I can’t imagine a week or even a day without using any digital device or away from the Internet. It becomes part of our life. Young people (born in the 90s and after) grow in the environment of technology and online communication. They use computer to do their homework and project, they text messages to their friends, they email, facebook, and twitter each other for more communication, they take pictures with digital cameras, the make movies of their own using soft wares or other online tools, and they share information through YouTube, myspace, and blogs like Olivia and Sam, two students in the profiles. They seem very different from kids 10 years ago when computer and Internet wasn’t so developed. Back then, when so many technologies remained uninvented or unpopular, kids use Internet more to chat when they can’t see each other. But now, they socialize online, they learn online, and they live online. If “digital” means entertainment 10 years ago, it means life nowadays.

We rely on technology for daily communication, for entertainment, and for teaching and learning. As a teacher in the digital era, learning how to teach with technology is an urgent task. Douglas Cruickshank says in his article “Technology Tools to Get Teachers Started” that “Educators and students are altering the very nature of the classroom experience by increasingly turning to technology as an integral component of learning.” He also introduces some useful online tools for teaching like Web 2.0, RSS, Web Site Reviews by Teachers, Online Professional Development, twitter, facebook, wikis, etc, and digital camera. In the video “How to Use New-Media Tools in Your Classroom”, Jim Moulton briefly talked about how to use digital camera in classroom. I think this is something new to me. I use digital camera a lot, but I never thought about using it in my classroom. With a digital camera in hand, one becomes a better observer, he says.

I will be more than interested in using digital camera in my classroom, as well as other technology. Students can use it in their own way, taking pictures or videos of their interests, their own understandings, and from their own angles. It can be very creative and very personal. And pictures are always more eye-appealing than words, so that students will pay more attention to them. However, digital cameras could be also a distraction in students’ learning. Students tend to get weaker in reading and writing if they depend too much on visual tools. And in some countries or areas, it is not very practical to use digital cameras in class, because not every student can afford or be allowed to buy a digital camera. But I think the pros like helping students be better observers, inspiring their creativity, making them more involved in learning are definitely worth the risk of the cons.

References:

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-global-kids-video

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-new-media-classroom-tips-video

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-technology-integration-manual

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-social-networking-technology-project

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-profile-sam

http://www.edutopia.org/digital-generation-profile-olivia