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My Educational Career Begins
With the start of elementary school, technology was limited to chalkboards in the classroom to convey notes. Students' desks were in rows and students were asked to copy or fill-in the notes provided. This pattern continued throughout my career as a student and I find myself struggling to break this pattern as a teacher. -
Film Strips...Pick Me!
With the introduction of the film strip into the classroom, I remember always wanting to be picked to advance the film when the audio tape would emit an annoying "BEEP!" In most cases, the class was engaged with these films, but sometimes paying more attention to how quickly the film would advance after the beep than the film content itself. -
New School, New Technology
With my acceptance into a "gifted" school, more opportunities were allowed for exposure to technology in different formats through extracurricular activities offered during the school day as well as a "keyboarding class" in my daily schedule. Knowing that basic typing skills would be vital with the advance of computers, this skill would stay with me to the present. -
Overhead Notes
My teachers began using the overhead projector to deliver class notes. No more nails scratching the chalkboard and chalk dust everywhere...all you needed to do was spit on your finger to erase a mistake! Later in life I would use this also as a teacher in my own classroom early in my teaching career. -
Vintage Technology Can Be Fun
Through my school, we were offered elective in our daily schedule a few times a week. One course I chose was Leatherworking. I enjoyed the creative break in my daily studies and the exposure to a trade skill with such a rich history. While this is a somewhat outdated form of technology, according to the YouTube video accompanying this week's assignments, "vintage technology is sometimes the best!" -
Sherenschnitte
Another elective I had chosen was Sherenschnitte (partially because I thought it was fun to say!). For this craft, Exacto knives were given to school children to delicately carve intricate designs into thin sheets of paper. While not representative of "cutting edge" technology (except when used as a pun!), it was a new skill that advanced my knowledge of crafting and reinforced basic safety skills as applied to everyday undertakings. -
Speed Reading...A Life Skill
A final elective that I took was Speed Reading. In this class we would race to find a word in a Reader's Digest article for a chance to win a Coke at the end of the hour. A tachistoscope was also employed to help us read faster. This was a film projector that would show a word or phrase for a given amount of time (usually seconds only) and move on to the next automatically. Speed reading is a skill I still use today. -
High School Tech?
During my high school years, the Internet was in existence, but rarely employed at school. We had a home computer with dial-up internet that we used more for games than worldwide communication. While AOL and instant messaging was still emerging publicly, my friends and I were employing the age-old method of passing notes instead. Cell phones were only seen on Saved By The Bell episodes and typing classes used typewriters, not computers. -
Email and Instant Messenger...Neanderthal texting
In college, we did not have assigned email accounts provided by Monmouth College, but many students had their own personal email account. America Online was purchased monthly by my parents and allowed me to have an account for email and instant messaging. This was an early form of "texting" and just as addictive! The email account allowed me to contact (most) of my professors when guidance was needed outside of office hours. -
Cell Phone = Freedom!
With my first cell phone, I had the freedom to text classmates for help (pressing the same button multiple times to select the letter I wanted), or call for pizza during a study session in a lab without a landline. -
Free Email?!
The existence of free email accounts was revolutionary and nearly spelled the end for AOL as everyone (including myself) created new email accounts through Yahoo. Professors also began using Yahoo and this allowed for more convenient communication when class was not in session. -
My Turn to Teach
With my first year of employment as a teacher, I was finally allowed to use technology such as overhead projectors and PowerPoint Notes. Dry erase boards had replaced chalkboards in the buildings in which I taught and I learned what a valuable commodity dry erase markers could be! I found myself teaching in the same format in which I was taught (desks in rows, notes given by the teacher), but tried my best to make my notes interactive and encourage student participation. -
What is a "Moodle"?!
With more emphasis being placed on technology in the classroom, I decided to create a classroom website using a platform provided by my school district, Moodle. The site was very user-friendly and I was allowed to offer my students multiple new resources for study and review. Naturally, there was a period of trial and error, but as Moodle added new features the possibilities for uses within the classroom increased. -
New Town, New Technology!
In moving to a new school district to teach, I suddenly found myself with a school laptop and having to convert my class website to a different provider, CMS. This allowed me to keep the same resources for my students and the mobility of the laptop allowed me to respond quickly to students and co-workers when needed. -
SmartBoard Fun
My new school had equipped all classrooms with SmartBoard technology. I enjoyed using the interactive screen to present notes and various media to my students. Having the students use the SmartBoards interactively through activities such as recording lab results and Kahoot review games helped my hands-on learners! -
Smartphone = Easy Access
With the purchase of a personal smartphone I was able to access my emails in real time and respond to students and parents much faster outside of school hours. (I did have to impose a curfew though!) -
Google Shift
My district has shifted to Google products. Several teachers employ Google Classroom, but I still use CMS as it lends itself to the chemistry classroom better. All teachers have a Google email account and Google Drive storage. I did convert all my class notes to Google slides to ensure compatibility with our school's one-to-one computer policy. -
Online Classes = Convenience!
After completing my Master's Degree, I wanted to continue taking graduate courses to move along my district's pay schedule. My district offered tuition waivers for Illinois State University classes, but I live in Washington and it is not convenient to attend classes in person. Online classes have allowed me the freedom to complete additional course hours and learn about valuable tools that I can use in my classroom from anywhere! -
New Technology = New Ideas?
As I complete TCH401 and TCH430 I have been exposed to multiple new technologies and have already begun to incorporate them into my future plans. For example, I would like to make a website for students to use as a platform for learning HOW to study. I have found many of my students do not know the most efficient way to study or take notes and it is this weakness that holds them back sometimes more so than understanding the material.
