-
Typing labs! As elementary students, we would get designated computer time to play games to work on our typing skills. Then we would work on how to use a word document. -
-
Online courses! Since I went to a charter school, I ended up taking online courses, like Latin, Pre-Calculus, and German. The online classes had weekly conference style meetings, and assignments and exams just like any other class. Coursera courses were also great for more niche interests. -
Middle school is where I remember watching the most documentaries, as well as educational shows. Ken Burns documentaries with worksheets that you followed along with, and online databases where you watched video after video, then played an online game to pass the benchmark, and so on and so forth. The computer felt like a privilege and something fun at this point, since everything felt like a game. -
Lectures were delivered by PowerPoint. Schoology is the reigning platform for my school district, when it came to keeping track of grades and assignments. Most assignments were typed, or presented on powerpoint. It was rare to have a teacher who wanted assignments to be handwritten. -
Throughout high school, technology was a great tool for connecting to peers across the world. I remember taking an online course that had students from all over the country, and even outside of the united states. We were able to share different perspectives to the topics we were discussing. -
Since I graduated 2020, the end of my high school year was clipped short by COVID. We had to move to completely online learning, and the quick adjustment was not easy! There was definitely a loss of motivation, and complete online learning didn’t seem like a viable option to me! -
Now that I have more experience with technology as a student, I feel confident. As a teacher, I am now experiencing the pressures that I took for granted in grade school. I will keep working to try and keep up with how technology works. Finding that happy balance between online teaching and making sure my students are applying their spark to their learning is what is the most important to me now.