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Kindergarten Computer Lab
Once a week, I visited the school computer lab for Specials. With plastic headphones and fun games, we practiced our letters and numbers with educational software. -
America Online
My family installed our first dial-up internet connection using AOL. At ten years old, my parents created my own AOL Kids account. This provided me with my first email address, an AIM screenname, and internet access with parental controls. I was homeschooled; this provided me with resources for research assignments and communication with peers. -
The First Cell Phone
My parents gave me my first cell phone in 5th grade - a Nokia 6610 - as a way to stay in touch when I was in class or with friends. -
Camera Phone
Phones were rapidly evolving every few months. My first flip phone featured a camera and much better graphics with faster transition speeds. -
Florida Virtual School
I began taking elective courses through FLVS on my laptop. This was my first experience with independent online learning modules and remote communication with my teachers. -
Facebook
On my 16th birthday, my parents gave me permission to open my first social media account through Facebook. In addition to connecting with friends and family, using Facebook allowed me to easily communicate with classmates and keep up with school events. -
Personal Laptop
My parents presented me with my own laptop for school in 11th grade. This allowed me to complete assignments much more easily, as well as independently learn the ins and outs of computer functionality regarding operations, file conversions, hardware and software and more. -
Blackboard Learn
Valencia State College introduced me to Blackboard Learn, which was used for online classes and lab work. -
Canvas
Pursuing my BS in ELA Education at UCF introduced me to Canvas, a new and widely used LMS. Half of my classes were completely online through Canvas; in-person classes often had an online component for resources and attendance. -
FLVS Internship
My senior internship was completed through FLVS. I learned to operate their LMS called Educator, keep track of student records through VSA, and teach Live Lessons through Blackboard Collaborate. -
Achieve3000
My first teaching job was 6th grade Intensive Reading. I ran a computer-lab that exclusively used Achieve3000 as the online curriculum. Students would read articles and complete activities based on individually-assessed Lexile scores, determined through diagnostic testing. -
NoRedInk
I transitioned to 7th grade ELA , where I had much more freedom to incorporate a multitude of virtual tools to supplement instruction. One of the most frequently used sites was NoRedInk, an independent practice site that gauged student spelling/grammar/syntax skills via a diagnostic and assigned practice exercises based on results. I monitored and adjusted through the teacher dashboard. -
Orange County Virtual School
When I joined OCVS, a home office became a permanent part of my house. I purchased technology such as a Lenovo desktop and a conference call headset. While using Educator and VSA were familiar from my internship, I also became equated with teaching with tools such as Safari Montage and Big Blue Button. We also utilized Google Voice as are calling app. -
Switch to Pixel
As an adult, I was a dedicated Samsung phone user. However, after getting fed up with bloatware and Samsung glitches, I purchased my first Google Pixel Android phone and never turned back. The Pixel is the iPhone for Android. Everything is seamlessly connected with no adds or uninstallable apps. It is especially easy because all of the primary apps are Google-based, which we primarily use for work. -
Dialpad
As a school, we switched from Google Voice to Dialpad, a calling software that provided every virtual teacher with a portable cell extension. Our Dialpad network is shared throughout the school and numbers are assigned. It can be accessed from web browser, phone app or computer software. Dialpad keeps all calls, texts and contacts organized. It also records calls and uses AI for quality assurance. -
Microsoft Teams
OCPS pushed out a Microsoft Teams as our new primary means of teaching Live Lessons. The transition from BigBlueButton to Teams was not painless. However, because OCPS students are given Microsoft Accounts, this allowed students to log in and fully paticipate.