KSP619 - Technology Beliefs

Are you confident in your abilities to use, implement and teach with technology?

Teaching is a second career for me.  My first career was in data management. My responsibilities as a Director of Operations included finding creative solutions for my clients.  Often this involved investigating technology tools to do the seemingly impossible tasks they needed me to do.  After years of solving problems using technology my comfort level is incredibly high.  I have been told that I have "badass" computer skills and applauded for my resourcefulness.  

Because of this fearlessness, my confidence is incredibly high.  Not only do I feel confident with using technology, I am confident teaching it and using it in my classroom.

Are there areas that you need improvement?

My tech skills are quite advanced and a bit beyond the average teacher.  This is completely due to my previous career.  The areas where I need to improve are in my expectations of my students. I have discovered that I have an expectation of my students that is unrealistic.  By this, I mean that I expect them to have a certain level of experience and skill that they lack.  I recently had a discussion with my students about not using an 18 pt font.  It turns out they use this because they can't see the smaller font when they are typing.  I asked they why they don't zoom the page in and they looked at me like I had two heads.  This concept was new to them!  I was shocked.  The problem is that I expect them to know all of these basic things but I am not sure why I expect this from them. I have met their teachers from previous grades and I am well aware of the lack of technological skills they possess!  

Have your previous experiences affected your current views in regard to technology integration. If so, how?

My previous experience has made me a bit gung-ho about integrating technology into my classroom.  I am frustrated by not having one-to-one devices and hate competing to use our computer carts.  

I have joined the district flexible learning cohort that is working on creating a self-paced, computer-based, standards-aligned math curriculum for next year. This cohort if definitely fueling my desire to see my students exposed to as much technology as possible.

What would you like to accomplish and why?

I would like to add as many tech tools to my tool box as I can!  One of my favorite things about my Intro to Technology class was the collection of resources I gathered along the way!