Wes Fryer: Chapter 1

     The first chapter of Playing with Media, by Wesley Fryer, focused on the ever so significant role technology plays in education. Overall, I was very happy with this chapter and in agreement with it. Often times teachers assume that students are "computer literate" based on the assumption that we grew up with technology. Though this is can be true, sometimes a student can be internet savvy, but clueless about programs and the mechanics behind it. Fryer made this same observation, "We should not mistake digital use for digital understanding or communications fluency", and suggested that teachers act as "digital bridges" (Kindle Locations 238-239). Currently, high stakes testing is popular in the United States, "For a variety of political as well as psychological factors, politicians in the United States in the past decade have been enamored with high stakes testing in our K-12 schools." (Kindle Locations 281-285), in education, this is becoming a sort of epidemic, because it is assuming that all humans learn in the same manner. This assumption is leading to misrepresentations of student achievements. Using technology we can allow students to take advantage of exploration and creativity using media, an essential modern skill. Fryer believes that all educators should be able to use technology in the classroom as it is becoming increasingly important, "Outstanding teachers in the twenty-first century, like their predecessors, will be defined not only by their content knowledge but also by the effective ways they are able to inspire, relate to, and motivate students to stretch beyond their acknowledged limits." (Kindle Locations 254-255). Both education and technology are ever-changing; with each passing hour new and better technology is being developed, as both educators and students it is imperative that we allow ourselves to reap the benefits of it.