Welcome!

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Hello classmates! Welcome to my blog. Since we'll be in this class together for the next few months, here's some information about me. I'm a first year student at FSU from Jacksonville, Florida (Duuuuval, I guess). I'm not really sure what I want to do with my life after I graduate. I know that  I want to help people and make this world a better place. Maybe I'll run for president or something who knows. I like to read, spend time with my friends, and dance with my team, Capitill State (even though I'm not really good). I am passionate about equality, feminism, mental health, LGBT rights, the rights of marginalized racial/ethnic groups, and love. My twitter is funny so follow @jupitergirlmare.

I haven't had any special experiences with technology in an educational setting. Or rather, I guess "special" is relative based on where you're from or go to school, but I feel like I have had the same experiences as most of you. For the most part, we only used computers. In elementary school, there were two computer rooms with desktops; one room for kindergarten through second grade, and the other for third through fifth grade. We would use those computers maybe once every other week, but I don't really remember. In middle and high school, there were a number of laptop carts. I don't know how many there were, but it was sometimes hard for our teachers to reserve them for certain days. These laptops were honestly in horrible condition. Many were missing keys and it was normal for students to have to share laptops for tests since only about 2/3 of the laptops in the cart would actually work. This was especially the case in middle school when some students would purposely smash their laptops or throw them during fights. Teachers also used computers, usually with a projector. This was common all through high school. Some teachers would even let us use our phones to play Kahoot.

In this class, I hope to learn strategies for using technology in an educational setting. Though I'm not sure if I want to be a teacher anymore, these skills would still be useful in other contexts, such as presentations. The world is evolving and adopting technology at an accelerated rate, and it is important to know how to use it advantageously. Technology, when used right, is a fantastic tool and I want to be able to use it in a way that helps me achieve my goals, whether I am teaching a class or presenting an idea.

Comments

  1. Jaedan MackJanuary 9, 2020 at 12:11 PM

    Hi Mary, I haven't had any special experiences with technology in the classroom either. In my high school especially teachers mainly focused on using computers in order to conduct research for papers and that was about it. I feel the same way about being unsure with my future career choice as well but I feel like the skills that we will learn in this class will be able to be applied in any job setting.

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  2. Charlie ChristensenJanuary 9, 2020 at 9:55 PM

    Mary, it is awesome to read that you are very passionate to help others. Also a lot of freshman do not know what they want to do. They figure it out when it is time to declare going into junior. That's what I did because I was clueless on what I wanted to do. You have two year to figure it out. Just explore all your options.

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  3. Mary B. LlanesJanuary 9, 2020 at 11:51 PM

    Hello! It was great reading your blog post and getting to know you! As a 90s, kid I relate to growing up with poorly conditioned technology in elementary school. It's something that I am glad has improved over the years. I also loved seeing your passion for many different groups of people! As a writer, I love to write about different people's experiences and struggles to raise awareness. This was a great read and I will see you in class!

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