My Journey With Technology

I began my teaching career in 1985. While reading the information in chapter one about the history of technology education, I have discovered that I have taken this journey with the developing stages of technological growth in education. The popular technology used in my small town school district in the mid 1980's was the self-advancing, sound filmstrip projector and VHS videos.

I vividly remember the first three computers, Apple IIe's, and a box of floppy disks that were brought to my library. These computers were checked-out to teachers for use in their classrooms to reinforce their objectivist learning theories.

The next "big thing" for me was the Accelerated Reader program which was purchased to give relevance to the new stand alone desktop computers purchased by the P.T.A. My day was filled with loading floppy disks into each computer and printing "points" reports.

In the late 1990's my school was finally networked and I could download A.R. tests from one computer onto the server. I managed this technology as the media specialist without much real knowledge of how it all really "worked".  I had a lot of talks with technical support. With networking, came the worldwide web. Up until this point our computer programs were used mainly for reinforcement and reward. The internet opened up the possibility of new productivity such as research, word processing, multimedia projects, and class demonstrations. 

In the early 2000's, our district began to adopt a new educational theory. While studying chapter two, I recognized the shift to the construtivist learning theory, specifically the Multiple Intelligence model.

The last five years have brought about more technology advances at my school. We now have available most of the types of technology facilities mentioned in chapter one of our textbook. We also use technology in all aspects of our educational experience. Teachers are becoming more comfortable and open to new ideas in technology. Next year we will implement a 1:1 technology program. One laptop or tablet for each student and teacher in our district.

My favorite technology at the moment is the Smartboard. As a librarian, I see the advantages of interaction for the students and the productivity for the teachers. Best part - NO more overhead projectors, T.V's or VCR/DVD players. Smartboards also reinforces my district's philosophy of Multiple Intelligences as a learning theory.

http://kerimae.wikispaces.com/Lesson+Plan+for+Multiple+Intelligences
Google Reader Google Reader link

http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?video_id=1698
Link to lessons for the SmartBoard