Hello and welcome to my Blog! My name is Elizabeth and I am an intermediate teacher. I have 15 years of teaching experience and am happy to be here to talk a little bit about that. When I am not teaching I manage my own household of three children and one dog. I sometimes consider my significant other my oldest as he continues to keep me young. We love spending time with our children and doing new things. Life is busy.
Professionally, life continues to be busy, and I look forward to finishing my Master's Degree this fall. I recently switched grade levels and that is an adjustment as well. My district continues to look for innovation and cater to 21st-century learners. Our curriculum has shifted over the years and we have thoughtfully adopted new and improved teaching materials. It's visible that there are a lot of lifelong learners here.
Learning something new can sometimes be a challenge, that is how I would describe my personal relationship with technology. Believe it or not, I am a very private, yet outgoing person. I do not participate in social media for many reasons. I do browse Pinterest and teachers pay teachers for resources and ideas although I have never posted on either site. In the classroom, I use Google Classroom and different online curriculums. I have dabbled in some video creations within my classroom and used basic technologies daily with a sprinkle of VRs and online PBLs. In my opinion, nothing significant really stands out.
In reflecting on my own practice, technology has been a tool that increases student engagement at times but can also be a distracting factor within a lesson. Students might spend more time creating an avatar or using points in the Piggy Shop than actually doing their work. My professional goal this year especially is to create a balanced classroom. Building off foundational skills and incorporating digital literacy into lessons will increase student learning. I am looking forward to incorporating more technology within the classroom to increase student growth and keep that motivation to drive students to want to find out more about a topic. I am hoping this course will help me to be a more technology-driven, effective teacher.
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ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteIt is nice to see you in another one of my classes! I look forward to working with you again this semester!
You have a busy life, between teaching and your household I am not sure when you even have time to work toward your Master's! I am impressed!
I like how you talked about how there are so many lifelong learners in the group! How have you enjoyed your Master's program so far?
I am impressed that you do not use social media at all! I feel like I got sucked into social media during high school and college and now I cannot escape.
I also really like that you talk about how technology has increased engagement in your classroom. I definitely think that my students are way more engaged in lessons, because they are able to communicate their thoughts and feelings in so many different ways and on so many different forums.
Thanks for your blog! I look forward to working with you again!
Ashley
Hi Ashley,
DeleteI have enjoyed most of the master's program at Dominican. I started a while back. I actually began in 2018, had my oldest son, the pandemic hit, then I had another son so I am really looking forward to finishing soon. Thanks for asking.
Hi Elizabeth,
ReplyDeleteThree Kids! Wow, I do not know how mothers/fathers do it when they teach and then go home to their children. I am exhausted by 3 pm every day! Your family is beautiful! I think it is wonderful that you are completing your master's this fall! Congrats. I really like how you mentioned that you do not use social media. At times, I wish I could delete all social media, but I get so bored. How do you do it? Do you have your own Pinterest account and make boards? I love you mentioned that you are trying to balance out your classroom with incorporating technology but getting the students to use it the way you intend them to use it. Please let me know if you have any suggestions on this once you have experienced this working! Thanks so much for blogging.
Lindsey
Hi Lindsey,
DeleteGlad to meet you. All I can say in response to your post, is that without participating in social media, I have plenty of time, not plenty of energy. There was a commercial a while ago and it said "The days are long, but the years are short," that has really stuck with me. I do have two main boards (teaching and food, of course) on a Pinterest account where I just look up stuff, I am by no means a curator. I hope to gain skills within this course and use them in the classroom. Looking forward to learning together! Thanks Lindsey!
Thanks for the introduction to who you are, Elizabeth. Congratulations on being so close to the end of your coursework! Balance for students is such a must these days. I was happy to read this is a priority for you and am looking forward to helping you think about technology in new ways this fall.
ReplyDeleteHi Elizabeth, very interesting read! I am excited to finish my Master at the completion of this class. I love that you use technology in your classroom. I feel like that is how we keep up with our students now a days. Technology is everything to them so why not add it into the curriculum. I am also hoping the same for this course. I am hoping that this course will aid me in some new ways to integrate it into my class and my life.
ReplyDeleteHello, Elizabeth!
ReplyDeleteWow, as if it is not hard enough to be balancing full-time work with being a student, you are also a mother! It sounds like, based on how you described your use of technology with Pinterest and Teachers Pay Teachers, you are what some would describe as a lurker -- you read, you may engage, but stay on the sidelines of publishing your side of ideas. It makes me all the more curious about the ideas you have acquired, what you have found to work for you and all that you have learned! There is so much trial and error, with technology especially, and you reminded me that the error is nothing to be feared, so thank you!