First Blog

Well, here I am writing my first blog for course 07:775, ICT for Teachers.  As this is the first of many, I suppose I should describe myself a little bit and my experience with computers.

I am starting my sixteenth year as a teacher.  Thirteen of those years were spent teaching middle years, and I have taught ELA, math, science, social studies, phys. ed., computers, band, and even did a stint teaching Kindergarten music.  The last three years I have been a high school resource teacher.  I started out my career teaching at Mikisew Middle School in Cross Lake, then moved to Gretna to teach grades 6, 7, and 8, and have been at Killarney the last ten years.

When I got my first job (1996), I was hired to teach grades 9 and 10 ELA, but, when I got to Cross Lake, found out I was the grade 5-8 computer teacher.  Having never had a computer, nor any interest in computers, this was quite a challenge.  After my forced immersion into technology, I realized that I actually enjoyed learning about computers and how they could be used in education.  When I was hired at Gretna Elementary, part of the job was included being the grades 5-8 computer teacher as well as being the tech leader/troubleshooter for the school.  At Killarney, I once again taught computers, but, instead of as a separate class, included technology as part of the core subjects.  I am currently a member of the Killarney School tech team and am spending a lot of time educating my colleagues about how technology can be used to support students with learning exceptionalities.

I have used Skype and gmail, but have not really taken advantage of "Social Media" personally or professionally and look forward to what this class has to offer.