Mrs.+Susan+Lester,+teacher

​**Mrs. Susan Lester** .................//teacher of mathematics and art at Cecil Alternative Program at Providence, Cecil County Public Schools, MD//

Application for LAPTOPS program: As a middle school math and high school art teacher at Cecil Alternative Program at Providence, I am motivated to integrate even more technology into my classroom. I have become increasingly more intrigued over the past few years with educational technology, to the point in which I will be applying the doctorate program in Educational Technology at the University of Delaware. Last summer I enjoyed two doctorate level educational technology classes at UD. The highlights were reading about current research in EDUC 818 “Educational Technology Foundations,” and creating my own classroom website in EDUC 639 “Internet Technology at Work,” where the professor has encouraged me to apply to the UD doctorate program. New to CCPS, I decided it would be best to postpone applying, but this past winter I was able to take two more educational technology classes online. I completed Tech 300 “The Computer for Personal Productivity” through PBS TeacherLine and am currently taking MED 7710 “Technology and the School Environment” at Wilmington University. Participating in the LAPTOPS program supports my continual learning and professional growth in technology. I believe that educational technology is a combination of the processes and tools involved in addressing educational needs and problems, with an emphasis on applying the most current tools: computers and other electronic technologies. It is imperative that educators stay up to date on emerging technology in order to best prepare our students. I believe that teachers should be modeling effective use of these technologies in the classroom, for professional productivity as well as for improving instruction. Computer systems, including software, CD-ROMs, and the internet should be effectively utilized in today’s classrooms. I am currently relying on these tools and teaching the use of graphing calculators when appropriate. Students must be prepared to live in a society and economy that is increasingly information and technology based. This year I have been thrilled to use the multimedia pack that has been provided with our new math textbooks. These resources provide visual graphics, images, and illustrations of concepts from the textbook. I can easily create activities, worksheets, and assessments that align with the textbook content. I can write my lesson plans electronically with the use of our curriculum software. Since I have them stored on a computer, they can easily be altered and updated from year to year. I can update lecture notes into multimedia presentations with video, audio, and photographs. I often use the Prentice Hall website or have my students go online to use it in the classroom. I assign the “homework video tutors” for my math students to watch on a computer in school when a student has missed an important math lesson. I can provide remedial work on a classroom computer as well as enrichment activities. I teach grades six to eight in each math class, so differentiating is essential. Technology provides effective ways of reaching each and every one of my students. I often take advantage of online resources, and share them with colleagues. I would like to participate in a CCPS online learning management system- or create one, like a wiki- for collaboration and communication. I recently used RubiStar [|www.rubistar.4teachers.org] as a tool to create a quality rubric for my creative crafts class. In a short amount of time I can create, save, and edit rubrics online, and access them from any online computer- all for free. I can also find existing rubrics by searching key words or by author. Many of the projects I plan for my students already have rubrics created, and I would love to collaborate with other creative crafts teachers in CCPS. I use [|www.quizlet.com] to create flashcards, store and organize flashcards, and can use already created flashcards on many subjects or have students learn from the interactive games on this site. The Internet has completely transformed the way I teach this year. There are so many great web sites I have explored which could benefit my instruction, many of which I can only access from home. How great it would be to work on a laptop at home and be able to use it at school! I am very excited that my principal has ordered a presenter for my classroom. I am eager to stream from the web, present lessons with power points, and project my visuals as well as student work with the use of the projector and a laptop. I am eager to obtain a laptop so that I can easily work anytime from any where. As a busy mother, I would like to be able to work while waiting in the car during my children’s sports practices, for example. I look forward to consolidating my school work in one place, as presently I have work at school, on my PC at home, and on my husband’s laptop. Computers have greatly increased my professional productivity and student performance. I use Microsoft programs to easily write reports and letters word processing. Communication becomes very professional and efficient with Microsoft tools. I use Microsoft Excel to electronically create spreadsheets for class lists, grades, and student information. I can easily sort and arrange data, which can then be easily and efficiently stored and shared. I can analyze problems and develop data-driven solutions. I can organize scores to determine who needs intervention and enrichment. I can reteach missed concepts after using technology to analyze outcomes. I use email daily to communicate with parents, colleagues, or students. I often use it to send teaching resources and electronic materials via email attachment to colleagues, submit administrative forms to school district via email attachment, and to schedule field trips/ special events. I would also like to be able to communicate with a classroom web site and possibly blog. I have created a classroom website for a previous school, but I would like to update it for my new position. I expect to post assignments, classroom news, photographs, and instructional help. Access to this information is readily available to anyone with internet access. A blog is a device which makes sharing news on the internet easy, and I intend to be a teacher with others who share news using a blog. My blog will hopefully create a community of bloggers that inspire and motivate each other. Technology, especially with the convenience of a laptop, facilitates professional communication among colleagues, parents, and students. I have been able to share my knowledge and abilities in technology with the other math teacher in our school, as well as other CCPS teachers. I believe that my modeling effective use of technology is the biggest help and encouragement for colleagues and students. Most of the current development, implementation, and research in educational technology integration world is focused on Web 2.0. This internet trend puts the design and authorship of online content into the hands of the website’s users. Examples include blogs, wikis, and social-networking sites where users add, modify, and share content. I have not yet been much a part of Web 2.0, but am eager to learn and implement appropriately in CCPS. The course goals and required elements of LAPTOPS will positively impact my instruction, my productivity, my students and my colleagues.