An Introduction

Howdy!  My name is Mandy Nabors.  I am a wife,a sister, an aunt, a granddaughter, a daughter, a teacher, a photographer, a reader, an Aggie and a lover of life.  I have another career as a photographer (www.mandynabors.com).  I do not have any children of my own, but I get to spend a lot of time with my nieces and nephews.   I love being creative and playing!  I have a love of art.  I am constantly trying to sit down and create something…in my spare time!  *snicker*    I love reading children’s and teen’s literature.  I am currently reading The Great Unexpected by Sharon Creech. I have already finished my bachelors in Interdisciplinary Studies.  I am certified in first through eighth grade in interdisciplinary studies, reading and ESL.  I use technology all the time in my classroom.  However, we are limited because of budgets and available devices.  My classroom only has three outdated computers for learner use.  I have written several grants on DonorsChoose.org for iPads that stay in our room.  This has helped, but there is a real need for technology in today’s classrooms.  The blessing in having my own iPads is that I can buy new apps for the learners to use.  Our school also has some iPad that we can check out for each learner to work independently.  However, we only are able to do this about once a week due to the high demand of the devices.

Educational Technology is vitally important in our schools today.  Our learners are using devices to research and find instant answers to problems in the world around them.  Therefore, it is imperative that we find ways to integrate technology into their daily school lives.  Learners must be taught to collaborate, communicate, and create while problem solving and becoming a responsible citizen.  All of these skills can be learned and practiced by becoming literate in the world of technology.  It is my goal to keep my eyes open to changing apps, devices, uses, and products that will encourage the learners in my classroom to be successful in their ever changing world.

I try to learn new things all the time, and I pray that never changes.  The young learners in my classroom have shown me many new ways and challenged me to integrate new applications, software and devices in our daily classroom routine.  I am so excited about this class because I hope I will learn from all of you!   I am praying that I will learn some new ways to bring the world of technology into our classroom that is relevant and supports the TEKS.  I can’t wait to see what the next five weeks holds for us.