Reflecting on Your Reflection:

Plato believed that writing gave the illusion of wisdom while fostering forgetfulness (Haas, 2013). Unlike Zoe, I however agree with Plato. I feel that there is greater worth in our memory and our ability to memorize facts and information on the fly, without having to reach for our phone. Think about this scenario, what about a doctor who knows by heart, on the spot a diagnosis for a specific condition/ disease vs. one who would need maybe an hour or two to figure out the diagnosis. Although both may be successful, which one is more efficient?

I remember working with an older lady (low 60's) who told me she knows 50-60 numbers off by heart that would otherwise be in her phone and she used to lecture me about how technology is making our students so reliant on technology that they aren't going to be able to retain anything anymore! Well as crazy as that sounded 10 years ago, I truly think her reasoning has merit, especially among today's digital natives. Even for me, having graduated University in 2007, technology hadn't yet taken over my life, therefore I was still studying from index cards I wrote myself and memorizing hundreds of them per term to maintain my high GPA. Had technology been as relevant as it is now, I wonder what my study system would look like? Whether or not I would still be successful? Not having technology at my fingertips forced me to rely on my own memory and knowledge for the answers- this pushed me to study hard, as there was no 'easy was out' option like nowadays- which doesn't lead to deep learning, but may lead to a good mark.

"Those who lack in memory capability are typically quite good little researchers. With the answer to every question at our fingertips, I think memory is becoming less and less important and being able to research, be resourceful and think critically are more important skills. I try to provide more opportunities for students in my classroom to gain experience and expertise in these areas versus activities that require them to work with their memory." I don't agree with this statement of Zoe's because many students are not being taught to properly research or how to locate information and ensure its accuracy and authenticity, oftentimes leading to misinformation and misunderstandings. Although I agree that critical thinking, resourcefulness, and research skills are of upmost importance, memory is still essential- even for these processes. Remembering the steps involved in solving a problem, the research skills taught, and where and when to go looking for information- cannot be overlooked! I find that with today's digital natives, remembering even small, simple things tends to be a quite a feat- for which I do blame technology overuse and reliance.

I agree with Zoe that we are less reliant on our memory in this digital age, making rote memorization less important... for example even many of my assessments are open book tests! Although they are timed, to a certain extent success is more dependent on students being able to locate the info they need in time.

"The constantly changing world of educational technology and more specifically writing technology has made it (in my opinion), easier for students to share their ideas and knowledge in the written form. Advancements in writing technology have made learning more accessible for learners." This is exactly why I LOVE technology. Accessibility is huge in the classroom and technology allows everyone a chance to participate, allows everyone's voice to be heard, and levels the playing field for all learners.

We now have the struggle of making sure students are on task and using their laptops and tablets responsibly." This echoes the biggest con to using technology in the classroom for me. With class sizes of upwards from 25 students... there is no way I'm able to check and monitor what they are ALL doing at once. I know students are able to change screens on the fly, swap out the extension they're playing for an educational one with one click, and simply black out their screen with a simple command... how they heck am I supposed to keep track!? And I only teach students in grades 4-6, I can't imagine the struggle with older students as they get more proficient in using technology and figuring out ways to sneak in some entertainment as they are learning!

"It makes it easy to use technology in my daily lessons but it also allows provides a distraction for students who struggle to keep on task. Digital citizenship is a crucial 21st century skill that the advancement of writing technology has reminded educators we cannot ignore." I was nodding my head in agreement as I was reading this quote from Zoe. For my struggling students, technology is not always their friend. They are too easily distracted by all the other things they can be doing other than their schoolwork (games, videos, music, social media, etc). I 100% agree that digital citizenship is a crucial skill and one educators cannot ignore!! But..., then why do so many ignore this fact? I work in an elementary school (K-6) and I believe that deliberate teaching of digital citizenship skills is necessary at this setting. Technology use tends to increase slowly in the K-6 setting with each grade and by the time students are in grade 4, many of them will be using a laptop or iPad (or Chromebook at my school) regularly. I am the school's resident technology coach and slowly as time went out, was no longer provided with time in my schedule to help students and teachers with technology use in the classrooms. The program I was using, called Be Internet Awesome!, was a great step by step program, including all the materials and resources required to teach it. Many teachers don't ever address digital citizenship in their classrooms; it's not in the curriculum nor is it a requirement by our administration (which it would be if I were principal!), so 95% of teachers don't plan to teach any internet, password, research or digital safety/ citizenship of any kind to their students.

As you reiterated from this week’s reading, "writing is usually held to a higher prestige and we take more time to craft it and review it. We typically don’t do this with oral language. What comes out is typically more natural and with less of a thought behind it" (Gnanadesikan, 2011). You also add that "the story has the ability to evolve and change a little bit each time it is being told", which for me is what makes oral language misleading or even dangerous, as the accuracy of our memory and facts of events and history are pertinent to our understanding of them. Also the part of oral language where less thought is put behind our words is not to be taken lightly, as we oftentimes spare people (even our children) the truth so as not to hurt them, however with oral language this is far more difficult to ensure...

French Voice to Text:

You mentioned that there are differences in the dialects of French spoken in Canada as compared to in France, but what I also wanted to point out the differences in dialects spoken within Canada itself! The French words I use (and have grown up in French immersion learning) are different from some of the French words used in Quebec! When searching for activities and resources, even on canadian sites, I need to ensure I'm not getting Quebec French materials.

I want to say a big kudos to you Zoe for doing this in your second language! I speak and teach French as a second language and I don't think I would be brave enough to do this period, let alone for a school assignment made public- good for you! The number of anglicisms I would probably end up using along with the amount of stuttering and mispronounced words, I would be scared to even see the result- the truth may hurt, lol!

Great game! I totally connected to it! I enjoyed the sarcasm and humour. As I mention in my third link to Thomas' mode bending task, humour is so important for us to use in the classroom, due to the anxiety and stress that is now rampant among our youth. "June is a tough month for teachers"... I hear ya Zoe... yet I don't know why procrastination is such a common trait amongst teachers, as it's something we try to prevent in our own students as much as possible!

I think Zoe did a good job choosing accurate and relevant teacher distractions. I felt they were very realistic and ones I have felt myself. This made me connect to instructional activities we do in class, very important to make sure the situations or problems we give our students to solve are relevant, relatable, and realistic, because when students see the value, usefulness, and purpose behind an activity they are more motivated to participate and succeed.

Doing school work for me on weekends has always been hard and I think Zoe's Twine represents and connects to this frustration well. Because my whole family is home, the number of distractions increase and my ability to find free time decreases. Which is why I have recently begun a new routine of working on weeknights after I put the girls to bed. I find that even though I may be tired from a day's work, I have less guilt and more free time to work on my planning, marking, and/or assignments at night.

I empathized with Zoe's comment about being scared of losing her progress as she worked on her Twine, as I hated that it didn't auto save and there was no easy was to save it as I worked. This also made me very hesitant when trying out new features and elements to my Twine- I just got used to saving it the long way all throughout my work (which was very tedious).