Mr. Ferrante - Technology Integration Teacher

About Mr. Ferrante

Inspiration

I first considered becoming an educator after working in Monteverde, Costa Rica as an environmental educator at the Monteverde ButterflyGarden in 1998. During my time in Monteverde, had an opportunity to work with an indigenous tribe in the Talamanca Mountains of Costa Rica teaching basic reading and math skills to children and adults.

After returning to the United States, I returned to my original career path working with an engineering firm as a landscape designer. My professional responsibilities included developing designs, writing grants, and preparing permit applications. Our projects included stream restoration and wildlife enhancement projects, playgrounds, and urban forestry projects. About three years later, I decided to put my education and experiences to work as a public school teacher and have continued on this path for the past 22 years.

Today

Serving as a technology integration teacher at the Long Valley Middle School involves working with the students and staff to integrate technology skills and applications into all subject areas. In addition, I teach a 6th, 7th, and 8th grade course called Technology & Innovation.

In this class, students explore a variety of topics such as drones, hurricane tracking, sustainable design, plate tectonics, and STEM related careers including architecture, landscape architecture, engineering, and interior design. Throughout the course, students build their technology skills using a variety of applications including:

Google for Education tools (Drive, Docs, Sheets, Slides, Gmail, Sites, Jamboard, Calendar, Classroom)
Geographic Information Systems (GIS) (ArcGIS, Google Earth)
Computer aided drafting (CAD) (Google SketchUp)
Drones & Blocky programming (DroneBlocks, Tello EDU)
Virtual reality (Meta Quest 2)

Previous Experience

I have taught middle school science and technology courses for the past 21 years. This is my ninth year in the Long Valley Middle School and I am currently teaching a course called Technology & Innovation. I also participate a club adviser for our own live news show, LVMS Live News. Prior to working in Long Valley, I worked in the Clinton Township Middle School for nine years and four years in the Von E. Mauger Middle School in Middlesex, NJ.

Before starting my career as an educator, I worked as a landscape designer and community relations specialist for a civil engineering firm and for the Natural Resources Conservation Service. In these positions, I used my education and training in landscape architecture to design parks, playgrounds, and wildlife habitat enhancement projects. Projects included:

Lakeside stabilization and habitat enhancement, cultural landscape inventory, and planting design in Branch Brook Park and Weequahic Park in Newark, New Jersey.
Design, construction documents, tree selection, and project management for as part of the Newark Urban Forestry Project, which resulted in the planting of over 1000 shade trees in Newark, New Jersey.
Developed a conceptual master plan for Centenary College in Hackettstown, New Jersey.

My various positions involved developing grants and identifying funding to implement these projects, some of which were installed by community members under my supervision. This career path required me to utilize technology to design projects, type business letters and grant applications, develop budgets, prepare presentations, and analyze environmental data. Many of these professional skills transcend into the classroom.

Education

I earned my Bachelor of Science degree at Rutgers University where I studied landscape architecture. I am currently earning my Master of Arts degree in Education, Instructional Technology, & Supervision from Fairleigh Dickinson University.

Philosophy of Education

My Philosophy of Education is available to read at the link provided.

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