I love Technology! My
first technology course was in 1980 (yes, they did have computers in
1980!). It was love at first “BYTE”! I had an AG Professor who was
forced to teach a BASIC programming language course to a bunch of
teacher trainees. He had no idea what he was doing, so he sent us to
the lab where we learned to depend on each others ideas and create
BASIC programs on our own. I had two small children and my husband
worked nights, so the girls played and ate under the computer lab table
at Fresno State University while I tried to figure out what I was
doing. That was the beginning of a love affair with technology, it’s
intriguing, logical, enlightening and ever-changing, making it
exciting! At that time it was text-based Internet access using a phone
coupler and programing on punch cards, but it didn’t stop me.
I have always desired to obtain my Masters in Educational Technology, but
until recently, very few colleges and universities offered Educational
Technology courses that were based on classroom integration ideas,
techniques and strategies. When I heard that Bernie Dodge was going to
head up the COMET program, I jumped with joy.
When I became a district Technology Coach seven years ago, and now as the district Instructional Technology Coordinator, my greatest
desire is to bring the latest classroom technologies and advances to
the teachers in Madera Unified.
I
truly believe that technology engages students in the learning process.
Using a computer is easy, integrating it into your daily lessons with
your students is the hard part. In my job I have the opportunity to
help teachers do that every day. I want to
share the best educational technologies, techniques, strategies and
classroom “best practices” while helping move teachers into a
technology-rich learning environment.
