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Technology From My Elementary School Days

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Technology From My Elementary School Days

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When I first started school, the only kinds of technology we used during class were pencils and paper. We used colored pencils, crayons, and markers to draw. We had to write everything in our notebook. We wrote notes, papers, charts, etc. in our notebooks. Your hand would be cramping by the end of the day. I remember how exciting it was as a kid to pick out your notebooks. Everyone wanted the colorful and fun notebooks. It was classic to see the Lisa Frank school supplies in elementary school.

It's crazy to think how now we can just type our notes on the computer, then having to write them down on paper. With computers, we now can even do audio to text, so you don't even have to type at all if you didn't want to. This saves so much time and effort compared to writing in notebooks.

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In elementary school, we used to take a computer class in the computer lab. I remember learning how to type for the first time and trying to do it without looking at the keyboard. We would also play learning games and lookup research from our corded keyboard and mouse. At home we had a "family computer". Remember that?!

As time went on, computers were no longer huge, boxed devices that could only stay in one area. Laptops allowed us to take it on the go and not have to worry about cords and disk drives.

Middle school we were assigned laptops in the classroom to share and in high school we got our very own laptop to use in class and to take home to do our homework.

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One tool that we used in school that stood out to me was how we would make presentations. We would go to the store and buy a poster board and all the supplies we needed to create it. We had markers all over the floor, glue stuck on our fingers, and it would take hours to make.

Now we can simply make presentations online with our computers. PowerPoint and other resources have been super helpful with creating presentations. We can upload our own images instead of drawing our own pictures, add links to videos, and go back to fix any mistakes we had or add more information. No more having to use whiteout to fix your mistakes on posters.

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When I was in elementary school (2000's), the only technology we used to write with were wooden pencils. We would sharpen our pencils by cranking the handle of a sharpener mounted to the wall. Later came handheld sharpeners and today we have electric pencil sharpeners.

Around middle school is when mechanical pencils became really popular. It was handy for not having to get up during class to sharpen a pencil and get pencil shavings everywhere, since you would only need to add lead to your plastic mechanical pencil.

(Does anyone remember Smencils scented pencils?! I loved those! I think bubblegum was my favorite!)

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My Dad (1965) remembers only having chalkboards in the classroom. "The teacher would have students volunteer to clean the boards and erasers. They were a pain to clean and such a mess." My Mom (1968) remembers them having white boards in high school. It was easier to use dry erase markers and easier to clean, with not having to worry about all the chalk dust everywhere.

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My Sister (1996) and I (2000) remember having the overhead projectors in class that would enlarge images on the screen. She said, "I remember the lightbulb always burning out in one class. Our teacher would ask to borrow another teacher's projector so we could finish a lesson." Once technology advanced, I remember having the interactive smart boards in class. With these, teachers could draw and write on the screen. You no longer had to wheel around the projector to present the lessons. We could watch videos off of it too. This made learning easier and more efficient!

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My Dad (1965) & Mom (1968) had rotary phones in the 60's and 70's. My mom said, "The phone was mounted to the wall with a long cord. You would have to walk away with the cord to get any kind of privacy on the phone." In the 80's they had push button phones. You could finally redial a number on the phone, without having to reenter it again like the rotary phones.

Now with iPhones we can do so much more than just calling people. We can text, search the web, use social media to connect with others, etc. It's incredible how advanced our phones are today!

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My Grandma (1932) didn't have internet or computers during her time in school. She said that she only relied on books from the library to do any research for classes. She said, "I would spend hours or days on assignments trying to find research from books to write about." My Dad also talks about having the same experience with school and having to take a huge stack of books home to do homework.

Today we can use our tablets like eBooks, iPads, and iPhones to read books. We can pull up any book from our device in the palm of our hands. No more worrying about going out of your way to find books and having to return them.

I forget how lucky we are to have the technological resources we have today. At the click of a button, we can now have all the information we need right away.