Pay Attention--Reaction to Video

Digital Learners

Students, as we know, learn in different ways…there are many types of learners. However, now in the 21st century, students are of a new “breed”: digital learners. This video, Pay Attention, recalls how many hours an average college graduate spends watching TV, playing videogames, talks on their cellphones, uses the computer. I wasn’t really surprised by these statistics because these forms of technology tend to “run” our lives…but I think that now in 2010, only 3 years after this video was made, these number of hours have probably increased a lot. I think that this video is very intriguing, especially for teachers that maybe do not realize how important technology is in our society today…how they need to integrate technology to appeal to the digital learners.

I couldn’t believe the statistic where it said that on average, students in class only get to ask a question once every 10 hours! In most of the classrooms I have observed in the past two years, I did not find this the case. In my student teaching, I tried to call on each student every class period at least once! This statistic really made me wonder…but does encourage me to always try to integrate technology and create an “engaging world of teaching” that will appeal to the students of today. When I saw the montage of all the ways to consider using the internet while teaching, I felt a little bit of excitement/relief that I am taking this class to learn as much as I can about these resources, so that I will feel more comfortable trying to use them in my teaching. One thing I am not so sure about, despite the fact that I keep finding more and more research/information about it, is using cellphones in the classroom…I don’t even have internet on my phone! However I do agree that by the time I get a few more years into teaching, everything will continue to change, so I plan on getting as best accustomed as I can with such advances. As it says in the video, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em!”