Introduction
My name is Caitlin Tucker. I'm beginning my Master's of Education in Instructional Technology at Kennesaw State University. I am Currently a fourth grade teacher in the Clarke County School District at Whitehead Road Elementary and have found such pride in calling myself an educator in this incredibly diverse county.
In 2014, upon completing my undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of Georgia, I immediately voiced interest in staying at the school where I did my student teaching. I received the title, Academic Interventionist. At first, I didn’t know what this job truly entailed. I worked with grades kindergarten through second, tutored third graders after school and was utilized as a substitute for emergency situations. I obtained various skills as an Academic Interventionist due to its dynamic role at our school; flexibility by not knowing what my responsibilities may be from day to day and leadership qualities through the requirement to make recommendations to teachers and administrators for the students I served. After gaining a greater understanding of my school and community, I desired a classroom of my very own. I learned of an opening in pre-kindergarten. I never worked with this age group and thought this experience would provide me with the basic fundamental skills to sustain my teaching career in the years to come. I was very much surprised to learn how difficult this task would be in the beginning. I struggled with management and utilizing routines and procedures in my classroom. It was absolutely the greatest learning experience of my life but, I prevailed and after many pep talks from my family, administrators and teacher friends, my year got substantially better. I recall being very impressed with the turn around and my classroom ran extremely well the second half of the year. I was very proud of my determination and work ethic.
In April of 2016, I gained knowledge of an opportunity to teach fourth grade at my school. I thought, what a giant leap, pre-kindergarten to fourth. Despite my nerves, I felt comfortable and confident with the fourth grade material and interview. I was off to fourth grade. I took an advanced management course before starting my second year and acquired different strategies for dealing with difficult students. I utilized these skills in my classroom. In addition to moving to fourth grade, I completed my Gifted Endorsement in the same year.
In 2017, I researched graduate programs of interest. The Instructional Technology M.Ed. at Kennesaw stood out to me for numerous reasons; technology plays a critical role in my teaching pedagogy, this avenue would provide various leadership opportunities and the online option seemed practical for a full time teacher like myself. The purpose of this portfolio is for me to demonstrate mastery of the PSC Instructional Technology standards and the ISTE NETS-C standards. As you can see, there are a series of links below the KSU logo that you can visit. Each tab represents a various component of my Instructional Technology journey. Of particular importance is the "standards" link. Under this link, you will see a series of artifacts and reflections documenting the important work I have completed during this program. Each artifact represents mastery of the standard under which it is represented. In this program, I have collaborated and experienced various learning environments through the lens of technology integration. The "field experiences" link provides not only a description of these experiences, but a reflective explanation of how this particular experience impacted the skills, knowledge and dispositions associated with the PSC Instructional Technology Standards.
My experience at Kennesaw State University has been incredible and I have engaged in many opportunities to utilize technology in my classroom and assist other educators along the way, through professional learning opportunities and one-on one-collaboration. Instructional Technology is a great way to engage learners and leverage student’s access to the world outside of their classroom setting. Students thrive when they have a greater audience. Teachers who incorporate technology into their pedagogical practices have the ability to effectively impact their learners in unimaginable ways. This journey has been packed with incredible learning opportunities and I cannot wait to utilize this degree to impact the children who enter my classroom.
In 2014, upon completing my undergraduate degree in Early Childhood Education at the University of Georgia, I immediately voiced interest in staying at the school where I did my student teaching. I received the title, Academic Interventionist. At first, I didn’t know what this job truly entailed. I worked with grades kindergarten through second, tutored third graders after school and was utilized as a substitute for emergency situations. I obtained various skills as an Academic Interventionist due to its dynamic role at our school; flexibility by not knowing what my responsibilities may be from day to day and leadership qualities through the requirement to make recommendations to teachers and administrators for the students I served. After gaining a greater understanding of my school and community, I desired a classroom of my very own. I learned of an opening in pre-kindergarten. I never worked with this age group and thought this experience would provide me with the basic fundamental skills to sustain my teaching career in the years to come. I was very much surprised to learn how difficult this task would be in the beginning. I struggled with management and utilizing routines and procedures in my classroom. It was absolutely the greatest learning experience of my life but, I prevailed and after many pep talks from my family, administrators and teacher friends, my year got substantially better. I recall being very impressed with the turn around and my classroom ran extremely well the second half of the year. I was very proud of my determination and work ethic.
In April of 2016, I gained knowledge of an opportunity to teach fourth grade at my school. I thought, what a giant leap, pre-kindergarten to fourth. Despite my nerves, I felt comfortable and confident with the fourth grade material and interview. I was off to fourth grade. I took an advanced management course before starting my second year and acquired different strategies for dealing with difficult students. I utilized these skills in my classroom. In addition to moving to fourth grade, I completed my Gifted Endorsement in the same year.
In 2017, I researched graduate programs of interest. The Instructional Technology M.Ed. at Kennesaw stood out to me for numerous reasons; technology plays a critical role in my teaching pedagogy, this avenue would provide various leadership opportunities and the online option seemed practical for a full time teacher like myself. The purpose of this portfolio is for me to demonstrate mastery of the PSC Instructional Technology standards and the ISTE NETS-C standards. As you can see, there are a series of links below the KSU logo that you can visit. Each tab represents a various component of my Instructional Technology journey. Of particular importance is the "standards" link. Under this link, you will see a series of artifacts and reflections documenting the important work I have completed during this program. Each artifact represents mastery of the standard under which it is represented. In this program, I have collaborated and experienced various learning environments through the lens of technology integration. The "field experiences" link provides not only a description of these experiences, but a reflective explanation of how this particular experience impacted the skills, knowledge and dispositions associated with the PSC Instructional Technology Standards.
My experience at Kennesaw State University has been incredible and I have engaged in many opportunities to utilize technology in my classroom and assist other educators along the way, through professional learning opportunities and one-on one-collaboration. Instructional Technology is a great way to engage learners and leverage student’s access to the world outside of their classroom setting. Students thrive when they have a greater audience. Teachers who incorporate technology into their pedagogical practices have the ability to effectively impact their learners in unimaginable ways. This journey has been packed with incredible learning opportunities and I cannot wait to utilize this degree to impact the children who enter my classroom.