Social Media Blog

The article "Embracing Mobile Devices and Social Media Tools" really resonated with me. I completely agree that as educators we need to teach students responsible use of technology and social media rather than block it and try to prevent students from accessing it. There are many times in class when students pull their phones out to check or send text messages, I typically have a private conversation with these students to help them understand when it would be an appropriate time to check their phones. Some teachers choose to take the students phone, but I find that no learning experience has occurred. I love the examples of the schools that use technology and social media to enhance learning. I really liked the idea of students creating online portfolio to help promote themselves for future educational experiences and/or careers.

I also read the article "A Teenager's View on Social Media" by Andrew Watts, which I loved! I found his explanations of various social media to be spot on. Sometimes I feel so much older than my students when it comes social media. I am a Facebook user, so it is interesting to here that my students tend to run away from Facebook. As mentioned in a previous blog, I think my school uses all the wrong social media outlets to reach students, thus communication is missed. We have a huge opportunity to reach our students if we meet them where they are and use the social media they use.

Introduction

Hello everyone! My name is Amy and I am in my 8th year of teaching. I am a Business Education teacher at Mundelein High School. I have taught many business courses, including, Introduction to Business, Computer Applications, Business Incubator, Accounting 1, Honors Accounting 2 and Technology Support Internship.

I utilize technology as mush as possible in the courses I teach as I find it increases the effectiveness of my instruction and student engagement. I also have a Canvas courses for my classes, so I was happy to see that Dominican University uses Canvas.

Prior to becoming a teacher, I received my undergraduate from Miami University in Business. I worked in marketing for five years before deciding to obtain my master's degree in Secondary Education. I am able to relate many of my real-world business experiences to the classes I currently teach.

While taking EDU 776, I am also finishing up my Teacher Leadership master's from Concordia University.

In my free time, I love spending time with my husband and two year old son. We enjoy going for bike rides, going to the library and park, and just exploring the world. Life with a two year old is an exciting and exhausting adventure! But I wouldn't trade it for the world!

I look forward to learning and working with each of you.

Enjoying the peacefulness of the lake we live on
(personal photo)

Fun with the family
(personal photo)