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 in Stephenville, Texas in 1959 to Lou and Levie Johnson. I attended school in Comanche from K-12 and graduated in 1977. I was involved in Future Teachers of America, National Honor Society, FHA, band and stage band. I was also active in my youth group at First United Methodist Church in Comanche.

After high school, I attended Howard Payne University and obtained a BBA degree in Secretarial Science. On December 20, 1980 I married Paul Johnston and moved to Clyde, Texas where he was already coaching. Through the years we have lived in Clyde, Oklahoma City, Earth and Albany. We have three children ages 20, 17 and 10. Currently I am teaching technology and business courses at Albany High School.

Significant Personal and Technology Events in My Life

My interest in computers started in the 1978 at Howard Payne University. One of the courses I took, Keypunch, was intriguing to me because we programmed the machine with punch cards, put our program on a drum and it punched the cards to match the program. I also took a course in programming languages: COBOL, Fortran and BASIC. We didn't have a computer lab to test our programs, so the professor looked at our flowcharts to determine if the program would run. The course was in the summer and lasted six weeks--two weeks for each language! This sparked an interest in computers that has lasted throughout my career.

Upon graduation in 1980, I began working for Caterpillar Equipment Company in Abilene doing data entry. Their computer system, although antiquated by today's standards, was cutting edge at the time. We input information that was saved on cassette tapes and then sent by modem to Peoria, Illinois. The printouts were done in Peoria and flown back to Abilene.

In 1986 we moved to the Texas Panhandle and I began classes at Wayland Baptist University to get my teacher's certification. I got great personal satisfaction out of going back to school. That year I worked two part-time jobs, attended all my husband's coaching events, took care of my 5-year old and newborn and kept a 4.0 average in all my college classes. That year was a defining year for me personally--I realized I could do almost anything!

Reasons for Wanting to be a Technology Applications Teacher

The reason I want to be a technology application teacher is to help students enjoy a career in the world of business. I enjoyed each job that I had because I felt confident in my training. But most of all, I liked the challenge of learning. I would like my students to enjoy the benefits of gaining confidence in their ability to learn.

Preparing to Teach

All the preparation in the world will not get you ready for the amount of responsibility and influence you will have on students' lives. I have found that being myself and treating the students with respect will go a long way in educating students.