October 2019 -Arin Vara
Name
Arin Vara
What Do You Teach?
7th Grade ELA
Where Do you Teach?
Cedar Bayou Junior School
How Long Have You Been Teaching?
15 years
How Does Educational Technology Play a Role in Your Classroom?
We use technology almost daily. I love finding new apps and ways of using what I know to make it more interesting for the kids. Instead of passage and questions on paper I put it on the iPad and it's amazing how much more interested they are in it.
How Do You Find Technology in the Classroom Helpful?
I've had kids that will NOT read an actual book so I downloaded a PDF version in Google Drive and they'll read it because it's on the iPad.
What Is Your Favorite Piece of Classroom Technology? Why?
iPad, ClassKick, All the Googles, No Red Ink, and ReadWorks
What Is On Your Technology Wish List For Your Classroom? Why?
I would like keyboards and earbuds, with this being a reading AND writing tested subject the keyboards would help a lot for the writing piece.
What Do You Love Most About Teaching?
The kids, as cheesy as that sounds. I will say if I had to go back to no technology I could but it would be HARD. Now days everything is going the technology way and while I have a lot of co-workers that are more old school and fight against it I find that it's helped me connect with the kids quite a bit. I figure if I can get them to work no matter what it's on then it's a win, win!
Nominated by:
Denice Massengale, Technology Integration Specialist - Junior Schools
"Ms. Vara uses technology (iPads) on a daily basis and is always willing to try new technology to engage her students. She is always willing to help other teachers on campus with technology."