Prior Knowledge

In Texas, I taught Pre-K for my first year. The following year, I began my second year in Pre-K then was moved to 4th grade in October due to the high number of students. After that stressful year of change, I moved to kindergarden where I stayed for 6 years. Teaching that kindergarten class is where my love for technology grew. My class participated in the computer lab at least once a week. Being a Title 1 school, we had enough computer stations for each child. They had some great Early Ed applications that were self-paced. Once a week, I was able to print reports on each student which helped me plan for guided small groups in literacy and math. The reports were useful for helping me see where each student stood in the TEKS (Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills; similar to the modern SOL testing). While in Texas, I got my hands on one of the first SMART boards. I used it as an awesome whole group activity. That helped me see where technology in the classroom was going.

Five years ago, I started teaching 1st grade here in Hampton City Schools at Cary Elementary. As a Title 1 school, like the one in Texas, there were some great technology resources. There were three computers in our classrooms used specifically for literacy stations. The children were able to use them on a daily basis. The literacy application were self-paced as well but did not generate reports specifically to the SOLs. On our kindergarten through second grade hall, there was one SMART board for all of us to share. I checked it out once a week for a few hours and sometimes twice a week if someone else cancelled their time. The first grade also had a projector that we shared. It was housed in my classroom since I was the grade level chair, so I used it all the time. The last year I was in the classroom, we received a Interwrite Pad for the first grade team. I tried to integrate it into my teaching but it was not user-friendly and there was no one to show me how to work it. Unfortunately, it stayed on my shelf most of the time because I could not work it and no one else wanted to try.

I have always been the one to try something different and would try my best to figure out technology without assistance. I participated in numerous professional developments and would research how to run programs and equipment. With this knowledge, I would train my grade level. Because I was able to stay in the same grade level for multiple years, I became familiar with the curriculum and was able to incorporate technology into my teaching. I feel that a lot of new teachers are more concerned about curriculum and do not have the time to invest in technology. In my opinion, that is why the iTRT and CITT positions have been so important to me. I love to come along side a teacher and simply show him or her the basics and gently guide them to be proficient integrating technology into their curriculum. This will allow teachers to take learning to another level for the children.