In this article, Vicki Davis explains the importance of students being appropriately connected using technology. While Tumblr, Twitter, and Blogspot can be good tools for students to use in the classroom, Davis says students do not know how to use them academically. Davis says that connecting is an essential skill that people need to know in the 21st century, but we as educators are not providing them with the appropriate knowledge and guidelines to using these websites and tools effectively. She gives five essential elements to becoming a ''well-connected student":
1. A connected author - Students need to be able to write in the appropriate context. This means recognizing when it is okay to informal language and when it is necessary to use formal language and so on. Failure to do so makes one look uneducated and lazy.
2. A connected publisher - Students should include their academic profiles online instead of only using social networks for personal space.
3. A connected conversationalist - Know how to engage in academic conversations online. Using hashtags on Twitter is a great example of how students can find what is being talked about in the world and how to appropriately respond within that conversational setting.
4. A strategic disconnector - Using technology for recreational time is the new thing, and it's not necessarily a bad thing. However, it can be unhealthy, so students need to know when to put the phone or computer away.
5. A curious, lifelong pursuer of ingenious solutions - Students need to be curious about their passions and explore them to learn more about the world around them and come up with solutions. They need to be creators.
I think Davis touches on some very important things in her article. I especially liked her take on how students present themselves on the Internet. I think this goes for EVERYBODY. I cannot stand to see misspelled words or use the incorrect form of a word; when I see someone on Facebook misspell things, especially when they're trying to make an intelligent point of some sort, it bugs me to no end and distracts me from the point they were trying to make in the first place. No matter how smart or reasonable you may sound in a blog post or Facebook status, using improper language and having numerous grammatical mistakes really hurts you. My favorite part of Davis' article is when she talks about being a strategic disconnector. I cannot stress enough how much it bugs me that technology has turned us into lazy, dependent zombies. We depend on it for EVERYTHING. And I will be the first to admit, there are times when I can't tear myself away from the computer or away from my phone, but I eventually have to give it up because it stresses me to no end. I think technology has become a handicap for physical, face-to-face communication. We've become awkward and uncomfortable whilst having conversations with people because our initial reaction when meeting someone new is looking them up on Facebook and researching all their interests, photos, and basically getting to know that person through a web page. We develop preconceived notions about that person, which affects how we treat and talk to that person the next time we see and talk to them. And when we finally sit down to have a conversation, there is little to talk. We need to have self-control when using technology. Yes, we need to use it to our advantage, but we also need to know when too much is too much.
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