Intro: Journey Into My Life

Hi my name is Olivia Brenner!  I grew up in a small town in Sask called Montmartre. I moved to Regina in August of 2023 for University and have been working at the University of Regina pool as a lifeguard and lesson instructor since I started. I am currently in my second year of Secondary Education, with a major in Mathematics and a minor in Chemistry. I realised my love for math and science when I got into high school. Obviously not everyone has a knack for maths and sciences so some of you reading this are probably thinking I’m crazy lol. When I was in high school I often helped my friends and peers with math and science assignments which reassured me I could potentially teach someday and also gave me even more confidence in my abilities. 

Through my high school years I also spent a lot of my time helping and teaching kids which inspired me to go into an education career. I worked at a daycare as well as instructed dance lessons, swimming lessons and was a leader for a summer fun program for kids. From my experience I developed a love for teaching and I knew for years I was going to pursue a profession surrounding kids.

Since a lot of this course is around blogging, I am curious about what it could offer for creativity and for me it is also a new learning experience. I think of blogging as a space to reflect on personal thoughts as well as connecting with others through our screens. I had tried journaling when I was in middle school, it helped me express what was on my mind easier and shaped a better vocabulary when I was writing. Even though I kept my journal to myself it provided a way for me to share experiences to look back on to see my growth as well as remember good moments. I think it’s cool that on blogging platforms you can interact with others and provide comments. The options are also endless, the layout, the links you can input, the visual appeal to others from each blog page, as well as getting to share our own unique experiences and interests! Instagram is an app, probably most or all of you have heard of which can sometimes be used for blogging but in a more simple way… this reminded me that in my grade 12 English class we had to make a post on Instagram about ourselves that was similar to how you would blog. Along with that, a lot of my teachers in high school used technology in classrooms in many ways.

In my own opinion I think technology has created so many opportunities for further learning in schools and has been a large benefit for teachers.       

Technology has made learning more accessible, most importantly for diverse learners and those who have disabilities, which is why it is so important to have resources for everyone in an educational space. Not only has it helped in an educational aspect, it also allows students to engage and use learning resources independently. Many students have worked better in certain situations with the help from technology so we know that there are a lot of ways technology and media has been very useful in schools and education in general