Ruminations on Several Educational Topics

 I have learned many hard lessons in my life, but one that I always seem to forget is how much I forget things. I have an assignment written down in about five places, and if I am not also reminded of it and then given the time to work on it immediately, it will fade like dust in the wind through the window of my mind and into the ether that surrounds it. I could backdate this post to the date of the deadline if I really wanted to, but I prefer to have some moral backbone. Yes, dear audience, even I am not perfect. It's shocking, I know. I was flabbergasted when I found out. My wrists are outstretched, and you are perfectly welcome to give them a slap. 

But this is not about me or my undiagnosed memory lapse issues. This is about Microsoft Word. Or, rather, a word (Get it?) on how much I dislike using the program now. I utilized the program for many of my years of schooling. It was perfectly functional, though there was something about the program that vexed me for many years. It was not until I switched over to Google Docs sometime in high school that I could truly see what I'd disliked about the program. I disliked how the program formatted its menu, but that was minor for me. What truly converted me to the Doc side (Get it?)  was its convenience. I would be lying if I told you I hadn't been pulling all-nighters writing school assignments for years by the time I made the switch- I have always been a very productive procrastinator. When I got a cell phone in my freshman year, I was enlightened to the world of convenience technologies that fit in my pocket (a transition I will speak more on later). Google Docs is a very easily accessible app on a phone, where I can finish an essay in study hall if need be, and Microsoft Word does not. While perhaps a lower-tech example than what many students experience today, convenience in technology allowed me to have a better opportunity to attempt to have a better school-sleep balance. I didn't get to said balance. If anyone actually knows how to, please enlighten me.

This lifelong learning is exemplified by one of the ISTE standards, that of a teacher being, among other things, a learner. In reference to technology specifically, teachers are meant to keep current with technology that students utilize in the classroom, as well as what students may utilize in their personal lives. I believe this approach to teaching is massively beneficial to both parties. Learning on how students operate things and what they prioritize in technology can be useful for the teacher to craft lesson plans around these preferences. But it also allows students to come to teachers with technical issues and get an educated response. I was once having trouble uploading assignments to my class Canvas due to the way FSU Virtual Lab works. I didn't know that, however, and both the teacher and his TA in this Comp Sci class did not know the answer (and would also not allow me to resubmit them via other methods even after seeing my issue in real time over Zoom, just because they could, I guess). My grade was low enough in this class that I failed to gain the credits for the class- and, after doing the math, these missing assignments, missing only due to this stubborn professor's lack of understanding on how programs within his own institution, were the key component in that failure. My frustration would have been non-existent if either of them had been willing to learn alongside these students on how these programs functions. I realize this anecdote is not K-12 focused specifically, but its relevant enough, and also I'm still bitter about it. 

Understanding of technology is not inherent in every student, which is why I take umbrage with the phrase and implications of "digital natives". I grew up around technology, with a very tech-savvy father. He taught me how to pirate files onto an SD card so I could play modified video games on the go, and encouraged my brother and I to explore both digital worlds and the real world via the relatively ad-free cavern of wonders that the Internet used to be. I also got a cell phone several years after my peers. My brother used a flip phone until his freshman year of high school- in the distant, far away year of 2014. My brother and I are adept with technology, but we were years behind on its social applications. I find myself less interested in these apps as a result, and lead an almost completely social media free life compared to my peers (as much as one can be these days, anyways). The phrase "digital native" disregards the potential difficulties students will face- and they WILL face them- when trying to adapt to technologies. Many of my peers today have no idea how to zip a file or CC someone on an email, let alone modify games or rip audio files for my IPod like I learned how to. I am not trying to flex my hipster credentials here (although carrying around decade old audio equipment for my convenience does not help my case here, nor does anything else about me). Tech interfaces today are, in a word, idiot-proof. You cannot mess these up if you hit them upside the head with a shovel. However, this leaves all but the most basic features locked away like liquor in a cabinet in a house full of high schoolers. This is for the adults. Don't worry your pretty little head over it. But most students don't get the opportunity to experiment and fail and learn from it. Like the liquor cabinet, you have to get into it, and then wake up with a pounding headache in order to learn not to go so hard on the tequila next time. Modern programs are not capable of letting students fail on their own, and as a result never let students learn the skills of a truly fluent digital native, despite having had some device in front of them for practically their entire lives. It conflates generation with knowledge, which is a fallacy long held and even longer still disproven- my 60 year old teachers knew PowerPoint better than I did at many points. I had to crash my game several times to learn how to implement mods, and ruin several CDs to figure out how to burn them right. Failure is not an indication of a mistake, it is the indication of an education in progress.

Perhaps, at some point, I will learn a better deadline reminder system than a halo of sticky notes around my monitor that flutter down like fall leaves onto my desk. The world is not ready for the person I will become when I learn effective time management skills. One of my professors spoke on being a constant procrastinator, and he is in his late 60's. I hope its not something in me that I have to do battle with every time I need to, say, write a blog post. But when I do, I will have the sharp sword of my wit and the strong shield of my will to help me slay that particular dragon. Or maybe I can figure out how to set an alarm on my IPod about it. I don't know. We all start somewhere.