I'm Julie Turnbull, currently from Bridgeport, WV. I'm originally from Ohio, where I grew up and lived until about 13 years ago. I graduated from Ohio University waaaayyyyy back in 1989, with a degree in secondary education, as an English major. I taught middle school English and reading (when "middle school" was a new concept) for 5 years in Hocking County, Ohio. My husband and I then moved to Coshocton, Ohio, where he taught high school and coached for seven years, and I stayed home with the two kids we had during that time. We moved to West Virginia in late 2001, and worked for five years in missions in McDowell County, and as music directors at a church in Bridgeport, and then we both started teaching school again.
I started pursuing my master's degree when I was working to get my WV teaching certificate (more requirements than an Ohio teaching certificate). I love technology, and had used several technology tools while working at the church, and when doing volunteer work during the years before that, so I started out in Online Learning. I decided this year to switch to Digital Media, New Literacies, and Learning, because I've become more interested in helping others with technology in the classroom.
When I returned to the classroom after being away for so many years, I was SO excited to be able to use the technology tools available at my school! When I had left teaching in 1994, there was not a computer anywhere in my classroom, or in our building. I was considered tech-savvy because I used tape recorders, VCR's, and overhead projectors! When I returned to teaching in 2007, I couldn't get enough of the technology. I had the kids in the labs all the time. I was thrilled to be able to calculate and record grades online. I could communicate with parents via email and my website, and so on. Many teachers take these tools for granted today, and, sadly enough, some teachers don't even use them because they'd rather not change their ways.
I would like to help teachers use technology effectively in the classroom. My daughter is a freshman in college, and my son is a senior in high school, and I don't know if they could survive without technology, in or out of school. I don't think it's a choice anymore, and teachers need to learn how to use the tools available to them. If they don't, they do a disservice to the students of today. I've worked with and seen many teachers who are unwilling or unable to use the tools available to them because they find them confusing, time consuming to learn, or not working properly, and I hope to work to change that in some way.
I'm excited about this class...the book, syllabus, course objectives, all look very interesting, and I know they will be beneficial to me professionally. I'll come away knowing more about technology in the classroom, leadership, and what directions I can go in when I finish my master's degree.
4 comments:
Hello Julie. I am working on the same M.Ed. degree. I started taking more and more Digital Media classes because I found those to be the most interesting... so eventually I just switched. When I started this degree, I had a class with John!
Funny! It's a family affair...
I worked in McDowell County for three years while my husband went to pharmacy school. It is a whole other world down there! I loved it though! I miss my 7th graders dearly.
I worked in the most tech-savvy school in the county, and because I was young, I was pushed to learn as much as I could. I was basically thrown into a classroom and told to use all the technology. I might not have used it all, but I cam pretty close.
Welcome! We have so much in common. I graduated from college in 1986, and began teaching full-time in 1989! I work with teachers as an Instructional Coach and devote myself to changing mindsets :)
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