Technology, and all that came along with the broad concept of "the internet age", always intimidated me. Unlike many of my peers, in high school (and early on in college), I never succumbed to the inevitable pull of "social media", simply because I honestly felt that these sites, programs, and technologies were silly and that they served little purpose in my life. I never possessed an understanding of the ways in which I, as an aspiring educator, would likely depend on these types of communication channels in my classroom.
That is, until now. CEP 452 has taught me (among other things) that technology was never intended to be feared, but, rather, to be embraced. I suppose that, during the time in life when I believed that technology was taboo, I was under the impression that technology, and the massive (seemingly insurmountable) concept of the internet, was something that was too difficult and intimidating to navigate and utilize. This class has worked to completely alter my perspective of technology--I began this course not knowing how to use many of our generation's commonplace technologies (Google sites, docs, Twitter, etc.). Now, as the semester comes to a close, I not only have become confident in using these technologies, but have also come to learn how to find similar technologies to implement within my classroom. If you know how to search (and know exactly what you are searching for), effective technologies seemingly "fall into your lap"--this newly developed technological knowledge base that I now possess will be extremely helpful during my eventual job search, and is something that I am extremely grateful for.
