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Nintendo
I was really good at Track and Field and Duck Hunt when I was a kid! -
Sega Genesis
Sonic the Hedgehog, Mortal Combat, and NBA Live were among my favorites as a kid -
Acer Desktop
I remember when I was in First grade my parents bought our first PC. It was a green Acer Desktop equipped with a floppy and CD Rom drive. I used it mostly for playing games -
Dell Desktop- Hello Dial Up Internet!
My computer usage began to become more widely used in the late 90's. I began reading and doing other school work activities on it. -
Built Own PC & Acquired DSL Broadband
When I was 13 I built my own computer using mostly spare parts from my grandfathers recycled bank computers. DSL changed my usage of the Internet. Before DSL, I was limited on the amount of time I could spend on the Internet because it tied up the phone line. When DSL was introduced, I spent countless hours on my computer on AOL Instant Messenger talking to friends, playing Yahoo pool. Also using it to write research papers and other things for school. -
Dell Inspiron Laptop
In 2005, I bought my first laptop. Computers have become a part of daily lives. We were encouraged at school to use computers for several classes. Myspace had become the popular social networking site. Being able to take computer to school, friends, house etc. was incredible! -
First Cell Phone
On my 16th birthday, my parents purchased me my first cell phone. At this time, internet was not a part of phones. My parents allowed me 25 text messages per month. Picture messages cost 50 cents for everyone that was sent -
Xbox 360
Before going to college, in my teenage head, it was crucial that I have my own gaming device to take with me to college. Xbox 360 had amazing graphics, games, and the ability to play online matchmaking games. -
BlackBerry Smartphone
On my 18th birthday, and after my 2 year contract for my old phone ended, I purchased a BlackBerry smartphone. This phone had the ability to access the internet, send unlimited text messages, have music, email and other useful applications like BlackBerry Messenger. -
New Laptop for College
Using money from high school graduation, I purchased a new Laptop for college. This is something that I took with me to every class to take notes, complete assignments, and get distracted on in long boring lectures. -
BlackBoard
Took an online business stats class that used BlackBoard for all class materials. The majority of assignments were turned in using Microsoft Excel -
Computer Programming
In 2010, I took computer programming classes in college. This gave me a newfound in technology. Prior to this class I enjoyed tinkering with hardware and building desktop PC's. This course taught me how computers communicate with the user and other computers. -
1:1 & MyBigCampus
in 2012 I got my first teaching job at Fieldcrest High School. The first year I was hired they were implementing a 1:1 environment. Students were equipped with ASUS Netbooks and the school purchased My Big Campus for an LMS. My Big Campus was essentially Facebook with an educational spin. -
LanSchool
Once students received a computer all day in class, they quickly began playing games, messaging one another and falling into the YouTube black hole. LANSchool gave teachers the ability to monitor students computers from theirs and to block certain websites and applications. It is essential for any computer lab or 1:1 school -
1:1 with Dell Tablets rather than Netbooks
After year 1 of teaching and the new 1:1 initiative, teachers did not find the netbook's useful. What they proposed was using tablets so students could have stylus' in order to do math equations and other types of writing. -
Classroom Lab- No 1:1
I changed schools. Upon coming to Pekin I am now teaching in my own computer lab of 40 Dell All-in-one computers. -
BlackBoard LMS
From 2014-2016 I used BlackBoard as my classroom's LMS. All of our notes, assignments, and assessments were done through BlackBoard. I was a fan of BB because of how widely used it is on college campus's. I felt that I was not only preparing my students for the next level of their lives with curriculum, but also the process of being a student. -
Google Classroom
Our school made a push for teachers to begin using the Google suite in preparation for our 1:1 Chromebook initiative. -
Canvas
Google Classroom is very user friendly and is easy to integrate into the classroom. One big lacking feature was the ability to do assessments. Our school decided to invest in Canvas. This is by far my favorite! It is user friendly, mobile friendly, and offers a lot helpful tools and resources.
