Alex Maseda

Communication is the source of success. It is directly linked to knowledge and from that spouts empathy, the ability to relate and connect with people. I loved reading about communication in the classroom because these are methods I never used (or was told about) as a student in high school. The methods of communication that were discussed in this chapter really make me hopeful for the future.

While I always knew communication was key for a great relationship whether it be with family, friends, a coworker, a teacher, I didn’t always know the various degrees of communication and what my options were to communicate. As a person who was rather shy I didn’t always feel comfortable speaking but it felt like I didn’t really have that many other options. With Microsoft’s tools it is reassuring to know how much a students life will change now that there is technology to guide them. I have the google form to answer “how are you feeling today?” in mind when I think of this. Multiple things spout from this reply. Well if a student is feeling happy, then I as a teacher understand that they may be eager to learn, eager to be involved in classroom activities and participate and to help others. If a student is feeling upset then I know that I need to work a little harder with that student and motivate them. That personal level really is life changing. I don’t recall teachers ever asking that, and it makes it hard to communicate without that personal level.

The idea of using technology to communicate also sounds great when it comes to answering short answer questions or understanding material in general. For instance, if I am a student in a science class and don’t remember the name of a specific planet but I know where it is located in the solar system, I am now able to google the solar system, remember that Mars is next to Earth and then recall that the planet is called Mars because visually I saw it. An image can link us to a word and without technology it might have been harder to recall that name. This type of association also works with power points. Often times teachers will use a power point with a text, then speak different things that are not on the powerpoint, and have an image on the power point next to it. This way, if a student doesn’t understand the text on screen they still have the teachers spoken word to guide them or a visual representation that might trigger them to understand the content.

Speaking of this type of visual stimulation, I was really interested in the dementia example provided in Chapter 2. Dementia is such an extreme and powerful situation to use when talking about communication. The fact vision and sound could work together to help a patient remember old memories is amazing. It proves how powerful these forms of communication are and that they work well in real life situations people may not initally think of using it in.

Technology is helping us progress and become more connected and it makes me feel hopeful. Communication through technology will allow two people to connect, have empathy for each other and know more about the world than ever before.