Technology Experiences...

"Reflect on your own experiences using technology for learning. What technologies were used when you were a student and how were they used? How were technology-related skills taught to you as a student? What was emphasized? What skills and knowledge do you already possess to help you meet the challenges of effectively integrating technology into instruction. How did you learn those skills?"

To be honest, my first experience with computer technology was extremely horrible. My pre-kindergarten classroom was equipped with some of the first classroom computers. These computers weren't very complex- they had a screen, a power button, and three choice buttons (A, B, and C). They were pretty much a computerized example of a multiple choice exam; the computer would show you a question concerning a picture, pattern, or word and you would have to press the button representing the choice with the correct answer. I used this computer maybe once or twice with the help of my teachers with no problems. However, this soon came to an abrupt end when I observed two of my classmates using the computer to do their work. It was the end of the school day and everybody was already lined up and some were even boarding the bus, but these two students were not because they had not finished their work yet. In reality, these two students were probably getting picked up by their parents and just playing on the computers while waiting, but I thought that they missed the bus because of the computers and were now stuck at school. I conceived an absurd conclusion that if you used the computers you would not be allowed to go home, therefore developing an extreme paranoia and refusing to touch any of the computers for the remainder of the pre-k year.

My kindergarten year the school supplied the classroom with eight new computers. These were extremely similar to the computers we have now, other than the fact that there was no access to the Internet. After many bribes from my mother, including a Lion King poster (it was my favorite movie at the time), I finally began using the computers again. We mainly played pattern games using a variety of shapes to make up a picture or practiced our typing with the "Touch Typing" program. We continued using the "Touch Typing" program to enhance our typing skills throughout first and second grade. Teachers insisted on our fingers always being on the "home-row keys" and some students even received detention when they were caught 'pecking' instead of using the "home-row keys" technique. From third to sixth grade we had 'lab time', in which the entire class went to the lab and played educational games (Carmen Sandiago was extremely popular) or worked on creative stories using word processing. I was not a part of bilingual class, but those that were used the Rosetta Stone program as well. On a personal note, sixth grade brought with it our first home computer that could access the Internet, introducing a world of online gaming, e-mails, downloadable music, and chatrooms.

In seventh grade we moved from the elementary school to the middle/high school. The middle school wing had their own computer lab, which was used for the same things as before along with the new addition of the Internet. Now we were able to research and play games on the Internet, along with using a translation program for our french class. There was also a mandatory year-long class that taught us how to create professional letters and business documents, along with more practice with typing accuracy and speed. That year a member of my class broke the school record with a typing speed of 108 words per minute, a characteristic of the new 'chatroom' generation. Eighth grade was the biggest turn around- all of the seventh graders got their own laptops through the Laptop Initiative Program. Although my grade did not receive laptops at first, we began to experience changes in our classrooms. Teachers went from using overhead projectors to PowerPoint Presentations and Internet projects were assigned on a regular basis. The emphasis on how to correctly use a computer and how to type correctly was finally gone. The teachers were now finally emphasizing what we could learn by using the applications on the computer/Internet and incorporating that in their lesson plans.

Ninth grade brought laptops for the entire high school and middle school. We were one of the first schools in the state to have laptops for all students in grades 6-12. An entire day was designated for the high school students to learn how to use the laptops with the help of technicians from the Apple company. The atmosphere of the entire school changed. Now not only the teachers were using PowerPoint, but students were expected to for projects as well. Every piece of writing in English classes had to be typed and research projects with at least three Internet resources was always expected. Pamphlets were created as a part of projects, usually to supplement a written report using our creative side. Technology was also introduced to the music room as well, with an electronic gadget to tune the instruments. Teachers began to experiment with different web programs, including my eleventh-grade Advanced Math teacher who showed us how to use 'SecondLife', an online community. In SecondLife we could create our own buildings, furniture and even clothing using geometric figures and formulas. Our junior year also brought a new online SAT training program along with a portfolio project that we could use during college interviews. The most important and influential technological addition during my high school career was the SmartBoard. The SmartBoard is in its essence an interactive marker board. The SmartBoard is connected to a laptop and a projector machine projects whatever is on the laptop screen onto the SmartBoard. Whatever a student 'writes' on the SmartBoard using a fake marker is digitally added to the laptop. You can also play interactive games using the SmartBoard and instead of using a mouse to click or move the cursor, you can use your fingertips! The SmartBoard is especially useful when it comes to uploading whatever you do in class with your students. My physics/chemistry teacher used the SmartBoard to go over homework problems and each student would be able to go up and demonstrate on the SmartBoard how to do a specific problem. Afterwards the teacher would upload it to her class website and then when we studied for the test we could download all of the homework problems that we had done step-by-step in class.

I think that my experiences in elementary and high school are going to help me immensely when I begin teaching and trying to integrate technology into the classroom. I can use everything that I've learned from my teachers with my own students. I've had the most practice with PowerPoint and those skills can come in handy for lesson plans, lecturing and for interactive projects. I think the most important thing that I've learned is that technology can be integrated into ANY subject, you just have to search around and try. In college classes I've learned the importance of a 'hook' to catch your students interest at the beginning of a lesson, and what better way to hook your students then by using a video on YouTube or an interactive application. You also need to keep your students interest in mind and try not to get into a habit using only one program (PowerPoints are great, just not over and over again!). I love to make learning fun and integrating technology definitely helps to achieve that, so it is something that I'm excited to learn more about!

"Introduce Yourself..."

"Introduce yourself. I want to know about you as a person and as a learner. Tell me the ways that you learn best. What has your experience with technology been like up to this point? Cite examples from both your personal life and your educational life."

Hello! My name is Kelsey Smith (soon to be Parent!) and I'm a student in the Secondary Education: Life Science program at Husson University. First of all, I would like to do a casual introduction of myself. I was born and raised in the "County" of Northern Maine in a small town called Van Buren (population about 2,500). I have an older brother, an older half-sister, and two younger step-siblings (a sister and a brother). I attended SAD 24 and graduated from VBDSS in 2007 as Valedictorian. In high school I was class treasurer, a member of the Drama Club, National Honor Society, Varsity Softball team, and Varsity Basketball teams (manager for both girls and boys) along with being a devoted sports fan and taking part in Project Graduation (which included doing a lot of 'stage' acting including a Comedy Night and Mr. Van Buren fundraiser) . Now that I am at Husson, I spend the majority of my time studying and doing homework, and spend the rest of my time with my husband, whom I married in August of 2009. For fun we enjoy watching movies, playing intramural sports and watching professional sports on television (we're big Laker and Arsenal fans), and visiting local restaurants during "Happy Hour" to take advantage of cheap appetizers! We really are not 'party' people (neither of us drink), so on weekends we enjoy 'movie nights' with friends and just relaxing.

As for my personal characteristics, I'm a t-shirt, jeans and sneaker kind of girl. I don't spend more then an average of 5 minutes doing my hair on any given day and the extent of make-up that goes on my face would be powder. I love books, music and the arts (I absolutely love watching plays). As you will be able to tell by the end of this blog I also enjoy writing, something my professors often dislike for I write much more than needed! I am content and at peace when I relax with a book or am at the local lake back home in Northern Maine with my family. God is first in my life closely followed by my family, whom I am extremely close to. My best friend in the world is my memere (french for grandmother) and I absolutely love spending time with her and my extended french family. My Franco-American heritage is very important to me and I enjoy listening to my family members speak the french language, eating 'Valley' food (ployes and poutines!) and visiting Canada (I am especially fond of Quebec) whenever possible.

When it comes to learning, I tend to be extremely obsessive! I often make the mistake of putting school first in my life and I spend a lot of time studying and doing assignments. As a third grader I made the promise to myself that I would become Valedictorian and that state of mind has stuck with me. My mind is determined to excel no matter how many times I try to tell myself to 'relax'! I have reached the stage where it is more important for me to do what I want to do rather than what I have the potential to do, which is why I am majoring in education (instead of Pre-Med like everybody around me wishes I would). I absolutely love to learn, but I absolutely despise school. The pressures of test-taking and assignments drives me nuts and I wish that I could do independent study for every class (just give me a textbook and objectives and I'll acquire whatever knowledge you want me to!). This is one of the reasons why I want to become a teacher- I hope to create a classroom that is as stress-free as possible, where my students can enjoy learning instead of being pressured into learning. When I am free to learn on my own (during winter and summer break) I often become entranced in a topic that I find interesting and spend hours researching and learning about it. For example, this past winter break I read a fictional novel based on the factual history of the Tudor Court (more distinctly King Henry VIII of England) and became so obsessed with the topic that I spent hours reading biographies of each family member (and any person associated with the family), figuring out the family tree, and watching the Showtime series 'The Tudors'. Most of the time my obsession with learning revolves around human anatomy and what happens when something goes wrong with the body (I am a devoted watcher of 'Mystery Diagnosis' on Discovery Health and 'House' on Fox).

As for learning styles, I prefer a variety of different techniques. I especially enjoy hands-on learning, but I don't mind visual and auditory learning techniques. My hope when I enter a classroom is that the professor will use as many different learning styles as possible to keep the class exciting and non-habitual. When it comes to learning about technology, I think I will definitely prefer hands-on learning.

Personally, I do not really have that much experience with technology. I know the basic stuff that every college student knows- how to surf the Internet for information, how to download and upload documents, how to create PowerPoints, and how to get on Facebook (which I do have, but its for family and close friends only!). My husband works at BestBuy so of course we are up-to-date with everything, including an LCD television and a BluRay player. Other than that, I have a four year old Walmart brand one gig MP3 player, a five year old Canon digital camera, and a Dell Inspiron laptop but that would be about it for my personal 'technology' expertise.

Fortunately, I was able to experience the Maine Laptop Initiative when I was in school, for my high school was one of the first schools in the state to have laptops for all students in grades 5-12 (I was a freshman at the time). At the time we mainly learned how to do PowerPoints- there were really no exciting applications like IMovie or GarageBand at the time. I am extremely excited to learn more about the different Apple applications in this class, especially the two just mentioned. I look forward to being able to incorporate as much technology as possible into my classroom, especially since I will be a high school science teacher. In my biology classes at Husson I have been able to experience microscopes being hooked up a projector so the slide could be shown on the 'big screen', along with 'virtual' dissections instead of real ones. I would love to put techniques like these into use in my own future classroom and hopefully I will learn about new things that I can do as well!