December 2013 - Amanda Dean
Name
Amanda Dean
What Do You Teach?
4th grade Math
Where Do you Teach?
Crockett Elementary
How Long Have You Been Teaching?
12 years
How Does Educational Technology Play a Role in Your Classroom?
Technology in the classroom makes learning more fun and engaging for students. We use the Promethean flip charts in math to create anchor charts and play math trivia games that enrich learning. My students also completed a Dream Library project. They were given a $500,000 budget and had to research the cost of supplies, furniture, technology, and books to fill their library. Their finished product was presented as a PowerPoint that contained their expense reports and a summary of how the project incorporated math skills.
How Do You Find Technology in the Classroom Helpful?
When using technology, students are more engaged in the lesson. Also, one of the most helpful advantages of using technology, such as the Classroom Performance System clickers, during instruction, is the immediate feedback that is provided. I can see instantly who understands what is being taught.
What Is Your Favorite Piece of Classroom Technology? Why?
The Promethean ActivBoard is my favorite technology piece. I love how the kids can interact with the lesson through flip charts.
What Is On Your Technology Wish List For Your Classroom? Why?
I would love to have a set of the Promethean ActivExpression clickers. I have heard that the students can give more detailed answers to questions and be more interactive with the lesson. I would also like to have a class set of iPads. I have seen many educational apps that would be great in closing learning gaps and enriching the learning of students.
What Do You Love Most About Teaching?
What I love most about teaching is that I am helping my kids reach their goal of becoming whatever it is that they dream of being. I also love to hear students who say that they hate math and are no good at math at the beginning of the year, say that math is their favorite subject at the end of the year. That's when I know that I did my job well.
Nominated by:
Brittany Moody, Campus Technology Specialist at Crockett Elementary
"Mrs. Dean does a wonderful job including technology in her lessons. A great project she has them doing recently is building a dream library. They were given a budget and asked to create sections for each part of their library. They came to the lab to do research and found books, circulation desk, lounge areas, and everything else a library needs. They are now creating powerpoints with the information they found to better illustrate their library. They are learning about animation and design, choosing themes that enhance the powerpoint, adding clip art, using bullets, and etc.
Mrs. Dean also utilizes the Promethean in her class. She creates flip charts and encourages class participation. The students are able to use the ActivSlate if they chose to answer questions; however, going up to the board seems to be more popular.
It makes my day to see teachers who are embracing all of the new technology being put into classrooms."