I am a Millennial. It is a title I wear both begrudgingly and with pride. I was born in 1987 and I remember records, cassettes, 8-tracks, CDs, the original iPod, and the ever classic VCR. I also remember my family's first computer, the dial-up sounds of the internet, and, as every Millennial did, I of course had a rainbow away message for AOL in Comic Sans font.
But, we are now in a different new digital age. My generation grew up as all this technology was being formed. I learned blogging and HTML on Xanga, and LiveJournal. My mom taught me how to put together a desktop and install programming, as well as troubleshoot a variety of problems. The students I now have were born when all this was in a pretty package (if ever changing). I also took typing classes. I am surprised now if a student knows how to type without hunting and pecking (even more so if they can also read and write cursive!). I am not afraid to click a button and see what happens, but I find that many of my students are. They memorise shortcuts (no shame, I do too) and are often surprised when there is another way to do things. To some extent, it is annoying to me to have to try and foster a sense of technological exploration in them, but at the same time, I get it. Why would I go through a series of menus to set my screen up when there are handy short cuts or this other teacher just has me do x? And so we've reached a crucial moment. As a Millennial, I love technology. I want to learn more and explore. I also recognise that I am not fully in touch with the things that are popular and common today. The things my generation helped pilot, create, and explore, are now being refined and made more efficient by the next. This blog page of the website is dedicated to new things I am trying as part of digital learning. I love creating with technology and digital learning in the time of COVID is a great opportunity to do it! I hope you enjoy this journey :).
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AuthorMiriam teaches in a public high school in Georgia. She specifically works to ensure her classroom is multicultural and equitable to all students. She is always looking for ideas to make things more accessible! Archives
January 2021
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