Computer Unable

Although I have had experience with systems like myspace, xanga, and facebook I never thought that I would use a blog in elementary education.  I am not particularly well versed in computer technology.  If my computer freezes, I turn it off.  If a web site won’t load for me, I try a couple times to see if maybe my computer is just being fussy.  Honestly, I do not know a lot about computers and have no idea how they are programmed.  I would say that I probably have a fear of the computer.  I do the typical updates and virus scans but generally shy away from downloading new programs or setting up tons of webpages. 

I have friends that constantly use myspace, but I am slightly weary of it since it is so open to the world.  I worked in a day camp with teens who had myspace pages.  It was a little bit scary how much information they put out on the web.  It was also ridiculous how addicted they were to their profiles.  I do not want to be the person that becomes so obsessed with sites like myspace and facebook that they end up stalking people online rather than actually interacting with the people in real life. 

In my own experience going through public schools, I did not encounter situations that involved new technology like the smartboard.  I grew up with overhead projectors rather than power point slideshows.  Senior year of high school was probably the first time I had to create a power point show, but even that was done as a simple presentation.  Although the schools I attended focused on using the internet search engines for research, they never utilized programs like elluminate or skype to allow virtual classroom experiences or telecommunication.  I feel as though I do not have a lot of knowledge of technology opportunities that can be incorporated in the classroom, but I look forward to learning more about the different options that exist.  It was not until this winter break that I actually used a Smartboard.  I substituted for a kindergarten classroom that used the smartboard for morning announcements, for movie clips, and for online activities focused on learning letters through interactive tasks.  I was surprised at how comfortable the 5 and 6 year old were with the technology.  I was completely new to the Smartboard and they basically led me through how to use it.  It kind of makes you feel a bit inadequate in the classroom when you do not know how to utilize the technology that they use daily.  I am hoping that in the future I will be able to work through the technology gap by figuring things out before the students know that I am lost.  I also hope that once I am in a classroom I will be able to adapt to the ever-changing technology.