Technology Autobiography

The first computer my family owned was a “dinosaur.” It was huge. We kept it in the basement and rarely used it. I played Pong and Oregon Trail off of a huge floppy disk. My dad would keep his patient files on there and all I remember him talking about was “MS DOS.” When I was younger, I wondered who “Ms. Dos” was. It wasn’t until 5th grade (1997) when I first used the Internet. I was at my friends house, whose father was a lawyer and they had a computer in just about every room of the house. My friend, Kim, and I created our own webpage. We spent a full day, and night, on that thing. It was one of those free websites. We called it “All About Ryan and Kim” and included information, such as our favorite boy band and favorite food. It even had animation. We were so proud!
By the time I was in 6th grade (1998), my family bought a desktop PC. We actually kept this one upstairs, where everyone could us it. My two older brothers bought a Mavis Beacon Typing Tutor CD-ROM. I loved that “game.” I taught myself how to type when I was 11. I also remember that year in school, we had “computer time.” We would go to the computer lab about twice per week and learn how to type and use the Internet. By 7th grade, we were typing all of our papers in Word (maybe it was Works at that time). All throughout the rest of middle school, I began to become more acquainted with computers and technology.
My sophomore year of high school, I took a computer course. We learned the basics of Microsoft Office. I learned how to type even faster throughout this course. I also learned how to make Excel spreadsheets, including calculations and all. I also put together a PowerPoint presentation with animations, pictures, and sound. It was a fun course, and at the end, we all received college credit for a computer course.
At about the same time, our family got a DVD player. I thought we were the last family on Earth to buy one. I thought it was neat how small the DVDs were and how they looked like CDs and that some of them included extra footage or commentaries. I wondered what would be next, after DVDs. I wondered if they would put movies on those “mini disks.”
When I graduated from high school, I got a laptop computer, for college. I now consider it a “clunker” and the AC adapter is the weight and size of a brick. However, it still works and I am typing on it now, although it is very slow! Since college, I have learned even more about technology. I have used PowerPoint for nearly every presentation, Word for every paper, Excel for every lab report, and the Internet for all of my research. I have even made videos on MovieMaker, using many of the thousands of pictures I have on my computer.
This brings me to another point; digital cameras. They are amazing. I got a digital camera my sophomore year of college (yes, always behind the bandwagon). Since then, I have taken over 7,500 pictures and they are all saved on my computer. This could be a big reason why it runs so slow. Anyway, I remember when I was little and I used disposable cameras. Then my mom bought a digital camera that took floppy disks and only held about 15 pictures! She has since gotten a newer digital camera. I just think it is amazing that we can go to Walgreens.com, upload pictures that were just taken, and pick them up in an hour.
After many hours of observing teachers in the classroom, a semester of methods, and a semester of student teaching, I have realized how useful computers can be in the classroom. During my methods semester, my teacher had her own laptop, which would connect to the Smartboard. She could show various PowerPoint slideshows, videos, and interactive games. There were also two apple computers for student use. They could take AR tests or play interactive reading and math games. I think they are perfect to use as “centers” for the younger grades.
During my student teaching semester, both placements I was in (3rd grade, then 1st grade), each had one desktop computer for the teacher, three student computers, and a Smartboard. Again, the teacher could show slideshows, videos, and interactive games on the Smartboard, through their computer. It came in handy during my solo teaching, when I would get the students involved and have them come up to the board to solve a problem, circle an answer, or write their own example.
I definitely think computers play a big role in K-12 education. I do not think it is necessary for every student to have their own computer in the regular classroom, but I do think they are amazing teaching tools. I think 3-6 computers in the elementary classroom is a good amount. That way, you can allow your low students to work on phonics, reading, math, etc. in the mornings or during free time and you can also use them as centers and give the students specific activities to complete during that time. I am glad that it has become more and more common to see more than one computer in the regular classroom. In today’s world, students learn quickly and they enjoy technology, so why not provide that service to them?

Edit: May 26, 2009

Throughout this course, I learned several technology tools to use in the classroom. Instead of just using the basics, like Microsoft Office tools, I can now teach students using MovieMaker presentations, Flickr, Podcasts and many, many more tools. I have also learned how to incorporate technology into my lessons, in order for the students to try these tools, first hand. This course has given me confidence to include these tools in my lesson plans and adapt my ways of teaching to fit students' learning styles in this day and age.