Blog #3 - Technology & Education (Comm303)

As a 21 year old, born in 1992, I have had the ability to watch technology greatly progress throughout my life. Not only that, but I have been along for the ride as technology has become more and more integrated into the education system. I don’t remember much before 4^th grade, but I know that when I was in grade school, chalkboards were the only tool and white-erase boards hadn’t even been introduced. I remember the old-school “projectors” they would use that involved a light shining on a clear sheet that the teacher would write on and have us come up and do math problems together. That is the first time I remember using technology in an interactive way in education. I can also vaguely recall doing “computer class” where we would learn how to use Microsoft Word and some other program that I don’t think even exists anymore. As I got older and entered into middle school I saw a huge spike and advancement in the technology we used in school, this may also be partly due to the fact that my middle school was brand new and my grade were the first class to attend. Every room was equip with white boards and some even had “smart boards” which were extremely interactive. We began to be required to type all papers that we had to turn in instead of hand-write them, and we had more and more computer classes as time went by. Now to current day as a senior in college I have to admit that technology is an essential aspect of education and most are unaware of just how often they are utilizing technology, as they take it for granted. If I did have a personal laptop my life would be far less convenient. I have to use my computer everyday in order to do my coursework and do research so without it I would be lost. I firmly believe that technology has improved the quality of my education. The more tools you have and different ways to look at something, the more likely you are to understand it. Of course technology can become distracting when you have the ability to search anything and get on social media sites while attempting to do your homework, but I absolutely feel that the benefits of technology far outweigh its downfalls. Personally, I am not a fan of e-books at all. I don’t like the idea of having every aspect of my life electronic. I am the kind of person who still takes notes with a pen and paper instead of typing them up on Word. Especially with textbooks I like to be able to hold it and flip the pages physically as well as highlight. Regardless of the cost benefits of e-books, I still think I will utilize true textbooks as long as they are still available. On the other hand, MOOCs or massive open online courses, I am okay with. Sometimes life gets so hectic that it is difficult to find the time to physically go to class, especially if you have children or work or just want to have more time to spend with family and friends and do things for you. MOOCs interactive nature allow for you to get things done at a time which is convenient for you while at the same time not losing they interactive aspect of a physical class. MOOCs are a thumbs up for me!