Technology Autobio

I tell myself I do not like computers, but I believe it is because I do not know a great deal about them. Moreover, I believe it is due to the idea that I like to depend on myself. Sometimes, I cannot depend on my computer to do what it is supposed to due; things happen, and technology has its flaws.

My experience with computers has, mostly, been limited to word processing and PowerPoint presentations. Until my junior year of college, I would hand write my papers, and then I would word process them. I was afraid all of my hard work would be lost if something happened to the computer. When I finally got sick of the hand cramps, I began to word process my papers from a hand written outline.

I began doing PowerPoint presentations in high school. I can remember being able to do all of the fancy things with the program—such as making words fly in with a stroke of a key, and making a screen neatly fade into the next. However, I have long since forgotten how to perform those actions. Resultantly, the PowerPoint presentations I made while in college where very basic. Luckily, my professors were not grading my ability to use the program.
PowerPoint and word processing, as I said above, are the programs I have used most often. However, I taught myself how to use an audio recording program called Cakewalk. Here, I found the value of technology. This program allowed me to enhance my musical ability, because I could record songs using only my computer. This, in turn, allowed me to critique what I had done.

Since my experience with the Cakewalk program, I can see that technology is invaluable to enhance students’ learning. The problem is, I do not know how it should be used to enhance students’ learning. I am sure that after our class is over, I will have discovered several ways in which I can embellish my lesson plans with technology.

In addition to enhancing subject material, I can see another great role technology should play in a classroom: technology should be used to motivate students. To find out what motivates students, we need to know more about them. Based on my own assumptions, most of today’s students spend a great deal of time with the internet. As a teacher, I could take something that already entertains—or motivates—them, and turn it into a rousing, education tool.