Where I've Been

I was born and raised in Johnstown, Pennsylvania.  (The town of floods.)  I lived there for 17 years before moving south to Virginia to attend Liberty University in Lynchburg.  I met my husband and married while still in college, where we were poor but blissfully happy.  Several years later I received my masters degree at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.  Upon graduation we moved to Greenville, South Carolina, a change made due to my husband's work.  We've been in the Greenville area since 1994.  Below is my husband with our three boys.  We don't trust the critters with the digital camera, so I can't find one of us together.  

My Life as an Educator

I absolutely love teaching.  I think I was born for it because I feel right at home in the classroom.  The first part of my career was spent at the elementary level, teaching 2nd and 3rd grade.  At the beginning of my third year I became a teacher leader, teaching half of the day and working as a mentor teacher and staff development coordinator the second half of the day.  That's what got me "hooked" on teaching teachers.  I stayed in that position for three years, during which time I earned my masters in school policy studies at the Curry School of Education at UVA. The last year in Virginia I started teaching the teachers at my school ClarisWorks.  This was 1993 and we had just received a grant for computer labs in the schools.  I found I had a real knack for technology and enjoyed teaching this to teachers.

When we moved to Greenville, I took a job as a computer facilitator, where I worked with students and with teachers.  The school, New Prospect Elementary School, had been honored to receive computers in their classrooms.  Prior to that time they had only a computer lab.  My job with the teachers was to help them integrate technology into their classrooms. 

After three years as a computer facilitator I left teaching full time to work as an independent consultant.  This allowed me more flexibility in caring for my newborn twin sons, born the summer of 1996.  Two years later we added a third son to the mix, and the flexibility in my job was a tremendous blessing.  During these past six years I have taught computer classes to teachers and secretaries in three Anderson County Schools.  (Anderson School District One, Anderson School District Three, and Anderson School District Five.)  I am the webmaster for Anderson School District Three.  I also work with a personnel data base and develop curriculum.

What is most exciting to me in my present job is seeing the light go off in a teacher's head.  "Aha!  I can use this technology to engage my students."  It's great.  One such recent experience came after introducing the Microsoft Excel chart wizard to teachers.  One high school teacher at our Career and Technology Center used Excel to chart the differences in the measurements taken with a feeler gauge, an instrument which measures to the 100ths of an inch.  He learned to use Excel to show graphically the different measurements that different student groups took for the same item measured.  He had been using math with his students for a long time, but now knows how to include graphing in order to increase his students reasoning skills.

When I'm Not Working...

My husband and I love to travel.  Before children, when we were DINKS (Double Income No Kids), we had more money and time and visited a lot of places such as Hawaii, Northern California (loved Yosemite), the Grand Canyon, Colorado, as well as beaches up and down the east and west coasts.  Now that we have kids, we still travel, just a little closer to home.  We have great mountains nearby for hiking and we all love swimming in the ocean, not too far either. We like to bike together and love museums, zoos, aquariums, and adventure parks.  Our extended family lives far away, in Florida and New Jersey, so that affords us opportunities to explore some awesome parts of the USA.

I enjoy running.  When the twins were about three months old, I purchased a double stroller as I was going crazy at home.  They learned to love a gentle run through our country neighborhood.  When my third son was born I bought a triple stroller and was actually able to run for about four months, till I was pushing my weight.  Then I found that just walking was a great workout.  Now that the twins are in school I have a single stroller.  It seems a breeze compared to pushing all three and my youngest really enjoys it.  

We also like movies in our house.  Occasionally my husband and I find one in the theaters worth paying a sitter to see; more often we watch old classics with the boys.  I love to read, but never get as much time as I'd like.  We are very involved in our church, especially with the AWANAS program for the kids.  

Web Sites I Like

Some of my favorite sites on the web are below.  

• Alas, a school district (Bellingham School District) that has put resources into creating online research projects for the students and teachers in their district!  Check it out; it is inspiring. 
• I love The WebQuest Page for online projects that engage students.   
• My boys and I enjoy looking at previous explorations of the heavens.