Welcome to My TATC Portfolio Home

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James Ditmore

This Portfolio contains my work while learning in the Technology Applications Teacher Certification (TATC) Program.  More Artifacts will be added in the future as I start on this new voyage of Teaching Technology.  Enjoy your stay!

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 Sterling City, Texas, and raised in Big Spring, Texas.  My early childhood was spent playing with the neighborhood kids and doing my chores and going to church Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday nights.  I have a sister who is two years younger than me.  We grew up on the outskirts of town, on two acres of land out of the city limits.   When I was 12 years old, my parents bought a house in town and we moved.  When I was 6 years old, my dad inherited a section of land between Sterling City and San Angelo, Texas.  Every weekend after that, it seemed that I spent the weekends working and playing at "The Ranch", as we called it.  My dad bought some cattle and kept around 40 head at The Ranch.  My grandfather lived in Sterling City and dad let him keep around 50 head of sheep and horses at The Ranch also.  I learned what the meaning of work was early in my life helping my dad and grandfather take care of all the livestock.  I also learned how calming and beautiful being out in the country was, albeit at the time I didn't realize it.  My childhood as I look back on it was a good time in my life.
• I went to school at Forsan Independent School District from first grade through graduation. My graduating class only had 24 graduating students.  I was very athletic in high school going out for nearly everything that was offered.  My senior year I  played Football, Basketball, Band (2nd chair 1st Trumpet and also 1st chair French Horn), Tennis (2nd Singles), and Track (set district record in 220 yard run, 8th in region).
• I started my college at Howard County Junior College, now called Howard College.  I didn't know what I wanted to do so I started out to be a Math Teacher, then changed to be a Lab Technologist, then got married and changed again to Electronics Engineering Technology.  I went to college at DeVry Institute of Technology in Dallas, Texas, they have since moved the campus to Irving, Texas and is now DeVry University.  I received my Bachelor of Science Degree in Electronics Engineering Technology.

Significant Personal and Technology Events in My Life

• I have always liked working with my hands and making things work that otherwise did not.  The labs at DeVry prepared me for real world situations with electronics and when I graduated, personal computers were only in their infant stage with PC's only having 4k of RAM.  I went to work for Welex (a Halliburton company) right after graduation logging and perforating oil wells using electronic technology in trucks made for working in the oil fields.  It was all analog back then and was not upgraded to digital until the early 1980's with modern digital computers. 
• I lived in Wichita Falls in 1979 when a significant meteorological event took place in my life.  A tornado came thru town and took my house with it.  Halliburton gave me two weeks to get all of my life in order and then wanted me back to work as usual.  It didn't work that way and I ended up quitting Halliburton and going into business with another man and we formed the "Lipscomb - Ditmore Sound Company".  We designed and installed Sound Systems for Churches, Malls, Fast Foods Eateries, City Activities Centers.  I did that for a year and learned a lot about Sound Systems and how they worked and decided that fiberglass ceilings were not for me.  I found a job back in Big Spring at the Colorado River Municipal Water District. I had built another house on the same site in Wichita Falls and it was very hard to leave it and move to Big Spring.   I was Senior Tech starting out and learned a lot about Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition, Microwave Radio, Two-way Mobile Radio, Radar, Instrumentation, Telephone Systems, Computers, Electric Power and other miscellaneous odd jobs we had to perform.  I worked for CRMWD for 19 years and after being on call 24 hours a day for over 20 years and in the midst of a divorce, I decided that enough was enough and I wanted to do something different. 
• I moved to San Angelo and got a job with Region XV Education Service Center as a Network Technician in their Telecommunications Department.  I enjoyed working with education very much, so much in fact that I applied at the Water Valley ISD when they had an opening and got the job as Director of Technology.

Reasons for Wanting to be a Technology Applications Teacher

• While working for Region XV Education Service Center, I was sent to school at Region 11 ESC to become a Cisco Networking Regional Instructor.  Four of us from Region XV went to the school and it was very stressful.  After receiving our Semester 1 training, we taught our first Cisco Networking class at Region XV.  I really enjoyed being an instructor and went on to receive my Semester 2 training before getting my new job at Water Valley.
• I took over responsibilities as Web Master at Water Valley ISD and our Superintendent asked me if I wanted to teach a Technology class.  I told him that I would be delighted to and he proceeded to get a District Level Certification for me to teach.  I taught my first Technology class the 2001-2002 school year.  I am teaching Web mastering this year and enjoying it very much. 
• During my high school years, I had a math teacher that really inspired me to want to be a teacher.  That was the reason that I started out in college to be a math teacher. 
• During my college I had a really awful math teacher that didn't really care about his students.  It seemed he didn't care if you passed or failed.  He was no help when we had questions and would not talk to us after class.  I decided that if I had to put up with math professors like this all through college then I didn't want to be a math teacher.
• I know what it feels like to have to put up with a bad teacher.  I want my students to feel like they can come to me with questions anytime they want and I will try to find an answer for them.  I want my students to succeed and learn from my classes.  The more that I know, the more the students can learn.  That is the reason I want to be a Technology Applications Teacher.

Preparing to Teach

• Thinking back on the time I was first teaching as Cisco Networking Regional Instructor.  I can honestly say that the stressful time I had learning the material prepared me for the instruction and the questions that I encountered with my first teaching experience.   I was nervous but confident that I knew what I was teaching. 
• The more I know, the better my students will learn about the subject I am teaching.  I know this first hand.  I know that when I learn the Technology Applications I will be able to help students learn new Technology in an ever changing world.