Technology Throughout My Education
The Chalkboard Years
From kindergarten all the way through fifth grade in each classroom there was only one chalkboard in the entire room for students and teachers to use. We thought that this was the best thing in the world to be able to write on some type of board in the classroom and compared to older pieces of technology used in the classroom, it was the best thing. It was hard writing with the chalk because they were not the cleanest way to write. I always got chalk on my hands. There was only one positive aspect of chalkboards. No matter what grade I was in, at the end of each day my teacher would select one person to wipe down the board to make sure that it stayed clean and was ready for use the next day. We also had what we called "over heads" which was where the teacher projected notes and information on the board.
The Dry Erase Board Years
I went to a K-8 school so when I went to “middle school”, it was a separate building with classrooms and a gym in it but we had to go down to the other building if we were leaving for the day, to use a computer lab, or to eat lunch. The building, which was usually referred to as the upper building, was much newer and more advanced than the lower building because it was built when I was in third grade. The building had dry erase boards instead of chalkboards which were a lot less messy to write on. I had this type of board in all of my classes until I got to high school. We still had the over heads that we used on a regualr basis for projecting notes and assignments on the board.
The Smart Board Years
Once I entered my freshman year at Forbush High School, my county had finally received enough money to put Smart Boards in most of the main subject classrooms such as English, History, Math, and Science. The teacher was mainly the only one that got to use them. Most of my teachers actually just used them as projection screens and really did not use them interactively. We actually got rid of most of the over heads because the Smart Boards were connected to the teacher's computers so there was really no need for over heads anymore. Throughout my years of high school I remember using a Smart Board only once when I was presenting a project in English. I wish that I would have been able to learn more about how to use a Smart Board before I graduated.
The Future of Education
The future of education will definitely rely heavily on technology, but in particular cell phones. I could see text messaging being integrated in the classrooms. Students could answer questions by sending a message to the Smart Board or even post discussion questions by texting them to the Smart Board and teachers addressing them along the way. I could see this being utilized in middle schools, high schools, and colleges across the country. Maybe this will help students enjoy school and have a positive attitude about coming to school every day.
Technology in the classroom has certainly changed over the years but this is just the beginning...
This video below demonstrates how technology has changed over the years from chalkboards to copiers to VCRs to the internet, just to name a few. Many of these upgrades in technology have not only benefitted classrooms across the nation but also in everyday life.
