Introducting Me and My Thoughts on Media Technology
Hi everyone! My name is Emma Quintanilla, and I am currently a senior at Cal State University, Northridge (CSUN). I am an English Subject Matter major and Linguistics minor, and I hope to pursue teaching at the high school level. I have always loved reading and writing, but only found my passion for teaching when I was in high school. I had an amazing English teacher from tenth to twelfth grade, and she is the one who helped and motivate me on my path to becoming a teacher. Since attending CSUN, I have only grown to love English more. I cannot wait to continue on my path and become a teacher!
Now as for my thoughts on media technology in the classroom, I think it is tricky and constantly changing. I believe that technology can be a wonderful tool for students to use in the classroom. However, I also believe that it can be incredibly distracting and dangerous. I believe that cell phones should not be allowed in the classroom, and I have seen this work in many of the classrooms that I have observed. When I went back to observe my old high school, I noticed the new rule that students must leave their phones at the front of the classroom during class. This rule was not in place four years ago when I was still attending that school. I think it is interesting how quickly rules change because of advancements in technology.
I have also noticed how many teachers' AI policies have changed. Because it is so prevalent and easily accessible, many teachers are now using class time to inform their students on how to use AI ethically. I understand that artificial intelligence can be used as a helpful tool in the classroom, but I personally believe that the line between ethical usage and plagiarism is too thin. AI usage can get messy when trying to produce original work. I also believe that simply having easy access to AI poses a great temptation to cheat. Therefore, I think that AI has no place in the classroom.
Hey Emma,
ReplyDeleteI agree on the cellphone rule. It sucks for the students, but it's a necessary precaution against distractions and other potential issues. At my high school, there was a really prevalent issue of young female students being photographed without their consent by male peers. I don't remember if my administration did anything about that issue aside from putting the phones in sleeves before classes, but they were pretty useless in general when it came to student safety.
Anyway, I agree with your sentiment about changing rules in response to technology. It's so interesting, noticing the small-scale changes in schools and the large-scale policies being discussed in governments all over the globe. It'd be nice if our government could hurry and pass some laws about AI usage but, well... I have a strange feeling that's going to take a long long time. Speaking of AI, in my own post I tried to soften some of my opinions (i.e. saying that "there may be some benefits"), but ultimately I agree with you. I feel like Chat GPT and grok have no place in the classroom based on the environmental damage alone. Not to mention Chatbot psychosis, how it prevents people from thinking for themselves, how it can damage a student's confidence... the list goes on forever.
Can't wait to tackle these issues as teachers together lol.
Hey Emma,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on being a senior at CSUN! I also had such amazing English teachers in high school who inspired me to become a teacher myself. I agree that technology is changing rapidly, and our interactions with it are changing as well, making it difficult for teachers to find a proper balance. I certainly agree with you on prohibiting cell phone use in the classroom. It is interesting how you have noticed policy changes from your high school returning as a college student to observe. I'm sure the new policy requiring students to put their phones at the front of the classroom was implemented because they weren't following the previous rules. It is evident that in our day and age, everyone is becoming increasingly attached to their phones to the point where it may seem like an addiction. Lastly, I agree with your take on AI usage. It blurs the line between ethical use and plagiarism because it prevents proper creativity when forming ideas for assignments, since it is simply doing the work for you.
Hi Emma, I enjoyed reading your post. I somewhat agree AI should not be utilized in the context of original work but I also think excluding it completely is not the answer I think being able to teach about it safe practices and awareness is important, as we are in a generation of evolving tech and AI hiding it from education and leaving no place for it may cause students to not to have proper media literacy needed. But I completely agree on eliminating distractions such as phones in the classroom I don’t think cellphones have much use in classrooms and only limits students attention. Most work is done on computers from what I remember and adding Google classrooms help students as they go through school and even after if they are in a field that uses tech. Overall yes the topic is tricky their are many advantages and disadvantages to the evolving world of AI and tech.
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