Introduce Yourself

[Cyndi Danner-Kuhn]

I suspect the first thing we need to do is to Introduce ourselves. If you are a student in my TECS 290 class, tell us where you grew up (town, state), what is you major (i.e. elementary, math, science, etc) and what inspired you to decide you to become a teacher.

If you are a teacher out there in the trenches, tell us where you are in the world, what you teach and of course how long have you taught and what is your favorite thing about using technology in the classroom.

[Jerry Braun]

I am a teacher who WAS in the trenches a year ago and now work with lots of teachers in the trenches. My name is Jerry Braun and I currently live in Hays. After graduating from FHSU with a BA in Mathematics Education, I taught 7th grade math for 10 years at Felten Middle School in Hays. Middle school was not my intent when I went into education, but after student teaching at the middle level, I fell in love with it!! This past year I took a job as an education consultant for Southwest Plains Regional Service Center. Now instead of working with hormonal teenagers, I work with hormonal adults who teach :) One of the greatest benefits of my new job is getting to see what is going on in all of those classrooms across the state - stealing ideas all the time. I've always had a strong draw to technology...so much so, that I started working on my masters in Instructional Technology. God willing, I will finish in December!!! I used technology every chance I could in my classroom. This has been beneficial as I am working with 3rd and 4th grade students in Hill City two days each week as part of the schools Enhancing Education Through Technology grant. It's an amazing opportunity!

[Kim Pfeifer]

Hey, Jerry! Just saw you in HC recently during the EETT presentation. What a great opportunity for everyone involved! I can appreciate the program on many levels, as a tech-lover, teacher, parent, and community member. Thanks for your dedication to this project! Kim

[Heather Burleson]

Greetings from East Texas! I'm a middle school teacher in a small rural district, about 70 miles northeast of Houston, TX. I started teaching at the high school level in 1978, and couldn't believe my good luck when my first piece of technology was an Apple IIe. I was walking tall with a dual disk drive that allowed me to have the application disk in one drive and my data disk in the other (there were no hard-drives to speak of back then!).

Currently I am teaching middle school students: 7th grade Technology Applications, a one-semester required course, and one section of 8th grade Advanced Tech Apps, a year long elective. I also help teachers in our district by offering workshops on basic technology and Integration.

Although I am now in a lab setting, I have used technology in the traditional one-computer classroom for several years. I love having the kids work in small groups, with designated "cyber-nauts" who do the research based on the requests from their group members. We also have a grand time brainstorming with the computer connected to a TV; the students really enjoy watching how their ideas connect with those of their classmates as we build diagrams in Word or on a CMap ( http://cmap.ihmc.us/ ).

Being a self-taught geek (the only Tech course offered when I was in college was a semester of programming in Fortran) I am starting a new adventure this fall as I begin work on my masters in Instructional Technology. (Jerry, want to share any hints?)

[Jerry Braun]

You'll love the program. I learned a lot. The biggest thing I learned was to not put off all the yucky required classes to the end (like I did). Instead, space them out evenly among the fun stuff so it doesn't seem so bad :)

[Sylvia Martinez]

Hi all,
Thanks, Cyndi, for inviting some of your Ning Classroom 2.0 friends to participate in your class. I'm looking forward to it. The promise of the Internet is to break down barriers and provide avenues for discussion that weren't previously possible. It's rare that it happens, though. Many teachers are afraid of the loss of control that occurs when barriers come down and "outsiders" are invited in. Congratulations to you for modeling this courage!

So, enough about you, now about me ;-)

My profile - I've never been a teacher (in a K-12 classroom, anyway) but have spent the last 15 years immersed in educational technology as a programmer, designer, writer, student and parent.

I tend to have a very different view of educational technology, informed by my years of behind the scenes work and working with thousands of teachers trying to implement it in the classroom. I'm always skeptical of solutions invented by non-educators, and of the purchasing decisions that impact the classroom, often in unintended and wasteful ways.

I love technology but am skeptical of the conditions in school that tend to crush the best uses and subvert the freedom and options it provides. I don't like it when technology is used to dominate and control children. I find it sad when technology is used to simply recreate old pedagogy and teaching methods with new bells and whistles. I remain optimistic, because I believe that the shared basic instinct of most educators and most children is to change the world for the good. I believe that teachers love children and want best of them, and that children have an amazing capacity to learn and contribute in positive ways.

[Tanya Gray]

I am a teacher who has been in the trenches for 20 years. I currently teach 7th grade math and pre-algebra in Goodland, KS. Starting next school year, I will be teaching a class called 21st Century Skills to seniors at the high school. We will be providing each student with a macbook and away we will go. My task this summer is to write the curriculum for this class. Any suggestions?

I am also a member of our Lead Tech Team. Our task is to train teachers in the use of technology. We provide laptops to teachers who sign up for a year of training. Teachers commit to training on one Sunday afternoon a month and all inservice days. We also offer Summer Institutes to teachers.

I use moodle every day with my 7th grade pre-algebra students. I love the immediate feedback students get when they complete a quiz and how they can then "learn from their mistakes" and retake the quiz correctly. I also use numerous websites with my students as a teaching tool and for reinforcement of concepts. I love the way students are engaged when using technology to learn. I also love how the students and teacher can interact with technology.

[Maureen Brisson]

Hi Group
My name is Maureen and I have just retired as an educator after 36 years. I was in an elementary classroom for about 26 of those years and then worked for 10 years as a technology integration specialist and a technology coordinator in K-12. I received a master's degree in Instructional Technology from Lesley University in 1983 and loved every minute of it!
Most of the younger members of this group will not have much recollection about the first types of computers that we worked with . However, the value that technology has had to provide students with diverse ways to facilitate thinking and learning , is the one constant throughout!
But I have not stopped teaching completely- I still teach graduate courses in technology integration.And really enjoy that, which is my main reason for volunteering for this project.
I live in Fall River, MA - can't praise the weather here today since it is dark and rainy! But on nice days it is a pleasant place!!
I am looking forward to this experience, not only to share my own knowledge , but to be able to collaborate and grow also!
Thanks for the opportunity!
Maureen

[iMon]

Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, I have finally made it back to New York City to teach. I am currently teaching M.S. technology classes in a public school here and will be moving to an independent school in New York this fall. I will assume the position of E.S. Technology Coordinator. I taught overseas in the American schools (4 different countries) for the past 8 years (primarily K-7) and recently returned to the U.S. I have a B.S. in Elementary Education from U.Nevada-Las Vegas and MA in Ed. Technology from Michigan State U. I am an elementary school teacher by nature and license and specialize (if you can say that) in teaching with technology in elementary school. I have been in a lab setting and with laptops in the classroom as well. I am always learning as we all are and find the web 2.0 invaluable for sharing information and learning across borders. As a constructivist, I believe the best way to achieve learning is through understanding. I see technology as another tool that can help students communicate understand. I’ve read many blogs and social networking sites relating to education, becoming a bit disenchanted at times because their is not much about technology in the elementary school. I can say that the biggest challenge for me in teaching elementary school technology is improving my methods for teaching keyboarding. After all, in order to use, read, manipulate anything on the computer, the information has to get in somehow; consequently, this can be a painfully slow process in elementary because the lack of keyboarding skills. Good luck with the semester and please feel free to ask any questions along the way.

[Kim Pfeifer]

Hi TECHS 290!
I was raised in Hill City, Kansas, where I now teach HS Journalism. (Who says you can’t go home? I stayed home!) I tried to keep this short, but I’ve lived a “few” years, and besides, I am an English major! Edgar Allen Poe belived in "the economy of words." Well- reader beware- that's not me!

I began freelance photography at 17, which lead to my operation of Best Shot Studio in Hill City after HS graduation (’78). I photographed everyone and everything in the area until the “Oilfield Crash of ’86” when I went to work to help with the family oilfield company.

In 1990, I decided to pursue my third career and earned my B.A. in English in 1994. I had my third child two weeks before graduation while I was student teaching, so I subbed for a year while searching for a great teaching position. I will begin my “lucky” 13th year of teaching next fall and I love every second of it.

Over the years, I have taught 5-12 Language Arts, 9-12 Communications (Speech, Yearbook), and CCC Comp I/II and Speech I Outreach over Interactive Distance Learning. I consider myself a tech pioneer, one of the first instructors for Colby Community College to teach Intro to the Internet. Boy was that fun! Most people didn’t know what a mouse was back then!

I am currently teaching Journalism, dual credit Speech I, and dual credit Comp I/II at HCHS. I have to say, this is my dream job! I really enjoy the IDL classes as I get to know students from as far away as Cedarvale and Rosalia and working in graphic arts with InDesign for the HS yearbook is so much fun!

Watching the way technology has changed not only our teaching, but our way of life, has intrigued me. I am old enough to still be amazed by it, but then again, I remember being fascinated by my first digital watch! I have embraced it in all aspects of my life. Our HS yearbook is all digital and glorius full color, and I enjoy watching my students work out technical problems and use their creative gifts.

For me, the most impact technology has had is enrichment of my Composition classes for both my distance and face-to-face students. With web-based instruction, in addition to "traditional," my students can access more content and a greater variety of media than ever before. They absorb it all. And the advantages of communication between Teacher-Student-Parent is awesome! A student that might not say much in class is usually the one who blogs the most.

I am a very positive person who loves technology, graphic arts, scrapbooking, water sports, and riding 4-wheelers at the “dunes.” I have three children: a married daughter who has two children and just graduated from FHSU with a degree in Human Resource Management in Dec. and is working on her Masters, a grown son who is a tele-tech in Colo., and one (just barely) teenage son at home. My son-in-law also just received his Business and Criminal Justice degrees from FHSU this spring. I’m trying to convince them to stay in Hays!

This class was not in existence when I earned my degree. I am taking this class because I love new ideas and am committed to life-long learning. I never want to get in a teaching “rut,” so I love listening to new ideas from soon-to-be, new, and veteran educators.

[Cyndi Danner-Kuhn]

Wow, only Monday night and I am just amazed by what I am learning form everyone so far. I really think this is going to be interesting. My TECS 290 class should really be jumping in the next couple of days (Class officially begins Tuesday, June 5) and I have NO DOUBT they are going to be blown away with the Teachers from the Trenches. Thanks for help out.

Teachers from the Trenches: By the way, you can get into the actual course Moodle site using Guest access. No need to enroll yourself. Just click on the course name and then the Guest button. If it does as for a key which it should no, but just in case: summer2007.

[Eryn Norton]

I am a future educator taking classes at FHSU. I am now a senior with only two years left before I graduate! I am a small town girl from Hays majoring in Secondary Education. I will have emphasis in Physics, Earth & Space Science, and Mathematics. I have had many wonderful teachers over the years! But one teacher I had made a greater impact than the rest, my high school science teacher. The enthusiasm our teacher shared with us made me realize that I could share my enthusiasm for science as well!

[Barbie]

Hi Eryn, hope you don't mind that I am kinda giving a "in the trenches" perspective to the class!
Love,
Barbie