Techknow Teacher

©Breakey, D. 2015. Genius Hour Worldle.

I've said it before, I feel very comfortable using technology. I'm young enough that I still grew up with media being apart my life and my schooling. At least that's what I thought! Laptops were just starting to come to school with students when I was in high school. University was my first big introduction to online learning. We used a forum called CourseLink where I would login and see all my courses displayed. Each of my professors would add things to their course page that students needed to know. I could find my course syllabus, powerpoint presentations, class notes and whatever else the professor felt was important. Some classes would have videos of lectures posted while others were sparse and rarely used. For the first time I completed quizzes online and submitted assignments to an online dropbox.

It was efficient but at times isolating. In university I took my first completely online classes. The irony is that those classes were more expensive even though no class time was required! I'll save that rant for another day. Online learning was great because I could do it from anywhere at any time. While volunteering for a summer in Dominican Republic I was able to access my courses online and complete summer school. That being said, it was difficult at times as you had very little access to a professor. The technology overwhelmed me and exploring these tools alone was tough.

Now that I'm in teachers college I'm learning about a whole new world of online learning for students as young as grade 1. Technology, for them, is second nature and there is so much access to applications and tools that directly relate to specific ages and learning levels. I thought I was ahead of the game but I am just beginning. The good news is, my students do not have to feel alone in navigating technology! Using mobile devices doesn't have to mean being far away and separate. By bringing media into my classroom and apart of our world I can connect my students with one another and with me.

They can use so many learning platforms that meet their learning needs. Today, in class, I discovered a number of new tools that will make teaching so much more interactive. The days of boring powerpoint presentations are out and the days of interactive PowToon presentations are in! I'm looking forward to making use of these tools and applications in my classroom in the very near future.