Digital Nativity From an Immigrant's Perspective

Hey everyone, today I'm gonna chat a little about my experiences using various educational technologies and touching upon the ISTE.

My experience using Microsoft Word has been frustrating at times, but I've gotten a hold on it by now. Nearly every class I've taken since primary school has required it, but until I got my own computer in eighth grade, I would stay after school to use one of the public computers to do my essays. Now that I'm comfortable enough with it, I understand the interface is pretty simple and I haven't had any trouble in a long time. However, for most of my assignments I would use Libre Office as opposed to Microsoft Office simply because it was free and had nearly the same exact interface. I don't have a major preference on which is better, but while FSU is providing the Microsoft subscription, I have no issues using Word.

I wasn't familiar with the ISTE until this week, but I think that every educator should strive to meet those standards as best they can. I think that the very first principle of "Learner" is easily the most overlooked by teachers that I've had. It is so important for teachers to understand that just as the understanding of a subject is added to over time, educators must strive to stay on the cutting edge of their subject matter, on top of constantly incorporating new strategies to engage their learners laid out in the other principles. A teacher with decades of experience can be less effective than a newcomer if they never went out of their way to keep learning what has been uncovered since they started.

I think that the idea of "digital natives" is very interesting, and on a purely anecdotal level I see tons of evidence for it. My mom and I were actually talking about it a few weeks ago, how even though I never watched TV as a kid, growing up surrounded by electronics, I was able to fix the TV when she couldn't. We only got a TV after I had moved out, so even though she had used it much more than I had, my familiarity with all sorts of other devices from a young age let me figure out the problem easily. In Greece, my only exposure was my Gameboy and whatever was in my friends' houses, but compared to my mom who hadn't even gotten a computer until after I was born, that gave me a much more natural adaptivity towards electronics, even ones I wasn't familiar with. I usually offer to help with tech issues for my teachers and family, despite not being particularly tech savvy by most people my age's standards.