Deanna Drummond's TATC Portfolio (2002-2003)

Here is a look at my portfolio, a collection of captioned artifacts which demonstrates the acquired skills necessary upon completion of the program. It is a reflection of learning, as well as, a tool for recognizing goals for the future. 

On this introduction page you will find my personal information, reasons for becoming a TA teacher, teaching background, and current resume. (see below)

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. 
  • 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 grew up in Sidney, a small rural community in central Texas. I was born on Dec. 13, 1968 and have one sister who is 6 years older. My father was a peanut farmer while I was growing up (my parents now operate a ranch and raise Black Angus cattle), so my sister and I were busy working most summers. We lived right behind the school; therefore, we would walk to school much of the time. I remember when my sister got her drivers license, then I could actually ride with big sis to school. The school I attended was (and still is) a 1-A school. My graduating class consisted of 6 people. The K-12 enrollment then was around 140 students. I was involved in every extra curricular activity, obviously easy to do in a small school atmosphere. I have always been grateful and appreciative of where I grew up. My parents knew the importance of a Christian family, and for that I have nothing but fond memories of my childhood and teen years growing up in Sidney. (picture of school campus)

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Significant Personal and Technology Events in My Life

As mentioned in my background above, I grew up in a small rural community. I went on to college about 40 miles away at Tarleton State University  and thought from there I would span across Texas fulfilling my dream of becoming an elementary teacher. My sophomore year I decided to get married, move to Abilene, and finish college at Hardin-Simmons University. I ended up back at TSU and living in Sidney. The marriage lasted about 5 years, during which I received my teaching degree. I then was hired at Sidney ISD teaching junior high. After my divorce, I tried once again to get out of my hometown, luckily I did not and met my "soul mate" whom I would later marry. My teaching position changed to not only junior high, but also Computer Literacy, then on to Microcomputer Applications which later became known as BCIS. The changes have been positive ones, and I would not trade any of these experiences. I learned from them and gained so much knowledge of self-discipline and perseverance. The one technology event that stands out and later inspired me to step into the world of technology was a college experience I had. During my senior year of high school (’86-’87), the math teacher gave us a 6 week course on an Apple IIE. They had the 5 ¼ floppies and only booted from the disk drives. I then found myself a freshman in college in a CIS class. Everyone around me knew exactly what to do with the computer in front of them, I felt so embarrassed. I knew only what had been given to us during that 6 week course, which was not very much compared to what I was then facing. I then felt as though I was on a mission to become the teacher I always wanted to, but also when I had the opportunity to get into technology I felt as though it was meant to be so that I could help students become computer literate and hopefully never feel as I did that freshman year.

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Reasons for Wanting to be a Technology Applications Teacher

I have been looking for a program like this for such a long time. I am not secondary certified, yet had been teaching BCIS as one subject out of my field. When I learned of the program at the technology conference, I knew it was great timing. My experience in teaching computer classes up to this point had been wonderful; therefore, expanding my teaching opportunities was just what I was looking for.

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Preparing to Teach

I remember looking at the faces of my first class. There were 7 sixth graders staring at me ready and eager to learn. I was nervous at first, and then felt like I was definitely in my element. Since then I have felt confident in my ability and have been looking for this kind of opportunity to gain a better insight and knowledge needed to become a better teacher. My only worry is surviving the TATC experience. I want to soak it all in and then be able to successfully teach these essential courses in a beneficial way to my students.

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