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About Me
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| via needpix.com |
Education:
I graduated from the University of Michigan with a B.A. in History. I completed my M.Ed at DePaul University in Special Education. Since then, I have been teaching at the same Chicago Public School (CPS) for eleven years on the north side of the city.
Professional:
For the first six years in teaching, I was a special education resource teacher for 6th through 8th graders. Although I didn't have a homeroom per se, I loved the fact that I had a small caseload of students who I got to know very well and had the opportunity to journey with them through their middle school years.
During that time, I had the opportunity to help our school acquire new technology to implement as tools in the classroom, one of which you may be familiar with...iPads! Back then, starting out with 6 iPads was huge!
During that time, I had the opportunity to help our school acquire new technology to implement as tools in the classroom, one of which you may be familiar with...iPads! Back then, starting out with 6 iPads was huge!
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After spending a lot of time helping teachers and students navigate through technology and the increasing need for students to learn how to use technology as tools in the classroom, my principal asked me to become the technology teacher. Transitioning form a resource teacher to a general education teacher that sees ALL the students in the school was a lot harder than I thought. Learning names, learning more names, lesson planning for all the grade levels, working with little kindergarteners, swapping gears to teach 8th graders, trying to include diverse learners, all meant long, long nights.
(A big shout out to all the Prep/Specials Teachers out there!)
The past 4-5 years have not been easy but it has been a growing and learning experience. Knowing a lot about technology did not easily equate to the pedagogy/best practices of teaching it to children. I hope as a life long learner, I will continue to learn best practices and share that as much as I can.
And last but not least, I am also the Tech Coordinator for our school. Simply put, it's a love/hate relationship. I love helping people when they need help, I love trying out new apps/software and getting to share that with other staff members/students, I love unwrapping new tech straight out of a box. On the flipside, I hate updates, I hate broken chromebook/ipad screens, I hate printers/print servers, I hate lite versions of apps which then require you to pay money, and I hate that more often than not, most tech coordinators are regular teachers having to burden the weight of what should be a full time paid position.
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(PS - the CPS Techco community rocks!)
Personal:
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| Personal Photo |
When I am not teaching, I am at home trying to stay awake to interact with my two little ones. Once they are down for the night, my wife and I enjoy all things Netflix, debates on technology trends/designs (She's a UX designer/researcher), and of course, cleaning up after the kids since our place looks like a tornado had just passed through.
I am also an avid sports fan. In the Fall, I bleed MAIZE and BLUE on Saturdays while rooting for the Michigan Wolverines football team. I love playing co-ed softball with my wife and teaching my kids the love of sports as well. I am also more motivated to do things when it turns into a friendly competition. I find it more enjoyable and entertaining when you have to pit yourself against someone else. Thus, I tend to gam-ify everything, whenever, wherever.
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| Personal Photo: I got to play football in the Big House! |
Why I teach:
Long story short, I had amazing teachers growing up. The names and faces of some of my favorite teachers are still fresh in my mind today. They helped shape who I am today and I hope to do the same for my students.
EDU 776:
Finally - a quick shout out to my EDU 776 class! Sorry for being so late to post - ironically it was technical issues that prevented me from joining the course/getting enrolled, etc...
Current mood:
Welcome, David. I enjoyed reading your blog! I agree, I too, have that love/hate relationship with technology. When technology works it it's GREAT! When it doesn't work, I HATE it!!
ReplyDeleteYou're on interesting path, from Special Ed to Technology. My district is now having the technology teachers push in and 'co-teach' with us. It hasn't started yet this year, but I am curious as to how it will work out. Are you familiar with this? I'm interested in your thoughts on this.
Great introduction to who you are, David. Like you, I know the craziness of working with kindergarten all the way up to 8th grade in CPS! I'm glad you were able to join us and look forward to learning with you this fall.
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