A personal timeline of educational technology

My name is Jessica Holmes, and I’m 22 years old. My scholastic career began with pre-kindergarten at St. Peter

Martyr (a Catholic school) of Pittsburg, California in 1990. I spent one year there, and when my family moved to Alameda, California, I attended Frank Otis Elementary School from kindergarten all the way through the fifth grade.

After graduating from Lincoln Middle School in 2001, I attended Alameda High School and graduated in 2005.

I first went to college at the University of Hawaii at Manoa in the fall of 2005. I took this past academic year off, but now I’m back and ready to graduate in May 2010!

When I finish my degree, I hope to become an elementary school teacher, preferably in inner cities, or perhaps a Spanish-speaking country.

Educational Technology is the use of technology in schools and classrooms to

teach students (and teachers) in new and innovative ways. Technology is

always progressing, and so should the minds of our students.

Computers in Education: A Brief History• http://www.thejournal.com/articles/13739

A Brief History of Distance Education• http://www.bsu.edu/classes/nasseh/study/history.html

History, the History of Computers, and the History of Computers in Education• http://www.csulb.edu/~murdock/histofcs.html

We didn’t have computers in my class

We went to the computer lab/library once a week

Audio cassettes to listen to stories

Our teacher wrote things on a large notepad or the chalk board; no overhead projectors or white boards

(Me in Kona ‘89 playing Atari with my dad)

www.engadget.com/ media/2006/03/imac.jpg

•At least one computer per classroom, but only for teacher use

•School library had computers with internet access

•Two computer labs used for classroom projects

•Most classrooms had color television sets (with built in VHS -- no DVD) mounted on the wall in a corner

•Most teachers used overhead projectors

•Wireless internet on campus

•A lot of students with lap tops

•E-mail through cell phones

•Computers in libraries and lab rooms

•ELMO projectors

•Professor lectures displayed on large screens during class

http://www.groupe-procab.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/new_iphone.jpg

By the beginning of my senior year of high school I had saved enough money to buy a digital camera, and towards the end of my senior year, my mom and dad bought me my lap top. With those two gadgets, my best friend and I would record little trips we’d take here and there or different events/activities that occurred at school, and we would make slideshows and mini movies using iPhoto, iDVD, and iMovie (the basics).

Double-Click

image to watch video!

Smart Boards Desk-top

Computers Digital Camera(s) Audio Recorders

http://img5.travelblog.org/Photos/46214/196523/t/1467255-Canon-PowerShot-SD1000-0.jpg

http://www.worlddidacaward.org/award2004/pics/smart_board.jpg

I would like to see formal education be a part of everyone’s lives. I want to see classrooms have better technology, which requires funding and educators who know how to use the materials. Just as much as I would love to see students in the classroom being more technologically advanced at younger ages, I still feel that practicing doing assignments by had is extremely important. I am a bit fearful that children will not be able to function without a computer if working with a computer is all they taught to do.

http://www.fle.henderson.k12.nc.us/Teachers/mhaney-web/014755E4-000F5C5C.111/pencil-n-paper.jpg

Having access to computers and other forms of current technology requires having sufficient funding – whether it be from the school, or donations from parents and/or the community. Not only do people who give these material items to the classroom need money, but they also need to trust that the gifts they are giving will be used appropriately and that they will not be damaged or destroyed within a matter of weeks or months.

As a teacher I feel that not being able to monitor everything a student does will be my biggest concern. It’s so easy to get distracted and lost in the World Wide Web!

(Trusting that equipment will be used appropriately)

“Do you realize if it weren't for Edison we'd be watching TV by candlelight?” 

~Al Boliska

(I thought that was funny!)

Quotation from: http://www.quotegarden.com/technology.html