Sept 1st: Technology from a Learners Prospective

My view on technology in the classroom has changed now that I am a teacher.  I thought back to when I was in school (elementary-high) and how technology was used when I was a learner.  It was mainly just used as a way to present information, such as Power Point. It wasn't interactive or motivational or intriguing.  As a student I didn't use the technology to learn unless I was in tech class and we were learning to type or use the actually hardware.  I played Oregon Trail in elementary school.  Then in college I used computers to research, type, or communicate with professors.  Of course SmartBoards weren't readily available or talked about as far as I knew.  So technology was used but I don't feel in the same way as I look at it now.  For the technology that my teachers had available I think it was rational and useful.  Their Power Points are like our Notebook activities.  They were new and more exciting then the overhead just like the Notebook activities are more exciting and interactive then Power Points.  As a teacher now I try to use technology in more then just a mode of presentation. I try to make it interactive and meaningful to what I am teaching.  I believe that technology can stretch and improve learning.  Students should manipulate and use the hardware and software.  I love when the students know exactly what to do to fix a problem or manipulate an activity.  It shows me that they not only are learning content but also how to manipulate the technology for themselves.  That's another part of technology I like, students can become independent.  I can have a program read to students so that they don't have to ask a teacher or classmate, it can be designed to differentiate according to answers given.  It allows students to work on their level without be embarrassed or even know they are working on something different.  In these ways my view and use of technology is different than that used when I was a learner.