Blog Post #0

I've had a lot of experience using technology in my everyday life over the years. Both of my parents are extremely tech savvy, so a lot of their skills were passed down to me as I was growing up. The pinnacle moment of my technology knowledge happened in middle school, when all of my projects or assignments now had to be typed, formatted, and full of diagrams and pictures. Being comfortable with using a computer really helped me excel in my classes as my creative assignments went. I definitely know how to efficiently use Microsoft Word and Powerpoint, but I know little to nothing about using Excel. I learned how to use Word and Powerpoint throughout my schooling, but was never instructed how to make things in excel or what it's purpose is for other than to make spreadsheets.

In this class, I hope to learn a lot of different ways to include technology in the classroom, because it is definitely growing to have a more prominent place in the classroom. I believe technology can bring a lot of opportunities into a classroom that a classic textbook otherwise wouldn't, and that it gives students the opportunity to not only expand their knowledge with outside activities, but also grow their technological abilities as well. I also hope to learn about some efficient ways to manage technology in the classroom and when it is best appropriate to use in a lesson, since there is generally a high likability of students trying to mess around or get distracted by having a device in their hands. However, I believe if you learn to understand when and when not to use technology in the classroom, as well as how to manage your students with it, technology can be an influentially positive classroom tool.

Looking at my Learning Styles Results, I see that I gravitate more towards being a reflective learner, which I completely agree with. I find it that in a lot of cases I need a good amount of time to think about new ideas and concepts in the classroom in order to grasp main ideas, and when I don't have that time to reflect, I find myself worrying and struggling to understand concepts, both in the classroom and on my own time. I also see that I am more of a sensor learner, which I also agree with. I find myself to be a very practical person in both my life and in schooling, and really identify with the point that sensors like "solving problems by well-established methods and dislike complications and surprises," with also being a math major and all. My last two categories I see to be more balanced, leaning a bit more to the visual and sequential side of things, relating to small parts of each learning style. I do have a hard time in lecture classes that do not have visual representations of the concepts they are talking about, but I can accommodate that by taking down specific points the professor is saying and putting the parts together myself. I also find a lot of comfort with courses that follow the order of the book and talk about topics/events in a sequential way.