Tech Savvy

I love technology. I don't get it, but I love it. Super D gets so frustrated trying to explain computer things to me. I think maybe, after 17 years of marriage, he missed the memo explaining that his wife is a visual learner. If you want me to understand something, give me a book. Let me read the instructions. I'm more likely to get it, and remember it, if I have read it. But Super D continues to tell me how to do things on my computer, expecting me to remember how to do it the next time on my own.

That's because Super D is an auditory learner. You tell him how to do something once, and he's got it. (Oddly, that doesn't translate to our family schedule. I can tell him every day for a week that we have a family event on Saturday, and he still wonders why we are all getting up and dressed so early.)

Today, I attended a fascinating educator workshop on technology in the classroom. I thought it strange that the presenter began her program speaking about the generation gap. (I discovered that I should have been a Baby Boomer. I identify more with their traits.) Then I realized that she wanted us to understand how our children learn, so that we can be better teachers. In a world of cell phones, MP3 players, game machines, and computers, my students have never known life without technology. Media is what holds their attention. And if I intend to be an effective teacher, I must teach in their world. I must teach to my visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners with the technology I have available to me.




Enter the SMART Board! When my interactive whiteboard was installed this January, I quickly put it to use. I used it every single day for the remainder of the year. It's uses are endless! Despite that I hated giving up one of my summer days for a seminar, I left with a book full of information which inspires me to be more. And I can't wait for next week, when I attend a 2-day workshop to learn how to create high-quality SMART Board lessons.