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Cynthia O. Blake
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Position: Teacher |
The highlight of my career as a teacher has been the priveledge of developing wonderful relationships with my students. I have seen students accomplish goals that they didn't believe they could reach and gain self confidence that they didn't have when they began my class.
As a professional I have been able to participate in many workshops and programs such as TIES, the GLOBE Program, Teacher Academy, and MAST II. Hence I have had training to make me better prepared to inspire the minds of tomorrow. I serve as team leader and chair our school's science fair each year. I also work closely with our LEP (Limited English Proficient) students. Seeing their progress is a great inspiration.
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Technology is frequently used in my class thanks to my acceptance into the TIES program. The TIES program placed iMAC computers in my room for students to use and explore. With the equipment that I received, my students are able to work with the Internet, powerpoint, Microsoft Office and all of its components, special software, iMovie, the scanner, digital camera, digital cam corder, TV and VCR. With these items we can now make ordinary projects into"mega" multimedia presentations. Students can do research on the Internet as well as add their own research onto the Internet via the GLOBE program. |
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While participating in the MAST II program, I hope to delve into web page creation. This will further enable my team members and me to keep our parents current on upcoming events and special information about their children. I can then also instruct my students on how to become computer savvy when it comes to the Internet. My dream would be to design a website for our team and have the students maintain it under my supervision. Then they could feel concealed to the entire world through the wonderful world of technology. |
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In addition to the equipment that the students can use in my room, the school also has an addition Mac Lab in the media center and a CCC lab that uses Dell computers. They may have the chance to explore the operations of a PC here.
I will never stop trying to become a better teacher. Therefore I am constantly setting goals for myself and evaluating past experiences. Two of my next goals as a educator are to create additional inquiry based labs that correlate with the NC Standard Course of Study and to incorporate even more technology into every lesson.
One thing that I was able to do this past year with the students that I was particularly pleased with was to develop more differentiated activities using computers. Students were allowed to complete projects using a variety of methods. Several of them chose to use Power Point presentations instead of traditional or more artistic interpretations.
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More of my students were able to discover hidden abilities with the computers and were able to show their classmates and themselves what they were capable of. Most of them even shocked themselves as to how much fun they were having in a subject that they weren't comfortable with at the beginning of the year. "The sky's the limit" was our motto, and creativity was appreciated and rewarded. |
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Other than teaching some of my hobbies include volleyball, playing with my ferret, Rocky, traveling, doing outdoor activities such as camping, etc., and doing artistic projects. I am also very active at my church.
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06/12/2001 3:57 PM
