Blog Post Number 1

From kindergarten to graduate school, anyone who has been a student in this generation of computers can tell you that computers are an essential component of education. As a second-grader, one might learn about mathematics by playing an imaginative game where invading aliens must be destroyed by solving simple arithmetic equations. As a high school junior, one might construct an information-rich paper on a topic of his or her interest using research databases and Microsoft Office. For teachers, the computer is even more important. It would be unheard of for a teacher not to utilize a computer in order to prepare everything from a mundane seating chart to a complicated class website encompassing everything from homework help to web resource links. From a communication standpoint, it is the era of e-mail, and a teacher without e-mail would find him or herself very hard pressed to have an efficient means of communication with parents. Every step of the way, computers have shown their crucial influence upon the overall educational experience.

Personally, I rely on the computer as a resource constantly and plan to utilize it as a tool in my classroom whenever relevant. I plan to teach middle school English, and under this context, I believe a lot of the actual content of my course will take place away from the realm of computers, within literature, poetry and prose. However, I am sure that many of my future students, even more than I, will rely on technology in many facets of their lives, and I hope to incorporate this large part of their lives in the content of my course in order to make it more relevant.

Introduction

Hey! I'm Brittany Smith and I'm an English Education major from Sarasota, Florida. This is my first year in college even though credits-wise, I'm considered a sophomore. I'm the Secretary of IRHC, the student organization that encompasses the hall governments of all the residence halls. To me, there's nothing better than game day at Florida State. My most valued possession is my planner- I'd go crazy without it. I live on-campus and love my residence hall, although I'm convinced it's haunted. My favorite things to do include spending time with family and friends, reading, writing, dancing, sports- especially football and men's basketball, watching movies, kayaking and white water rafting. Go Noles!