Digital Immigrant or Digital Native?

Technology is prominent in almost every aspect of our lives. There is a huge push towards the use of technology in the education system. Districts are sending teachers to workshops to learn how to use certain tools and encouraging us to incorporate technology into our classrooms. I consider myself more of a digital immigrant than a digital native.  I still like to write out notes if I am taking a course or planning for the school day. I often worry that if I type an email or write a paper it will get lost or my computer will crash (this has happened to me multiple times in the past). Fortunately, I have learned how to work around this by saving to a USB or now by using Google Drive where I can access my documents from any device. Although I admit to having a distrust towards some types of technology, I am excited to learn about the many learning tools that are available to us as educators. This year I worked in the Coventry School District; they do everything through Google Drive and chromebooks. At first I was a little overwhelmed but now I love using it. I have learned how to share documents with my students, create Google Forms, and even use Google classrooms. I have also learned about other tools to use including applications on the iPad for ELLs, Kahoot, and Brainpop. Using technology in the classroom is critical because this is the world that our students are going to be growing up in. It is engaging and will help students acquire the skills they need in a complex, technologically based society and economy. Although I do not consider myself a digital native I would like to move in that direction and assist my students in becoming digital natives.