Welcome to My TATC Portfolio Home

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

• TATC Portfolio Home - An introduction of myself including a resume and technology life history.
• Goals - A brief statement of my goals 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 / Resumé

Personal Background

Though born in Mineral Wells, Texas, I lived in San Marcos, Texas, until I was twelve, at which time I moved to Bonham with my family in 1970. This was a big change for me as the two towns had many differences other than the size of the population. I will concentrate upon the time in which I moved to Bonham.

Bonham's population has fluctuated between 7000 and 10,000 people with only gradual growth during the past thirty years. Bonham is the county seat of Fannin County which borders Red River. It is a rural county with farming being its main industry. There are a few manufacturing plants in Bonham and a small retail industry. The socioeconomic level is middle to low income. Our school district has a large percentage of low socioeconomic students; therefore, many students receive free or reduced lunch.

I live in a middle income neighborhood with my husband, two children, and two schnauzers. My daughter attends the University of Texas at Arlington, and my son will be a junior at Bonham High School in the fall. There is a picture below of my children of whom I am very proud. My daughter was a cheerleader throughout high school and graduated valedictorian of the senior class. My son enjoys playing basketball and follows in his father's footsteps with his love for computers.

My parents are still living, and my eighty year old father is still running a five and dime retail store in downtown Bonham. It is a "mom and pop" business. Like many small towns these days, the downtown area has suffered through the years. Bonham has attempted to revive the area by remodeling the square. It looks much better but has not brought the expected influx of business and sales.

I attended Bonham schools through junior high and high schools. I graduated from Bonham High School in 1976. I attended East Texas State University (now TAMU-Commerce) where I earned my bachelor's degree in 1979 and master's degree in 1986. I returned to Bonham High School in 1984 to teach home economics. I began teaching web mastering and desktop publishing in 2001. During the 2002-03 school year I also taught digital graphics and animation. Bonham High School is a 3-A school with a student enrollment of approximately 600.

back to top

Significant Personal and Technology Events in My Life

Two major events that changed me as a person were the births of my children. It changed my whole perspective on life. I began to look at everything differently, especially world events. Things that had not fazed me as a teenager or young adult now became a cause for concern. There are things a mother feels that are indescribable, and though I try to explain this to my students at school, I know they will not understand until they themselves become parents.

Another significant time in my life was my daughter's senior year of high school. It was also my first year of teaching technology applications. It was a wonderful year as I was able to experience many special events with her since we were at school together including pep rallies, football games, and many other times. The events of September 11, 2001, began a year that impacted most of the seniors. Then in February, one of her classmates died suddenly from a undetected heart condition. He was also one of my students. I had a difficult time and missed his presence in my classroom. My students sensed my grief, and though they grieved as well, they helped fill the void I felt. It is amazing what these kids do for us sometimes.

back to top

Reasons for Wanting to be a Technology Applications Teacher

When I was a senior in high school, I decided to become a home economics teacher. I am not sure why I chose teaching other than my home economics teachers made such an impact on my life and were my role models. They were (and still are) warm caring individuals. I enjoyed home economics while in high school and felt that I would enjoy teaching it as well. Little did I know at the time how things would change in that field over the next twenty years. I do miss part of the home economics classroom but was glad to get away from other aspects.

My greatest influence towards technology came from my husband. He bought his first computer a short time after we married. He has been drawn to them ever since. I became interested in them as well but spent most of my time with my young children. My husband became the technology director for the district in 1995. Since he had always been an advocate for technology, he had great vision for our district. He was also frustrated with the direction my campus was going which was actually nowhere! When it was mandated that technology application courses were to be taught at the high school, he requested that I teach the new classes. Knowing that he had confidence in me gave me the confidence I needed to jump into this new area though I had no formal training in any computer classes. I have thoroughly enjoyed teaching this area and like the fact that there is always something new to learn. I still have role models, and they are the teachers that strive to learn and try new things though they are near the end of their teaching careers. I hope I am that person when I reach retirement age.

back to top

Preparing to Teach

I imagine if I were a first year teacher again, I would be very nervous. I am always nervous the first day of school regardless of the number of years I have taught. I am confident, however, that I know the subject matter, and I can teach it to the students. I also know that some students may know more than I do about web design, but I can use them as they are valuable resources. What does worry me is that I am not as knowledgeable in the area of digital graphics and animation. This does make me nervous but I know I have many resources available and that I do not have to learn it all overnight.

I believe having a good knowledge base, as well as good resources, along with patience, understanding, and determination, I can become a good teacher in technology applications.