When I was in school, there were blackboards, chalk and books. Today's students have SMART boards, magic pens and computers. While I think the technology in today's classrooms are amazing, it's a lot to take in.
I am taking a curricular planning course and a major aspect of the class is technology. I'm hoping that by the end of the course, I will be able to operate at the same technological level as my first or second graders.
I am a substitute teacher, and it always amazes me when I'm in an elementary school classroom and the students know how to work the computer better than me. The SMART board throws me for the biggest loop. It was always somewhat embarrassing when I had to ask a first grader, "How do you write on this board?"
While my skills have improved, at the end of most days I still think about all of those old blackboards from my school days (which were not all that long ago). Nowadays, if they haven't been thrown out, most are used by teachers as a place to hang posters, create word walls, etc.
Today's students will never get to experience those boards. Getting chalk dust all over your favorite outfit after providing an answer on the board. For the younger kids, the competition at the end of every day to be the one to wash the board (always an exciting job for some reason when I was in elementary school).
Technology today makes me a little nostalgic I suppose. Kids today don't know what they're missing. At the same time, if I don't start embracing technology, I may be missing out even more.
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