September 2019 - Elaina Kloecker
Name
Elaina Kloecker
What Do You Teach?
5th Grade ELA and Social Studies
Where Do you Teach?
Travis Elementary School
How Long Have You Been Teaching?
6 years
How Does Educational Technology Play a Role in Your Classroom?
Initially, I was intimidated coming to a district like Goose Creek that had access to all the wonderful digital resources that we do. I am beyond grateful for the patience and guidance that the Elementary Ed Tech team has shown me over the years that has made me confident in not just my technology integration but my overall teaching as well.
How Do You Find Technology in the Classroom Helpful?
I'm a firm believe that something 'boring' on paper will still be 'boring' on a laptop but I love the way that I can now incorporate a more interactive approach to lessons that allow for my kiddos to be more engaged and actually create using their problem solving skills and logic. I am also a big fan of the immediate feedback opportunity that is provided through tech in the classroom. As a teacher, I know right away if I was able to get my point across when my students can respond to a discussion question on google classroom or clickers on the Promethean board.
What Is Your Favorite Piece of Classroom Technology? Why?
It would be hard for me to narrow down my favorite piece of tech to use in my classroom but I am loyal to Google Suite for Education and Seesaw. Having laptops in my classroom this year has really been a dream to incorporate Google Slides, Google Docs, and Google Classroom but I love using the iPads to allow students to record their thinking on FlipGrid and Seesaw. Some of my favorite activities have been done on GooseChase, which was great on our first day of school this year to enforce expectations and procedures.
What Is On Your Technology Wish List For Your Classroom? Why?
I would love to get my hands on a few iPod touch screens because I would love to be able to incorporate podcast listening and response in my classroom!
What Do You Love Most About Teaching?
I love that my career as a teacher is always evolving. Being able to learn new ideas, skills and strategies that will hopefully come to inspire the same love of learning to the little people in my classroom absolutely fills my heart.
Nominated by:
Lisa Gauthreaux, Technology Integration Specialist - Elementaries
"Mrs. Kloecker integrates multiple apps in her classroom to support student creation and learning. She used GooseChase to have her students find math angles in everyday life to reinforce the knowledge for her students. To stretch her GT students, she incorporated Weebly sites for her students to present their research findings. Mrs. Kloecker is always open to new technology integration for herself and students to explore and grow giants in her classroom!"