My Ed. Tech Experience (K-12)

As I advanced grade to grade in my town, I began seeing more and more technology in my schools. When I was in elementary school, we did not see much of technology in the classrooms. There was one or two computers per classroom, but usually we were not allowed to use them. When I was in elementary school, my town was building a new middle school, which was super exiting for everyone! In the new middle school, there was computer labs and a library full of computers. In the computer labs, courses were offered to teach students how to use the different Microsoft applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. There was also a typing course which allowed students to type quickly and efficiently without looking at the keyboard. This was awesome for us because we did not see much technology in the schools before this and we knew that eventually technology would play a major role in the way we teach and learn. I was nervous and did not know what to expect going into high school - I knew that there would be a lot of work, but did not know how much there would truly be. I was prepared to do many assignments on and off of my computer from both the classroom and school and that is what we did. Every department at my school had a laptop cart and we got to use these whenever we needed to in our classrooms. Our classes also took trips to the library to use the computers that were there. There is a graphic design course and a computer literacy course offered at my high school to show students how much you can do with technology.

As I got older and moved through the school system, I noticed that teachers stopped using projectors with the clear plastic sheets that they wrote on, and began to use PowerPoint and Smart Boards. This was helpful because they were able to email us assignments and post them on their websites. Some teachers only used the Smart Board in their classrooms and when it was not working or the Internet was not working in the school, we just had to sit there because they had no back up plan. This seemed cool at the time because we were not doing any work but it set us behind which was really inconvenient.

When I was in high school, I interned in the Special Education classroom at my school and there was a boy in the class who was completely nonverbal. He had an app on his iPod touch that was made specially for him and he could click different buttons with pictures or type in words that would express how he was feeling. The iPod would literally talk out loud for him, and it made it so he could communicate with his peers, teachers, family, and friends.

As a future teacher, I definitely want to be able to use technology in my classroom. Technology is taking over and I think that it is very important to implement it. I want to make sure that I always have a back up plan for when it is not working, but I think that using technology would be most helpful for myself and for my students. Especially since I want to be a Special Education teacher, I think that technology will be very useful. There are so many apps out there and so many more being made specially for students with disabilities or who may simply need some extra help. I want students to be able to use their laptops, iPods, iPads, smart phones, etc. in my classroom, but do not want them to abuse the privilege. There are so many devices out there that can potentially enhance the classroom if used in the right ways.

What brings you to SNHU? Talk about your journey into EDU 235.

After working with children with special needs all throughout high school, I decided that being a special education teacher would be the thing for me! I interned in the Special Education classroom during my junior and senior years in high school, and I was the president of the Best Buddies Club at my school. I love working with both high and low functioning disabilities. I also love working with little kids and I was a preschool teacher at my local YMCA as a senior in high school. When deciding what school I wanted to go to, I had a few things to consider... I wanted to make sure that I would be close to home but not too close, I wanted the school to have both Special Education and Early Childhood Education, and I wanted a campus that was not too big. SNHU fit the criteria perfectly! I am only about 40 minutes from home, and I am a double major in Special Education and Early Childhood Education with a minor in Psychology. 

I was very nervous to see how the classes at SNHU would be and worried that I wouldn't like the Education courses. Thus far, I have been very happy with all of my Education, Special Education, and Child Development courses. I have many many classes to take, as you can imagine with a double major and a minor! I took all of my 100-level classes already and some of my 200-level classes and this class fit perfectly into my schedule for this semester. I look forward to learning how I can incorporate technology into my classroom someday. I feel as though having technology in a Special Education or Inclusive classroom would be a very helpful resource for both the students, and myself as the teacher.