navigate technology easily. One silly difference I notice between digital natives and digital immigrants is typing in "www." or "https://" into a search bar. It is not necessary, but something small I notice that not everyone knows about. Another difference is using shortcuts, especially on phones. For example, using Siri or using one's iPhone in a more efficient manner, digital immigrants sometimes have a bit of a hard time figuring it out. I anticipate a lot of differences between me and my future students. Like I mentioned earlier, technology is evolving at warp speed. By the time I get there who knows that types of technology and the challenges they will bring for me and my students (like ChatGPT).
The Newsletter assignment seems like a good introduction into how time consuming and in depth simple assignments can be. Teachers have to go through a lot to ensure that their students have material that is concise, appropriate, well-done, and actually helpful. Leaving out some components can make a teacher and their students life harder. I would like to include in my newsletter more information on how to study well. I think I will probably target 5th graders or middle schoolers, since they are about to start experiencing new teaching styles as they become older and more mature. Their grades will be dependent more on them studying and working on problems by themselves, learning in class will not be the only way they practice. I have never designed a newsletter, but I know in order to make an appealing newsletter I would need to take my time and ensure that it visually looks good so my students actually want to use the resource.
