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.
I would agree that this class has helped to make me feel more confident in the technology that is out there and has made me less afraid to try different technology. I have always felt that you needed to be really good at using something before you could implement it. This class has taught me that it is okay to try technology and then decide that it is not serving the purpose you intended it too. This class has also taught me that there are so many technologies out there that if you keep searching, you will find one that can help a student. I am also very grateful for what I have learned in this course.
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