I knew I wanted to further my education and expertise in educational technology during my first year of teaching 9th grade English. I began my teaching career later in life than most. I was 30 years old, and had spent the majority of my professional years working for banks and a small medical billing office. I regularly used technology in those careers, and constantly sought out new and innovative ways of improving the workflow for myself and colleagues in those companies. Any new app or program I heard about, I researched it, experimented with it, and if I saw a place for it in my work, I did everything I could to learn how to use it to improve the way I did my job. When I began teaching in the fall of 2013, I was somewhat surprised at the
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I believe my years in the “corporate world” before teaching helped me learn everything I know about technology so far. If I wanted a spreadsheet to do something for me, I researched, asked questions, and worked with it until I figured out a way to make it do what I wanted. I learned that computers are smart, but they will do what you want if you just figure out how to tell them. I consider myself skilled in the Google Apps for Education suite, Microsoft Office tools, online gaming and quiz software such as Socrative, Quia, Kahoot, and Quizlet, and educational web apps for both teachers and students. I selected the Educational Technology Leadership program because I have a passion for helping teachers embrace the advancements in our society, as well as helping them to evolve as educators to prepare students for real-world scenarios. In March of 2015, I was awarded “Teacher of the Month” for stepping up into a leadership role as a “newbie” and leading my team of teachers to a successful STAAR preparation month. I was also asked to be a presenter at our district technology training day for summer professional development. I received nothing but stellar feedback for my presentation and encouragement. Although my main passion is helping students to be successful, I know that I can reach more than just my students if I am given the opportunity. There really is no other program for me; I …show more content…
In the short term, my goal is to continue to teach my students to be deep readers, critical thinkers, analytical problem solvers, and innovative creators. At the same time, I want to challenge teachers to evolve with the advancements in education and technology. Being the tech liaison on my campus is the first step toward that goal. The next step is to inspire my administration to create the much needed position of a campus educational technology director. I think I am already off to a good start and am making a great name for myself. In a school of over 200 staff members, that is difficult to do in just two years. But I believe I have succeeded at this because my passion is obvious, as well as
I believe my years in the “corporate world” before teaching helped me learn everything I know about technology so far. If I wanted a spreadsheet to do something for me, I researched, asked questions, and worked with it until I figured out a way to make it do what I wanted. I learned that computers are smart, but they will do what you want if you just figure out how to tell them. I consider myself skilled in the Google Apps for Education suite, Microsoft Office tools, online gaming and quiz software such as Socrative, Quia, Kahoot, and Quizlet, and educational web apps for both teachers and students. I selected the Educational Technology Leadership program because I have a passion for helping teachers embrace the advancements in our society, as well as helping them to evolve as educators to prepare students for real-world scenarios. In March of 2015, I was awarded “Teacher of the Month” for stepping up into a leadership role as a “newbie” and leading my team of teachers to a successful STAAR preparation month. I was also asked to be a presenter at our district technology training day for summer professional development. I received nothing but stellar feedback for my presentation and encouragement. Although my main passion is helping students to be successful, I know that I can reach more than just my students if I am given the opportunity. There really is no other program for me; I …show more content…
In the short term, my goal is to continue to teach my students to be deep readers, critical thinkers, analytical problem solvers, and innovative creators. At the same time, I want to challenge teachers to evolve with the advancements in education and technology. Being the tech liaison on my campus is the first step toward that goal. The next step is to inspire my administration to create the much needed position of a campus educational technology director. I think I am already off to a good start and am making a great name for myself. In a school of over 200 staff members, that is difficult to do in just two years. But I believe I have succeeded at this because my passion is obvious, as well as