1. "General educators and special educators need to become familiar with assistive and instructional technology so that they can embed this technology within their instruction to meet the needs of all their students."

2. "Assistive technology helps in two ways: it can help the student learn how to complete the task and it can help to bypass an area of difficulty."

3. "Little research has been conducted on the use of assistive technology in inclusive schools (Watson, Ito, Smith, & Andersen, 2010), and only a few researchers are conducting systematic, well-designed research that can lead to confident conclusions on how the use of assistive technology affects learning (Edyburn & Gersten, 2007; MacArthur, Ferretti, Okolo, & Cavalier, 2001; Wanzek et al., 2006)."

   2 Sides:

   1. One side is assistive technology does not come with much research, so it lacks accountability on effectiveness it has on students and students with disabilities. Also, technology is always changing and improving so it can be hard to keep up with the research factor on this topic as it changes so fast. Some say that it does the opposite of help students such as make them more dependent on technology helping them and has little impact on them.

   2. The other side is how effective assistive technology is for students and students with disabilities. As it states some examples and resources that have a positive impact on how assistive technology works for students with disabilities. Assistive technology can help students spell, read, write, complete math problems and so much more. This tool not only helpful for students with a disability but all students.

      Question: For students with disabilities, who is going to provide the technology at home for them? And how will teachers know if they are getting the correct help when doing work?

1. "While educators will need to prepare students for such participation and choose platforms wisely, these online discussions can shape democratic habits and provide spaces for students to practice voicing their concerns and negotiating with other parties within and beyond the walls of their school."

2. "Within school settings, educators can help students understand how social media platforms work, whom they benefit and marginalize, and how digital citizens can affect changes."

3. "By posting their videos and other media creations online, students can contribute as participatory digital citizens to important public conversations about 21st century media literacy."

   2 Sides: The two sides of this article are one side thinks they should ban the use of phones and social media in their school district because they are distracting. While the other side promotes the use of phones and social media to inform students on today's world and how to interact in digital democracy.

   1 Side: One side is that phones and social media should be banned from school to create a more productive setting, along with trying to prevent harmful activities. Teachers and administrators do not want phones to be used in any way throughout the school day.

   2 Side: Another side is promoting the use of phones and social media into class for the reason that technology and the world are advancing so much, kids should be taught the right way to use it and use it to their advantage. Kids and students are going to be using phones and social media one way or another, so might as well teach them how to use it properly.

   Question: Should there be a specific class to teach digital citizenship? Or should each subject add a little component of digital literacy into their class? Along with what is a good grade for students to learn digital citizenship.

The article about full blended learning has a few biggies in it. There are two sides to full blended learning, the peril side and the promise side. Throughout the article there are both pros and cons to decide whether blended learning is good for students or not along with teachers questioning what defines full blended learning and what will learning look like in the future.

1: "While blended learning brings with it the promise of innovation, there is the peril that it will perpetuate and replicate existing practices with newer, more expensive tools."

2: "When blended learning is equated with digital workflow, students remain consumers of teacher-directed content instead of becoming creators of knowledge within a context that they can actively control."

3: "Freeing students from the confines of the school day, the walls of the classroom, the sole expertise of the teacher, and the pace of the rest of the class, blended learning could fundamentally change the system and structure of school, and provide students with a more personalized, active learning experience."

2 Sides: There are two sides in this article on blended learning. The peril side and the promise side.

Side 1: The peril side is that teachers think they have moved their teaching style into blended learning by simply using Google Classroom, Moodle, or Canvas as a part of their learning. However, it is not considered full blended learning because the students are not doing their work fully online and by themselves. The peril side also questions if full blended learning is good for grade school students and that it could take away from the teacher-directed learning.

Side 2: The promised side is that teachers want students to be able to gain knowledge and content at their own pace on their own time for true blended learning. They think by doing this method, students will gain more independence, choice, and a more personalized learning experience. Full blended learning will make teachers step out of their comfort zone to record videos, use technology excessively, and allow students to work independently.

Question: Will full and true blended learning be eventually required in schools to allow students to reach their full potential in learning?

After reading the article, "Understanding Digital Kids II", there needs to be a balance met between teachers and students. As the world and technology is changing so are students and how they learn. Teachers cannot be using the same strategies on students today as they were ten to thirty years ago. Teachers need to be learning, practicing, and using new strategies to engage students in learning, making students want to come to school to learn, and making learning fun!

One: "Digital Learner Preferences'

-Receiving info quickly from multiple media sources

-Parallel processing and multitasking

-Processing picture/sound/color/video before text

-Random access to hyperlinked multimedia information

-Networking simultaneously with others

-Learning “just in time”

-Instant gratification/immediate rewards

-Learning that’s relevant/active/ instantly useful/fun"

Two: "Educator Preferences'

-Slow controlled release of info from limited sources

-Singular processing/single or limited tasks

-Providing text before picture/sound/video

-Providing info linearly, logically, and sequentially

-Students working independently prior to networking and interacting

-Teaching "just in case"

-Deferred gratification and delayed rewards

-Feel compelled to teach to the curriculum guide and tests"

Three: "We are failing our students mainly because our instruction is targeted at kids from another age. Children of the digital generation are experiencing a world that is increasingly out of synch with traditional approaches and assumptions about teaching, learning and assessment."

2 Sides:

First Side: The first side of the article is the main side. Teachers must change their teaching preferences into the digital learner preferences. Teachers must understand their students' needs and learning styles and change their teaching style to match. This does not mean the teachers have to completely change the concept of what they are teaching, but they must learn new ways to portray those concepts to where their students will be entertained and learn.

Second Side: The second side of the article is the read in-between the lines side. Students must meet teachers in the middle to learn to their full potential. Although teachers may need to change their teaching strategies, students also need to change their mindset and learning strategy. The students play a huge role in what they do and do not learn and having a positive and ready to learn attitude can help both the students and the teachers.

Question: What will happen if only some teachers change the way they teach to keep up with digital learner preferences, and other teachers continue their way with educator preferences?

White

After reading the article, "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants", there are two types of "digital immigrants" that I learned about. Those who want to learn the new system and those who do not. There are pros and cons to both sides but the three biggies that stood out to me is how the digital immigrants need to change their way of teaching, thinking, and learning to keep up with the speed of digital natives. The internet is only going to continue to grow so everyone needs to adapt to today's world to become their best self and teacher in this case.

One: "Today's teachers have to learn to communicate in the language and style of their students. This doesn’t mean changing the meaning of what is important, or of good thinking skills. But it does mean going faster, less step-by step, more in parallel, with more random access, among other things."

Two: "Digital Immigrants think learning can't (or shouldn't) be fun. Why should they – they didn't spend their formative years learning with Sesame Street."

Three: "We need to invent Digital Native methodologies for all subjects, at all levels, using our students to guide us."

2 Sides:

First Side: The first side of this article is to have "digital immigrants" or the older teachers to keep teaching the way they grew up being taught and hoping that their students will eventually learn something. This is a teacher that has a mindset of not wanting to change. Although this new generation has a different learning style due to growing up around technology as in having answers to any of their questions at the tip of their fingertips, literally.

Second Side: The second side of the article is the main side. "Digital immigrants" must change their mindset and teaching styles to adapt to their student's learning ability. This does not mean the teachers have to completely change the concept of what they are teaching, but they must learn new ways to portray those concepts to where their students will be entertained and learn.

Question: If "digital immigrants" keep teaching the same learning styles they always have and new teachers are connecting, entertaining, and engaging students with up-to-date teaching skills, will there eventually be a learning gap between those students in the same grade?