Introduction

My name is Cassandra Cullum, but I go by Cassie.  It's actually a bit odd to me to say Cassandra. I am a Paris Junior College graduate as of December 2013.  I am currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in general studies.  Since I graduated from high school in 2006, I have worked in the medical field.  I loved it and always assumed I would stick with this type of career path forever.  However, while employed at my local hospital I was given the opportunity to participate in an orthopedic class. Basically, patients who were coming in for knee or hip replacements had to attend a class where they would learn about their degenerative joint disease and learn about the procedures they would go through while in the hospital.  As I was working to teach our patient's this, I learned that while working in healthcare was rewarding, I wanted to help people in a different way.. through education.  I believe that education is the most important thing a person can have.

I grew up in a really small town, and I attended a really small high school.  I can recall that one of the few times I ever used a computer while at school was in my senior year and I participated in a newspaper that my school put out.  In doing that, I had access to computers.  Even as my courses got harder in school, we never really implemented technology into our studies.  When I got to college I was completely shocked.  I had no idea that technology could play such a huge role in education.  I had never used blackboard before, I had limited experience with using online references.  The difference between my high school English class, and my college English class was night and day. With the power of technology I had access to more information and I enjoyed my assignments more.  I strongly believe that technology needs a place in today's classrooms.  I think that as a teacher, I can use technology to help students that were like me to really enjoy learning.  I would love to use it in fun and creative ways to peak student's interest in learning.  I also think technology in the classroom is great because education is limited by the amount of time you have for each class period and by using technology, students can still receive guidance from teachers, and help from other students, outside of the traditional setting.

My goals for this class are to learn about all the ways technology can be brought into the classroom.  I want learn how to use technology in addition to traditional learning to create an environment for students to succeed. I would also like to find out more about what today's students expect from their teachers as far as technology is concerned.  I think it's really important that children continue to learn how to do things without the assistance of computers, but technology is our future, so I know that it is important to bring it into the classroom.  I'd love to learn how to balance traditional learning with a more technology based learning. I wasn't sure what to expect when I first started this class, but even in this second week I have learned a lot. For instance, I never would have considered a blog a powerful tool until now.  I just hope to continue to learn how to use technology to be a successful educator.