Technology and Me

I use technology each and everyday . My classroom is a computer lab so I teach students how to use technology. I use an LCD projector, Microsoft Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher, Adobe Photoshop, Speech Recognition Tools, the Internet, email, electronic gradebook and lesson plans, and a scanner. I believe that I am doing a good job of meeting the NETS standards, I would like to work on getting my students to explore real-world issues by using technology.

Some of the barriers that I have to technology would be that our technology is outdated because we are still using Office 2003. A lot of the Internet sites that teachers and students try to use are blocked, some of the sites can be taken off of the blocked list, but others cannot. Students are not allowed to have access to email, which could be used in many ways in the classes that I teach. There are not enough headsets for students to really use the speech recognition software. I teach the same class in both the junior high and the high school and I only have six headsets for both rooms.

I do not fear technology, instead I am eager and excited to learn new ways to use technology in my classroom. My personal goals would be to learn how to add more technology into my classroom. We don't have a lot of funds and I would like to find ways to apply for grants to get more technology into the classroom. I would like to make my Digital Tools class more digital and get the students to learn using more than just a desktop computer.