Introduction

Hello! My name is Tiffany, and I live in Waveland, MS. I am married and have two children. My son will be 14 on June 13, and he will start high school in August. My daughter is 19 and will begin her junior year at William Carey University at that time. I am a fifth grade reading, language, and social studies teacher in Bay St. Louis, MS. The upcoming school year will be my third year teaching fifth grade. I taught third grade for six years before moving to fifth.

Although the importance of education was instilled in me by my father at a very young age, I never thought I would be a teacher. I began my college career pursing a degree in occupational therapy. Along the way, I got married and started a family. I took a class at a time while working in a doctor’s office. After the birth of my son and after much prayer and consideration, I changed the course of my educational career. I decided to enter the world of education. I finally graduated with my bachelor of science in education from USM in the fall of 2005, the year of Katrina. I was supposed to begin my student teaching experience the Monday after Katrina hit. The school that I was assigned to no longer existed after Katrina. Our whole town was devastated. My children and I relocated temporarily while my husband stayed home to begin the process of rebuilding our home. To make a long story short, I was finally able to return home six weeks later when I began my student teaching experience in a tent on a baseball field. We didn’t have electricity, but we did have an RV that was converted to a mobile computer lab for students to use. I never want to relive that experience, but I wouldn’t trade it.

Nine years later, I am fortunate enough to teach in a new, beautiful building and enjoy integrating the technology that we have available to use. I wanted to continue my education and earn a master’s degree.  Because I love learning about and using new technology, the MSIT seemed like a good fit for me. This summer I am taking my fifth, sixth, and seventh classes. I am planning to graduate in Spring 2015.

I frequently use Microsoft Word and Power Point. I have used Publisher and Excel, but not very much. I use Promethean ActivInspire daily at work, and have often helped other teachers learn to use it. I have created a website for another class using DreamWeaver. I have also created websites using Google Sites.

I frequently use electronic communication tools. I am very familiar with email, discussion boards, and chat. I have not used listserv. Electronic communication is beneficial to me because as a teacher, I cannot take phone calls during the day. It is sometimes difficult to take care of professional or personal business when a phone call is required, but electronic communication helps. An email is a much more efficient way to answer a question from a parent or to send a message to an entire group of parents than it would be to call each one individually. I am not familiar with using many new technologies. Before this class I have not had any experience with blogs, podcasts, or Wikis.

My teaching philosophy is posted on the door of my classroom. It states, “If you are not willing to learn, no one can help you. If you are determined to learn, no one can stop you.” I believe that learning is a life-long process. It is my goal to see my students learn to love learning and be determined to learn.