My Experiences with Technology in School

My experience with technology in the school setting began at a very young age. I remember being required to take AR tests as early as the first grade. We would also attend weekly computer classes, as well as use the computer in our room for games. In the second or third grade, my school made it available for my parents to purchase a game that I could take home and use on my own computer. It was educational and consisted of lots of different levels and learning activities. Technology increased in my school as a got older, but it was not a rapid change. I think the first time I used a Smart board was in either late middle school or early high school. I do remember having to do research on the web for class in middle school. Half way through high school, we started getting those projectors that could be used with any book, and that seemed like crazy new technology at the time. Other than that, it stayed pretty much the same. We had computer class, computers in the room and a lot in the library. We never used iPads or anything like that. When I did my pre-teaching a year ago, it was about the same experience. The teacher did not utilize technology as a main resource, but she also did not discourage it. The kids would take tests on their books on the computer, played reading games and math games. They did not have tablets of any sort though. It was honestly almost just the same as my classroom when I was going through school. The computers were newer, but same quality in comparison to the quality and availability as when I was in elementary school. I think this has to do with the fact that technology is easier to integrate into learning with older students, where as younger students must focus on learning to read and write. There are applications and things to assist with this, but funds typically are not available to provide every single student with an iPad and all of the applications.