Unless you happen to be a teacher, once you graduate from high school or college, you're sort of out of the school loop. I enjoy working with younger children during the week, on a volunteer basis, because it gives me a glimpse into what life is like for them, and I get to hear about the things that they experience at school. One of the things that amazed me was when I heard one of the little boys talking about his classroom having a tablet available for every student, and the teachers. 

It's hard for me to even remember what types of technology were available when  I was a little girl in school. We had chalkboards, and had to take turns cleaning them, and clapping the erasers. When I was a little older, we had dry erase boards, and today, classrooms are equipped with SMARTboards. Remember those tablets I mentioned? I remember for the entire class having to wait for an entire set of books to become available so we could read the book together as a class. Today, students can easily read a book as a class, or even read a text book on a device like an iPad or Kindle. I imagine they can store hundreds of books, and it surely cuts down on what they have to store or lug around!

Most everyone has a cell phone these days. I'm not exactly sure what the rules are about cell phones at school. I had my own cell phone my senior year of high school (whoa- that was a big deal), and could only use it in the parking lot, or in the school office. Having cell phones for students sure does make communication easier, though.

Remember not being able to do your homework, because you forgot to copy down the assignment from the board? No more excuses! Today, each class has an online portal, where the teacher posts the assignments, due dates, etc. And how about sets of encyclopedias? I remember being so irriated if someone had the letter book I needed from the encyclopedia set when a report was due. Today, all students have to do is hop online for a world of info at their fingertips!

Remember writing books reports or papers by hand? These days, everything has to be typed by the teacher's specifications, printed off, or even submitted online! Wordcounters have quickly become best pals for students! I still have boxes of old floppy disks and CD's that I used to store files and information on. Today, everything is stored on flash or thub drives... even movies! We can plug our flash drives right into our televisions nowadays!

I also remember having a small computer lab for the entire school when I was in elementary school. Each class got to go to the computer lab, maybe once every other week, and there was no internet capability. We worked on typing, and playing simple games like hangman! Today, classrooms have walls of computers, that fire up the internet with the click of a mouse! 

Teachnology has certainly changed the way we teach, and the way our kids learn. I am afraid that by the time my son is in school, I won't be able to keep up with what he's learning about and may not be able to help him with his assignments! That's what having a fantastic tutor can be a bg help! I had one, myself, when I was in junior high, and it greatly improved my grades in math, the area where I needed the most assistance! If you're looking for a fabulous, stand out community of teachers and staff that provides tutors in Maryland, definitely look into Ashley Tutors! They're helping parents and kids succeed in school, and can definitely keep up with the changing pace of technology used in the classroom!

What types of technology do you recall using in school?