Blog Post 1: Tech History

I grew up in an extremely rural town in Southeastern Oregon. There were few technological resources available to students and the ones that were offered were very outdated. In fifth grade, we learned to play the Oregon Trail Game on the oldest Apple computers. In 7th grade each student took a mandatory typing class. In most of my high school classes, we used the computer labs to write papers and for state testing. I became involved with the yearbook and was able to use one of the two nice, up-to-date computers the school owned to edit pictures and design pages. An Econ class used an online learning and testing program and an Accounting class allowed me to learn the basics of Excel and Quickbooks. It was not until my Senior year of high school, when I bought a laptop to bring with me to college, that I really began to explore computers and use them efficiently. When I came to college, I noticed that almost every teacher lectures using Powerpoint. In my high school, the biggest piece of technology used was the overhead projector.

If I were to begin teaching tomorrow, I would utilize many technological tools. When it was appropriate, I would use Powerpoint to present lectures. This way, I could show the class many pictures and video clips to supplement the main ideas presented. To communicate with parents, I would use email. I would try to meet a parent in person before emailing them, but I feel many issues could be resolved quickly through this form of communication. Both the parent and teacher can  choose convenient times to respond and issues can be addressed immediately without papers getting lost. I would not only communicate with my parents through email, but also through a class blog. It is so convenient to have all information about your class (assignments, grades, announcements) in one place. Parents can also consult the blog if they have questions before they send you an email. Maybe their question can be answered without even communicating with you directly! It is important to be aware that not all families have direct access to computers. Because of this, I would make sure that paper copies of every announcement, assignment, midterm grade check, etc were available. Those who wished to bring them home to their parents could do so.