Introductions.

Open House Night. First year teaching. 2007

Here I am on September 23, 2007 getting ready for my first Open House Night during my very first year as an elementary school teacher. I was actually deemed a long term sub that year for two teachers on maternity leave. But the following year (2008), I finally had my own classroom to call my very own!

As a 4th/5th grade teacher, I always tried to find ways to integrate technology into my classroom and I would always be the first to volunteer when new technology was brought into the school. For example, I wasn't afraid to let my students use PowerPoint as a project tool when no one else would. I also didn't hesitate when the opportunity arose to try out a new SMART Interactive Whiteboard.

That was then, and this is now. Now, I am a Technology Coordinator. I still work at the same school, but instead of teaching a single class a variety of different subjects I teach my three grade levels my hobby, Technology! I've always had a fascination with Technology growing up. Would that make me a digital native? I remember our very first gaming console, the Atari 2600, and my first handheld gaming system, the Gameboy. As well as our very first family computer and the excitement of digging through bins at the electronics stores for cool new games. I can't remember the make or model of our family PC, but I remember what it looked like and YIKES! But, look how far we've come!

As I type this, I'm working on a brand new iMac, syncing my iTouch, and looking for a recipe to cook tonight on my iPad. Technology was amazing then and it's still amazing now!

I've been working as a Technology Coordinator for almost 2 years now and I love every minute of it! Well, maybe not every minute. I don't really enjoy having to go check on a teacher's printer issue, only to find that the teacher didn't turn the printer on. But, I do enjoy most of what I do! Especially the part when I get to teach my students and teachers new and exciting ways to use technology.

So this is partly why I've created this blog, Technocation. I want a venue for showcasing the projects and challenges that I face in my profession. I want to show the world what extraordinary things we are doing at my school with our students and our classrooms and I want to share our challenges as well. Because, let's face it, we're not perfect. We're not there yet when it comes to technology. Will we ever be there? Probably not.

So I hope you will check my blog every now and again to see what I've been up and feel free to leave a comment and connect with me through one of the many social networks I belong to.