Leap #1 - September 22, 2015

 

“Good morning class! Welcome to your first computer class where you will become fast and

experienced typers!”

 

I can still hear the overly enthusiastic voice of curly-haired, 4 ft. tall Mrs. Barry in my ear. I

guess after hearing her speak for 7 years, it becomes a sound that you will never forget. I also

don’t forget the feeling I got when hearing that I was going to be joining my first computer class.

After staring at the chalkboard during the long two years of Kindergarten and 1st grade, I was

filled with excitement at the view of 20 computers lined up around the room just waiting to be

used. Of course I had a computer at my house, but I was never actually able to use them at

school. That was unheard of.

 

These computers were not MacBook’s that have quarter of an inch screens and flat keyboards;

these were about 6 inch wide Dell desktop computers with foggy screens and black clunky

keyboards. Lying over each keyboard was a shiny neon orange skin cover that didn’t allow you

to see the letters or numbers on the keys. Little did I know at the time that this shiny neon orange

skin would be the most dreaded, hated item of my elementary and middle school years.

After getting assigned to a computer, she asked that we all face our chairs towards her and not

touch the computers.

 

“There will be no food and/or drink in this classroom due to the fact that it could ruin the

computers. Before you use these computers, we need to make sure that you are aware of their

purpose and why they are in place for learning and not personal use.”

 

Thinking back to this statement today, I can’t imagine a teacher having to stop and teach students

how to use a computer. Nowadays, the students are teaching the teachers how to use different

tools and computers so it is funny thinking back on this memory now.

 

We had a computer orientation for about two classes. This included going through what

Microsoft Word is, how to do a Google search, and most importantly how to use the “Type to

Learn” application which was my very first experience with digital learning in the classroom.

Prior to this, I had always done activities in classes that were using books, paper handouts, or

chalkboards. I had typed at home, but never been able to have a digital experience at school, so

this was a very new and exciting step in my education.

 

I remember putting my fingers on the orange skin for the first time. This boost of confidence

overcame by body allowing me to feel so “cool” that I was able to use a computer in school. This

meant that I wouldn’t have to spend a class period taking notes by hand for an hour or watching

my teacher write on the chalkboard, I was able to take control and learn on my own using

technology. This was a big deal!

 

What was even more exciting was finding out that we would be having a competition with how

fast and accurate our typing was. We were told that “”Type to Learn” had different levels and

each level would teach you new letters, formatting, and hand placement on the keys to make sure

that you were following the proper form for typing correctly. If we succeeded in this, we would

pursue to higher levels. Mrs. Barry announced that the person who reached the highest level first

by the end of the trimester would receive a prize. This was an automatic ring in my ear because I

was hands down the most competitive child when I was young.

 

I remember saying to myself, “Well my mom is a pretty fast typer, so I must be too.” Genetics

must have played a big role in this, because I ended up winning the prize!

 

Although this memory was so long ago, since digital learning is such a crucial part of education

today, it’s hard to imagine how we learned just as much back in the day when digital learning

was not part of the classroom at all. I don’t find myself getting a boost of confidence when I lay

my hands on the keyboard in class today, or when I find myself typing extremely fast and

accurately. I don’t even think that typing class exists in today’s education curriculum because it

is assumed that children already know how to type correctly.

 

It’s funny thinking back to my first experience with digital learning because now our world is

filled with technology in classrooms. It’s even funnier that when thinking about my first

experience with digital learning over the weekend to write this memoir, I found myself running

into curly-haired 4 ft. tall Mrs. Barry for the first time since elementary school, which is just a

coincidence in itself.