Back to School

It's that time of year again- back to school! Which for me means back to work- at my new job teaching high school Spanish. After 8 years of teaching elementary school I've decided to make a change and try working with the tall kids. I'm both excited and a little nervous about the changes that will come with the new position, all while finishing my final semester in my Instructional Technologies grad school program!
This year I'm excited to explore all the digital resources that come with the Spanish curriculum we'll be using. I've been thinking about how technology can support teachers and make our jobs easier, rather than being "one more thing" we need to find time to figure out. When I think about the explosion of electronic resources available to teachers online, it's both utterly inspiring and completely overwhelming. In addition to exploring all that is out there, I'm excited about adding more materials to my portfolio. I'll be taking a graphic design class and working on my final project- developing a technology training for teachers. Wish me luck!

I've Done It Again!

I'm so excited to report that I've passed the Level II Google Certified Educator exam! Next hurdle: Google Certified Trainer. I thought it was interesting that the exam doesn't cover Google Classroom, which is so much of what we use with the students at my school sites. As a Teacher Librarian, I only see each class one hour a week. To really get the most out of Google Suite, including Slides, Docs, Sheets, etc., etc. would be great to have more time with the kids. I'm hoping to get an opportunity to support the classroom teachers more with using technology with their classes, now that I'm officially certified ;)

I'm a Published Author!

Happy New Year everyone, and thanks for reading! This year I have a lot of goals personally and professionally, including integrating tech in more meaningful ways with my primary classes in the library.
In the meantime, after several resubmissions, my book Introducing:Asia is available for free in the iBooks store! We have a global focus at my school, with each grade level studying a different continent or geographic regions. The second graders are learning about Asia, which is what inspired me to try writing a non-fiction book. It was such a challenge, first writing the book, but then including all the interactive features and graphics. I feel like I barely scratched the surface in terms of what would be possible to include in an iBook, and I'm inspired to try to write more about the other continents if I can find the time.
You can download my book for free here https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/introducing-asia/id1182837421?mt=11, unfortunately only available for iOS (Macintosh computer, iPhone or iPad). If you don't have a snazzy Apple gadget check out a PDF of my book here https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B2LOAiHwC_HPNzB4SkY1S1RLWG8/view?usp=sharing, be warned that interactive features do not work with the PDF version.
Hope that you are able to download, and that you enjoy the book. If you do, please leave me a rating!
Thanks!