Educase Chapter 8

I honestly found this reading to be the least engaging. I feel as if this chapter focuses more on the post-secondary Net Generation, as opposed to the the secondary environment I will be entering. Instead of reminiscing about my experiences growing up in the current education system or imagining the classrooms I will enter, I found myself thinking about my current friends and their current statuses in life. While interesting, I felt that unless I do eventually pursue my doctorate, this chapter served me little, since the information was aimed at the educational period after mine.

I believe the key to educating the Net Generation is to fight complacency. I feel this is an overall problem with our educational system. Educators have come to embrace the efficiency of technology as a mean of communication between fellow educators, administrators, and students; however, the implementation of technology into the curriculum generally stops here. Instead educators need to become aware of the immense potential technology holds for instruction.

I spoke with an underclassmen education major, which led me to reminisce about Secondary Methods I and constructivism. Personally, I consider myself a progressive, but technology could theoretically allow for both philosophies to be truly implemented. At heart, both preach that students should be fully engaged in the learning process, and the numerous applications of the Web 2.0 would only serve to further empower students in their pursuit of knowledge. We discussed it in and out since the class began, and I agree. The future of the American education system hinges upon teachers' abilities to think beyond flat textbook pages and see the benefits technology holds.