Yellow Group

In my life, I often find that technology can complicate a problem more than correct it.  I often find that relying on technology is not effective, like when trusting an ill-made GPS system or an incorrect internet-provided set of directions to your destination.  While the technology is a nice alternative to reading a map en route, it can also cause more harm than good if you are in an unfamiliar area.  For this reason, my experience and attitudes towards technology will definitely effect the way I incorporate technology in my classroom.

I think that technology should be used in the classroom only when it enhances the material being taught.  For this reason, I would consider myself to be a person of convenience when it comes to technology.  Looking back on my technobiography, the technologies I used and enjoyed were technologies that made my life more convenient, like a computer upgrade, or the option of wireless internet access.  In my personal life, my use of technology made things easier for me to understand and were also uncomplicated.  In my teaching, I hope that the technology I integrate will be the same - easily understood and simple.

Looking back at my classroom post, I notice that I was timid about using a SmartBoard at first, but became more comfortable with it after I realized how the technology worked.  In the same way, the games played on the SmartBoard made the material easier to understand, and also provided a frame of reference when studying for tests.   Both my classroom post and my technobiography point to my opinions about the appropriate and inappropriate uses of technology in the classroom.  Namely, I think that technology should be a support to content, not just the use of technology for technology's sake.  In my life and my classroom experiences, technology that has been used as a direct support of content or for personal convenience has made lessons and life experiences much simpler; however, lessons in which technology was used just to use technology often failed to capture my attention or teach me something new.  Throughout my technobiography and my classroom post, both reflecting my opinions about the appropriate use of technology, I agree with the use of technology as a support system for content and for convenience, but not for arbitrary reasons.