Technology Helps by Hayden

Technology Helps by Hayden - January 2020 Scholarship Essay

The question I am supposed to be answering is "How has technology impacted my learning experience." If I am being 100% honest, my school has not exposed me to much technology. In the small town of Meridian Texas the population is 1,480. In a town this small the main hang out is the local Tommy's gas station, people move slow, news travels at the speed of light, and thinking is stuck in the past.

We do not have a large budget and therefore our computers are almost as old as me. We have traveling computer carts as a response to the younger populations suggestions that we adopt an ipad check out like the school in the town over did. However, the problem with their supplemental plan was that the computers in the cart were just as old as the desktop computers we have and about 1 in 15 of the laptops actually work. We were allowed to use our phones for academic research and projects, but the phones were soon misused and the privilege was taken away. Another issue we have is that the internet will just drop some days with no warning.

Now, you may be thinking that I have gone off topic by lamenting about the lack of technology in my school, but there is a point to this. Despite our stunningly low use of technology and our old computers, I did get exposure to the wonders of the internet. This allowed me to broaden my searches when it came to academic research projects. I was able to find forum that would help me realize how to use the MLA format for my online Dual Credit English classes. I used it to help me find information for a Chemistry lab that I didn't quite understand. When we were allowed to have our phones in class the teachers would set up Kahoot games, online study games that got the whole class engaged and simultaneously helped us study. Another major positive impact technology had on my classroom experience is that I found sites such as Quizlet that helped me prepare not only for tests in my class, but also for my academic UIL competitions.

As you can see, even with the low levels of technology that I had access to it did impact the ways that I studied and the help that I had in order to understand my classes. Technology is very important in this modern age, and in order for us to keep up with the times we must keep up with technology. Technology has the power to be the greatest academic force in a classroom.