Debbie Birdsong
TATC Portfolio

They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This is how I looked on "Nerd Day."
I feel as if I should include a before and after picture!

Home

Goals

Observation

Reflection

Standards I-XI

I, II, III, IV, V,

VII, VIII, IX, X, XI

Standard's Matrix

Site Map

Welcome to My TATC Portfolio Home

The major components and navigation of my portfolio are presented on the left, at the top under the banner and at the bottom of the page. The following components comprise my navigation and portfolio framework:

• TATC Portfolio Home - An introduction of myself including my Resume and my technology life history.
• Goals - A brief statement of the goals I have set for myself concerning technology and teaching.
• Observation - A reflective statement concerning my overall thoughts about my Observation experiences.
• Reflection - A reflective statement concerning my thoughts about the overall program of study.
• Standards I-XI - All of the Technology Applications (8-12) Standards and their artifacts are listed on one page with a link provided to each individual standard. Each standard has one or more captioned artifacts linked to it. Note that when you view an artifact representing any standard, a separate window will open for the artifact. When you finish viewing the artifact you can close the window.
  • I, II, III, IV, V, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI - Links to direct access of each individual standard and its captioned artifacts.
• Standard's Matrix - A matrix diagramming the relationship between the TA Standards and each of the associated indicators with my portfolio artifacts.
  

Personal Background / Significant Events / Reasons / Preparing / Resume

Personal Background

I was born April 3, 1967 in Fort Worth. I have two brothers that are 9 and 10 years older than me. When my parents told my brothers they had a new baby sister, my brother said, "Well you can't win them all." Really they spoiled me.

I grew up in Fort Worth. I never thought my parents would ever move, so I was very surprised when Dad got a job in Los Alamos, New Mexico, "The Atomic City". We moved there my freshman year in high school. It was a culture shock. For the first time I was the "new girl" at school. My first job was at the only department store in town, CB and Fox. Working here was a great experience. I graduated from Los Alamos High School in 1985. That was a special year for that town because it marked the 50th anniversary of the town.

After high school, I attended college at Eastern New Mexico University. The same university that my dad and oldest brother attended. I loved college from the beginning and never understood how anyone could be homesick. After five years of school, a co-op job, and changing my major a few times, I graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and a major in Computer Information Systems.

During my last semester in college I met my husband, Curtis. We went out on our first date after our final. A year later we were married. As soon as we were married we moved to Marquette, Michigan. Another culture shock for this Texan. After a few years and moves we call our home Stamford, Texas. I really liked Michigan but it is good to be home.

I have two daughters who keep me very busy. Micah, who is eight, is very much a perfectionist. She loves to read and play the piano. Bryanna, "Bry Bry" is three years old going on 16. She is not a perfectionist. She is a true ham and loves to sing.

Technology Events in My Life

I have never measured my life by technology events. When I was 13 my dad bought our first computer. It was an Apple IIe. I took a basic programming class in high school and then majored in Computer Information Systems.

During my junior year in college, I had a co-op job at Los Alamos National Laboratory. At that time my dad, my brother, and my self-all worked at the lab. It was a great opportunity. I got to attend the Cold Fusion Symposium in Santa Fe and met people from all over the world. Some of my responsibilities included some computer operations and data entry. The first weekend that I worked there my group leader sent a computer home with me, a Macintosh. My dad carried it to the car, and on the way home he was pretty quiet. After we got home he told my mom, "I've worked here 10 years, and they have never sent me home with a computer."

Reasons for Wanting to be a Technology Applications Teacher

I would honestly say that I did not seek this out. I believe this would fall into the category of "other duties as assigned." However, I think that this is a great opportunity. TA is a new frontier for education and has many possibilities. When I was in college this type of certification was not available.

I am a student again, which is refreshing. I enjoy my classes because in a computer application class most students are pretty equal. It is the effort and the work that matter most. Math, English, and Science courses can be hard for some students. But for the most part, students have an equal playing field when learning computer applications.

Preparing to Teach

I remember my first year teaching 5 years ago at Stamford High School. I walked into a lab that had been a library. It only had empty shelves and network wires were hanging from the celling. That was it! No desk, no chairs, and only one computer (it was the teacher's machine) and it was on the floor. I was more than nervous to say the least.

We have come a long way since 5 years ago. Now my lab looks totally different. I have computers that are about two years old and it really looks nice. We are in the process of building a new school. I got to have some input in the new labs. I am very excited.

I need to spend more time following through on some of my ideas. I have some good ideas but I am not sure how to put them into action. I hope that I can learn some interesting activites and new ways to present material to my students. I would like for them to be more involved in their learning. One of my goals is get more of their input.

• Teach business and computer programming classes
• Coach University Interscholastic League (UIL) teams
• Sponsor varsity cheerleaders
• Involved in TIF Tech training as well as helped with some technology training.

• Processed customer orders
• Verified transactions
• Reconciled accounts
• Accounts Payable/Accounts Receiveable
• Processed monthly billings
• Helped with inventory.

• Part-time teller and worked my way up to commercial loan clerk
• Verified insurance on loan collateral
• Tracked defaulted accounts
• Responsible for daily transactions and balancing
• Product information
• Security tasks
• Customer service

• Worked in all areas of the group: Circulation, Acquisitions, and Catalog.
• Data Entry
• Purchase Orders
• Computer Operations
• New product information