Blog Post #1 by Nathan

I remember sitting in my middle school history class, being very unsatisfied with how the teacher was going over the subject, and deciding there I would just become a teacher myself. I believe that technology is only going to elevate and change how we have to teach, and I hope that this class can show me ways to use it. Whether it be Canva, Padlet, or even this blog page, I'm hoping to be exposed to different programs to know what I like and dislike. Even if this class does not expose me to any favorable programs, I still do believe this class will give me a good understanding of the types of technology that can be used. 

My prior experience using technology in the classroom has been overall pretty good. I remember the first time in 5th grade we used "Prezi" to make a presentation, which I thought was cool. The most obvious use of technology for education probably has to be Microsoft Word, but I think you can include PowerPoint and probably Excel in the mix. These programs allow students to quickly work through projects and papers, making it easy to revise anything. I will say, when it comes to math, I don't believe technology is there yet. You can easily make a basic history quiz, but when it comes to math, sometimes even if you answer the right question, the system doesn't always know how to read it properly. Something I've begun to appreciate more, though, is actually canvas. The last semester at my community college was all online, and I realized how useful Canvas is for submitting assignments and running a classroom, virtual or not. It's easy to see why basically all schools use it. 

When it comes to my personal learning network, a lot of it is built off of the people around me and my hobbies. Most of my friends enjoy reading or historical facts, so we always bounce off of each other. Obviously I like to learn about history, but I have fun understanding more about the world itself, such as biology or earth science. Right now my main hobby is reading, and it also involves a somewhat new skill. Normally I just stick to the fantasy genre, but recently I've been trying to branch out and read some classics to try and broaden my horizon. I like to use AI as an online resource and then my friends as an "offline" resource. I think AI can have interesting perspectives on things, so if I see an interesting quote in a book, I'll ask ChatGPT about it. It does disappoint me sometimes because it's built to be as neutral as possible, but I still do find it interesting. I do believe that reading is the greatest thing to constantly develop yourself, though. You're exposed to new ways of seeing life, and it keeps your brain challenged!