About Me

Hello everyone and I welcome you to my new blog for questions, answers, and discussion on Literature and the English language. A little about myself, I am a 24-year-old student at California State University Northridge studying English while also earning my secondary education credential. As such, I have witnessed a lot of different technology being used in the classroom, and I have found that with the changing times, technology has and should play a much bigger part in education than before.

As an English major, I do feel that students do need to use pen and paper for the majority of the time, mostly to help with their writing. However, I also feel that technology could help those students who are struggling with writing. For example, work processors have become a great tool for students to help with their spelling and grammar. While some purists believe that this may be cheating, I believe that this could give students more confidence in writing and being able to articulate what they want to say. Also, I'd be a liar if I said that I don't find spellcheck and grammarcheck useful in everyday life. On top of that, certain programs available for ELD students could help them understand their schoolwork better, with translation being available when needed.

I feel that especially for secondary education, many teenagers are becoming obsessed with being on their smartphones 24/7. However, I believe that rather than force students to shy away from using technology, we as teachers should encourage it. For example, in my 525EN class, we were taught about the different apps a teacher could use in the classroom setting using the students' smartphones. One tool my teacher used was a poll program that allowed students to answer questions live using their phones, and the screen would show the results of the entire class. Things like this not only make it easier for a teacher to evaluate the whole class in an instant, but it keeps the students' attention and allows them to have a little fun with their phones in class.

 Overall, I can understand the argument that students are becoming obsessed with tech, but I also can see the world around us developing around this lifestyle. While students should be able to write an essay with just a pen and paper, there should also be prep and encouragement to learn how to type and use certain programs. I know for a lot a jobs these days employers find value in potential employees knowing certain programs, and I believe that by discouraging students to be interested in tech, we're only holding them back from the future.