About Me
I’m a mom, a teacher, and an artist whose interest in technology started the day I made a personal communicator from binder paper and became Lt. Uhura on the playground. By day, I serve as a Technology Instructional Specialist in a Pre K-12 school system, with the main focus of administering the student data and test-generating system. I also teach computer applications, working primarily with multimedia and productivity programs, including Google Apps in Education, MS Office, Adobe Creative Suite, and any other high-energy program thrown in my direction. On nights and weekends, I shoot with a Canon – camera that is. Photography allows me to live in the creative world and reset my mind for the workweek. When I’m not taking pictures, developing content for my website allows me to fine-tune my tech superpowers.
25+ Years of Study
I’ve always been a techno-geek. That passion found a cause in 1995, the first time I heard the term the Digital Divide, the gap between the technology haves and have-nots, in a graduate course. The Digital Divide is a moving target. Back then, it was defined as the access to multimedia computers and Internet connectivity. Today, it includes access to resources as well as whether or not you are a tech producer or tech consumer. After the course, I set out on a mission to 'Bridge the Digital Divide One Byte at a Time.' The greatest revelation was that not all students loved technology in the ways that I'd assumed. Most children loved the novelty and the games but they did not embrace many applications or activities to the degree that I'd expected. Though they may have initially been interested in STEM fields, it waned over time. Many students turn away from STEM-based on fear, their perception of ‘geeks’, believing they have nothing to contribute. By looking at HOW students used technology I hope to help others find ways to use that information to make STEM more appealing. If you know what you have to offer, you can be a more powerful member of the technology team!
Click below to read the journal article.
