All About Me
Kristin Gutowski
A little bit about myself
My name is Kristin, and I live in Southern New York. I have my Associates degree in Elementary Education, and graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2009. I have a 9 year old daughter who thinks she is 16, and a very, very, busy life. I coach cheerleading, we go to gymnastics, and I work two jobs. I recently got a job as a literacy tutor in an elementary school, and I waitress on the weekends. My life is busy but I would not trade it for a second. Oh, and I am getting my Masters Degree!!
What I do, and what I want to do...
I graduated with my Associates Degree in 2009 in Elementary Education. Unfortunately for the area I live in, it is very hard to obtain a full time teaching job. I have substituted a lot in schools for the first few years. Then, I worked at Head Start for two years. I wanted to get back into the public school systems so this year I went back to substituting. As I signed up, I was asked if I wanted to be a literacy tutor. I work with children from grades K-6 and take them out of their rooms to get them the extra help they need. I was excited to get this position, and feel it is closer to me reaching my goal. Within the near future, I would love to get a full time teaching job. Getting a Masters Degree will be such a big help. I am getting so much more information and getting up to date with the educational world. Things are changing so fast, and it is nice to be able to be a part of it.
Masters Degree
What a difference it will make after I receive my Masters Degree!
Ready To Teach
Goodbye Chalkboards!
It is amazing to see where teaching started, and where it is now!
Technology is Everywhere!
What have I learned...
I am just starting to see how much technology we have in our hands. I am impressed with the websites available, the multimedia available, and what we can do with technology. I have not learned a lot yet, but I am starting to gain more and more knowledge. I am excited to see what this class brings to experience! I love to see the things that are available to us, that we have not been able to explore yet.
Incorporating technology...
I think that the availability of materials is incredible. However, I am also seeing that we are going to all technology. We still need to have our students read books, and do desk work. Students can watch videos and use apps, but we need to make sure the children are applying knowledge. I am very curious to see where technology will go. I know it is huge, but I hope it is not all we depend on. One problem I am seeing in schools, is that students can play the learning games, but they cannot apply it after words. I have seen some examples first hand. One is that there is a student who can touch all of his letters on an ipad, but cannot write them on paper. He does not know how to apply the knowledge. One other problem I am seeing is the constant moving within the games. I watched a student sit in front of a smart board and get excited about the stars that would come up for a right answer. He loved the interactivity. When he had to sit and concentrate on a paper, he could not do it. He could not sit still and didn't know why he was not getting rewarded like the stars do. I am excited about technology because it can do so much, but sometimes it does too much. We need to have students discover knowledge and apply it instead of searching the internet and having the answer handed to them.