I would consider myself somewhat computer illiterate. I am definitely not a digital native. I finished my undergraduate degree in 2004. I worked in public schools from 2005-2009. The district trained new teachers on basic skills in word and excel. Since, I never used excel in my classroom; I have forgotten a lot of the material. I used Kidspiration in my first and second grade classrooms. I feel the students who recently graduated have more of a technology advantage. The way the education program is structured at Baylor gives students more exposure to technology. I am excited about this class and look forward to finding new ways to incorporate technology into my lessons that will positively impact students.

I have to confess that I entered the tech class wondering how helpful it was really going to be. When you think about it, the technology that teachers use currently seems pretty self-explanatory, and most of us have already had experience using it. So what can this class teach me?

Well, it can apparently teach me a great deal.  I am looking forward to all the new materials I will be introduced to, as well as the cultivation of the information I already know.  It should be exciting to learn and then be able to apply in the classroom. And hopefully all this new information will keep the students engaged…

Growing up in a technology heavy environment, I’ve had a lot of toys to play with. I have since become a gadget gal with certain technology required to get me through the day. Well, that and a beer.

Macintosh

I’ve had a Mac in my house since I was 5. I have tasted the Apple flavored Kool-Aid and I am a believer. I worked as an assistant editor for many years and the company I worked for all used Macs. I’ve come to love the integration of software and external devices that Apple provides. Dude, the camera is IN the computer. Don’t tell me that’s not cool. I also know how to use Final Cut Pro which only comes on Macs. It’s great video editing software.

Home Theater

I love a good home theater system. This probably comes from my job as mentioned earlier. I love connecting all of the speakers and cables. I think a well shot video on a great TV with surround sound is a work of art. The only downside to this love is when my sorority found out I could hook up DVD players and cable. I used to have to go room to room connecting TVs to walls and adding DVD players, like it’s hard. You just have to match the colors!

iPhone

I would write sonnets to my iPhone if I could write one in less than 140 characters. Maybe haiku… Anyway, this love follows my love of my Mac. It’s integrated with my computer, self updating, connected to the internet, and I have a nifty app that lets me take Holga style pics. All in a plastic case that fits in my back pocket.

XBOX

I use my XBOX for many reasons. First one is gaming. I really like platformers and tower defense games. I also use XBOX to watch streaming Netflix movies. I also connect my computer to my XBOX to watch videos off of my computer on my TV and to listen to music as I cook. It has become more integrated into my life than I ever thought a gaming device would, and it doesn’t even have Mario Kart!

Wireless

Where would all of this be without wireless internet? That is the glue that connects all of these gadgets and toys. Wireless lets my computer be in a different room than my XBOX. Wireless doesn’t suck the juice right out of my iPhone as I’m reading Perez Hilton while watching Arrested Development on my Netflix Instant watch. Knowing that a restaurant has free internet seriously effects whether or not I’ll go back. It’s not a deal breaker, but if it’s available I’ll go back and double check that I didn’t like the restaurant in the first place. I think as more and more people become more independent on mobile technology wireless internet will boom. Well, some McDonalds already have wireless so I think the boom is upon us. I see a world where part of the fee on a turnpike is the wireless they provide along the highway. Mmmm, looks good!

Hello World!

This is my first blog post ever! My technology skills are lagging, but through my new course EDC 5370 Fundamentals in Technology I am going to try to be more “with it” in the technological world.  I am currently working on my M.S.Ed in Curriculum & Instruction at Baylor University.  I recently finished my undergrad at Baylor and got my B.A. in History.  I will be teaching/coaching starting this fall at China Spring High School an I am very excited about this new chapter in my life! I love basketball, traveling, the outdoors, and spending time with my family and friends.

 I learned from the self-assesment sheet that most of my boxes were unchecked.  Great….but I am really excited to learn!!  I hope that through this class I will be able to learn all kinds of “tricks” to use in my classroom.  Kids today are born knowing technology so I think it is important to incorporate that in the classroom.  I want to be able to keep my students engage and enjoy learning, and hopefully in this class I will learn some new ways to do that in my world geography and US History classrooms this fall!  I’m very open to any ideas or suggestions anyone might have!! Since my previous expereince with technology is limited to getting on the internet, word documents, and using my blackberry I don’t have a lot to share thus far. 

Some ideas that I am interested in to do my projects for EDC 5370 would be to use google wave, create my own wesbiste for my classroom, learn how to use smartboard, Adobe, and Excell I’m really open to anything that could engage my students in world geography and US history. 

So here goes my first adventure in blogging!  I am very excited to be teaching and coaching at China Spring in the fall and I cannot wait for all the experiences, encounters, and funny stories that I will have.  Sorry for the lame post, hopefully through this next month my blogging skills will improve. 

Until next time,

Katie

Okay, if you still read this I am back, sort of. I plan to start blogging about our family on my other blog. I will use this blog for class. I am taking a technology class this summer.