November 2016 - Emily Patrick
Name
Emily Patrick
What Do You Teach?
12th grade English & 9-12 Film Elective
Where Do you Teach?
Impact Early College HS
How Long Have You Been Teaching?
13 years
How Does Educational Technology Play a Role in Your Classroom?
It's a constant presence in my classroom. With student iPads, the Promethean board, clickers, and Google Drive, technology is completely intertwined with instruction. My English classes submit papers online, take quizzes through Google Forms, and take notes using Notability. My film students will make short films this year using iMovie, and we do shot by shot analysis of film scenes using Promethean Board notations. I'm trying to remember what my teaching life was like before all this, and I just can't!
How Do You Find Technology in the Classroom Helpful?
Technology makes it so much easier to engage my students in a multitude of ways. If we don't understand a concept in class, or if there's something out there that will enhance a lesson, we can turn to YouTube for that extra help. I also appreciate the immediacy of feedback that tech allows me, especially with the new TurnItIn Feedback Studio or a scanning app like Zipgrade. The ability to send a document to an entire class saves copies or time. I also appreciate that my website and Twitter feed let students and parents know what is happening in class and on campus.
What Is Your Favorite Piece of Classroom Technology? Why?
This question is utterly unfair, since I love so much classroom tech! Outside of the obvious answer of every student having an iPad (which has been a complete game changer), I really like Actively Learn right now. It's a website that allows you to upload documents or e-books and embed quizzes, notes, or even video links in the text. Students can highlight or take their own notes as well. They can do anything else they would normally do with a paper text. This way, I can monitor student comprehension and even tie in current events or opinions to our classroom discussions very quickly by just uploading a PDF. In two seconds, every student now has a copy.
But honestly, if you ask me tomorrow, I'll probably find another technology piece to get excited about. There's so much great stuff out there!
What Is On Your Technology Wish List For Your Classroom? Why?
I'd love some more keyboards for the student iPads, since many of my students type much faster and more accurately with them. I'd like some microphones so my students can create podcasts. And since you are granting wishes, I'd like a 3D printer for my class!
What Do You Love Most About Teaching?
The thing I love most about teaching is spending my days with amazing students and watching them grow as writers and people, all through the texts I love. It's really the best job ever!
Nominated by:
Lori Roberts, Educational Technology Specialist - Lee Feeder
"Ms. Patrick is not afraid to try anything with technology in her English and Film Studies classes. She utilizes her Promethean board and the iPads in her daily classroom activities. Emily is constantly looking for new and innovative uses for technology that will enhance her students' understanding of the curriculum. In addition, she knows where her kids are...Twitter...and uses that as a way to connect and remind them of important classroom and school events."