A Day in the Technologically Dysfunctional Life

I have a confession. In our technologically advanced society of today, I am dysfunctional. I rely heavily on the techno-savvy adults around me and, yes, my children. My eight year old twins can navigate even the newest of devices. However, even in my dysfunctionality, technology is embedded in every facet of my day.

I awake each morning to the sound of my alarm clock, otherwise known as the smartphone. This amazing device has taken the place of clocks and calendars, and serves to complete many of the tasks I formerly used my desktop for. I peruse Facebook, check email, and review my schedule, all before leaving the comfort of my own bed. 

My Google calendar is linked with my husband’s and my daughter’s. We have almost eliminated the need for communicating.  I simply add an event to the calendar and they know where they are supposed to be. We can easily navigate who’s taking to dance, who’s going to the track meet, and who’s supervising music lessons.  

Google has bettered my world in other ways. My husband can send documents for proofreading through GoogleDocs, and I can easily edit and return quickly.  My daughters and I can share books and music on Google Play. Even though we are a house divided (I love my android, and my daughter and husband are staunch iPhone users), Google Play is available on every device and makes sharing convenient.  My music can be plugged in to my car stereo and is organized into playlists that I can choose based on my mood.

At school, I check voicemail on my IP Phone, retrieve school email, and login to the online gradebook to take attendance.  The Individualized Education Plan that I wrote the evening before is waiting on our online system, EdPlan, to be printed for my IEP meeting.  Bellwork is shown on my Smartboard so I’m prepared when students arrive.  My students use Successmaker, a computerized reading and math remediation program that gives me immediate feedback regarding what specific skills the students are struggling with. I can login and reassign lessons or print skills work in any given area.  Gone are the days of flashcards for vocabulary.  Middle schoolers in my class use flashcards and multiple choice templates on Smartnotebook to study academic terms.  My drama students use their phones to video themselves practicing monologues. They can peer review themselves and are their own toughest critics. United Streaming, YouTube, and Netflix allow us to view media on any subject.  I use all three to support what I’m teaching in the classroom from literature to geography and Shakespeare to Broadway.  We use computers for research projects with our English students. No topic is so new that information is not yet readily available. 

Some say technology has made the world smaller. I would say the world has expanded beyond our wildest imaginations.  No corner of the world is too far that we can’t explore through technology. We can go anywhere, see anything, and experience all that our great world has to offer while in the comfort of our homes and classrooms.