Hello, EDTC 600! I'm Donte Tates!
Here's an Introduction to Me...
Educational Philosophy (The Shortened Remix)
My Work and Career Goals
Other than a classroom teacher, I work on several task forces and committees focused on furthering our school community as both equitable and inclusive. I coach speech and debate, helping my students to complete in some of the local and nationals forensic leagues.
The M. Ed. in Instructional Technology not only furthers my work as a lifelong learner but also well serves my career goals. As I think about my growth in the field of education, I have always wanted to remain close to the students' experience of school. Moreover, I have also wanted to support my school in seamlessly integrating technology to raise the level of critical thinking and to transform physical spaces in schools to become true extensions of and redefining tools for student learning. I have made requests to move towards have the walls of our classrooms function as whiteboard and smartboard spaces accessible to all. So far, I have had to contend with insufficient funding as the obstacle, but I am hoping to develop a plan to overcome that challenge next school year. Overall, I believe in technology as means of placing learning squarely in the hands of its rightful owner: our students. My career goal is to continue with the mssion of making the aforementioned belief a successful reality.
Building Twenty-First Century Essential Skills with Sound Technology Goals
Overall, my strongest uses for technology have been Google Drive a file sharing and storage as well as revising and editing tool and Haiku, our school's learning management system, as a nexus of communication for students. I have also become invested in using technology like PearDeck to assess students' learning in real time. Lastly, this summer I am completing a teacher workshop on technology integration in which I am hoping to further my work Screencast, Camtasia, and PlayPosit, all tools I plan to use to flip my class lessons and assess students' learning more regularly.
At my school, there has been large-scale work to move toward more skill-based learning and less content-driven learning. We have come up with a list of skills with which we aspire to have our students graduate. Moreover, we have been developing our academic technology department and its ability to better support both students and teachers in our goals.
#MyKidsHavePaws!!!!
Meet Magenta "Genta" Rose Tates!
Here's Genta and Auggie this past Christmas.
Meet Augustus "Auggie" Fitz Tates!
My Best Friend Monique
Monique not only lives fully and love greatly with her humanitarian spirit, but she also has a knack for "sucking the marrow out of life" with her adventure, fashion, and joie de vivre for everything.
We love to dine together, cook together, shop together, and go on long drives together listening to all kinds of music.
At the age of 33 this year, Monique survived a massive stroke from which she has been recovering. Her therapists, doctors, and family have been amazingly supportive and fully present. Her road to recovery has been challenging, but there have been victories with more to come. The expressive aphasia in her brain has limited her speech and recall, but Monique's eyes do not lie as her mind showcases a true survivor and champion who is letting her body heal and catch up to the rest of her mind.
I love her!!! She is beautiful, and I come to this graduate program ready to commit to learning, growth, and success in her name. #foryouMomo