The World is Constantly Changing!

This week I took a quick listen to Wesch’s video and after watching that and discussing it in class, I have to admit to being slightly concerned about the changes in the world and the way the world is constantly changing and evolving. I loved the way Wesch said that media is not content or tools of communication but is meant to mediate human relationships and that when media changes, human relationships change. This made me reconsider the larger effects of social media and technology on more than just myself. Before this class, I knew technology was changing the world and the way we function within, but I did not consider just how largely children are impacted by these changes. In class, we discussed new stats regarding children and technology, and the fact that on average children are 10 when they get phones blew my mind. 10 is so young to constantly have access to a device, the internet, and all the tools that come in addition to a phone. I consider the effects of this and how much it has changed over the years and realize there are many negative effects of these changes. However, I also think there are very positive changes happening in this world that can benefit us as people, society, and future educators.

The most jaw-dropping change I have seen in my life so far is the creation and use of AI. I never could have imagined using AI a few years back. I have considered hovercrafts as we see in Back to The Future, but I never thought I could ask a website to write an entire essay, create a lesson plan, or create a workout all on the same website! Seeing this come out of the left field, and become a helpful but sometimes dangerous tool is unreal. The risks of AI are that it allows people to cheat the system and often plagiarise in a way that is sometimes difficult to track. I truly believe it has changed the way students work and learn, because they are dependent on the internet and other learning sources, whereas back in the day teachers and textbooks were the main source of new information. Yet it can also be a super helpful tool that you can bounce ideas off, use to spell or grammar check such as Grammarly, or even help you come up with new ideas.

When I consider my future classroom and the possibilities of ways they can change from what a classroom looked like when I was a child, to now as a student-teacher, and then to the classroom I one day hope to have, I have no idea what to expect. With the knowledge and experience I have right now, I incision a classroom where technology plays a huge role. I love the idea of being able to have students complete creative assignments that would be impossible without the role of technology. I think it is probable that by the time I retire as a teacher, students will rarely use paper and pencils to complete work and almost all work will be done in an online manner of some sort, how this looks I am unsure. I’m sure we have all heard the scare that AI and robots will run the world in the coming year, but because of the nature of the job of teachers, I do not believe robots can replace teachers. I think the compassion and emotions that come with teachers cannot be replaced because the job requires so much emotion to create a safe environment for learners to connect and learn. There is no doubt in my mind that the classroom will look different in 5, 10, 15, 2o years however, I do believe the classroom community will remain the same and a classroom will be a safe space that allows students to develop identities and grow into independent, smart, and responsible students.