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.
- 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
| 1989 |
I am originally from Alice, TX (near Corpus Christi) where I took my first programming course. I wanted very badly to keep working with computers but my first love was really music. I graduated in the top 5% of my class of 405 and went traveling for six months (Boston, Colorado, New Mexico, home...) |
| 1990-1995 |
I attended The University of North Texas in Denton for my degree in Training and Development with my certificate in Business Education. I was a member of many organizations but I held offices in: Sigma Alpha Iota (a women's music fraternity), Gamma Beta Phi, Pi Omega Pi, Mortar Board, and Golden Key National Honor Society. Technology: I took my first child's programming class and one in QBASIC which were a good taste of the future. I wanted very badly to teach Business Programming at a school and so I kept going in that direction. |
| 1995-2000 |
I taught every Business course there was (at least I thought I had) at Arlington High School: Recordkeeping, Keyboarding, Business Computers Information Systems I, BCIS II, Business Law, Personal Finance, and Introduction to Business Management. Technology: Here I was a technology trainer for AHS along with two of my colleagues. We provided classes to teachers to help them integrate technology into their curriculum. I also received training in Photoshop here and advanced MS Office Professional techniques. |
| 2000-2002 | I moved to Round Rock ISD where I taught Business Image Multimedia Management, BCIS I and Web Design. Here I prepared the Career and Technology web page and had two students win in a multimedia competition. Click HERE to see the winning multimedia project that won a LAPTOP! There are copyright issues on this, but the school district still thought it was the best. I couldn't blame them. :-) Technology: Here I received training in Adobe Photoshop, AfterEffects, Dreamweaver 4, Flash 5, Adobe Premiere and the Avio video editing studio. |
| 2002-Present | My junior high sweetheart, RC Saenz II, came down from Dallas and swept me away from Round Rock. Now I teach at Lamar High School where I am teaching BCIS I, Keyboarding and Multimedia Production. Technology: Here I was given the chance to participate in the TATC program. I am going to be receiving training in Flash and Dreamweaver MX. This is going to be a very interesting time! |
Significant Personal and Technology Events in My Life
As you can tell by looking at my personal background, I have had the opportunity to work with technology throughout my advanced schooling. What most people do not know is that I had the opportunity to work with technology since I was 13. I was enrolled in the Talented and Gifted Students program and we were introduced to the Apple IIe. My mother thought it was a great idea and bought me a $3,500 Apple IIe with TWO disk drives and a DOT MATRIX PRINTER! :-) It all sounds too funny for words now, but it was an incredible step foward for me since I was such a terrible student at writing but a fantastic student at typing. This made all the difference in the world to me and my future, although it may not be so obvious.
Because of that Apple IIe, I am accustomed to setting up my own equipment and fixing standard repairs on the inside of the case. That old Apple IIe always needed tweeking. :-) WOW! What a mom!
Reasons for Wanting to be a Technology Applications Teacher
Lately, the typical Business Department subjects in Arlington are not going in the technology direction that I was hoping. Round Rock ISD just put a great taste in my mouth for the opportunities to teach the higher level technology classes like Web Design and Business Multimedia Management. There is so much to look forward to in this direction and I love TECHNOLOGY! Gimme, gimme, gimme is my attitude (like a lot of teachers that I know).
Luckily Judy Hromcik told me of the training through TATC and made sure that I was a part of everything. I wouldn't be here now if it wasn't for her and I wouldn't have a Multimedia class if it wasn't for Jane Abel. I feel that because of God working through them, I am able to work in the area that most interests me and makes me want to get out there and TEACH. :-)
It's hard for me to pretend to be a new teacher, but I can remember my thoughts as a new teacher. I worried that the kids would tear me apart. I worried that the subject matter wasn't interesting enough for them and I played with ideas to make them more interested. I worried that they would smell the fear on me and would run out of the class yelling 'fresh meat!'. All of these fears crossed my mind.
Most of all, though, I love my subject area. Business and Technology is so easy to SELL! The kids understand mostly how it will apply to their lives and they are happy to have access to the computers. The students appreciate having hands-on experiences and are more than happy to show their creative abilities. These classes allow them to do that and I am so proud to say that I can help provide that to them.
For the future, I would like to continue to learn the up-to-date softwares and offer my students the best informational lessons that I can. I also hope to learn more techniques about teaching the 'basics' like color selection and integration. This is the stuff that blows me away. :-) Where's a great Art teacher when you need one?!