All About Me

Hi Everyone!

I am so excited to be returning to Rutgers after graduating from the GSE with my Masters in Early Childhood in Elementary Education back in 1999!  When I completed my prior graduate work at Rutgers, email was brand new and the internet was just in its beginning stages.  What a journey it has been that has brought me back to Rutgers in order to continue graduate studies in the area of Education and Technology.

I have been a teacher in a variety of early childhood settings over the past 17 years.  I have taught preschool through first grade.  I am currently working in a public school district as a full-day Kindergarten teacher.  Over the past several years I have begun to explore ways in which technology can be used in early childhood settings to support learning and development.  I am particularly interested in finding ways that we can utilize technology to create connections between home and school in order to support development of the child as a whole.  In our classroom, iPads and Chromebooks are utilized daily as part of social and academic learning experiences.  I am also interested in ways that we can use technology to support play-based learning.  An early childhood space at heart should be one that mirrors the larger world, and should allow children to safely explore elements of that surrounding world.  If the world in which the children live each day has changed, then how can we create classroom spaces that nurture development and support understanding of their everyday experiences?

As a Kindergarten teacher, I am always looking for meaningful ways to facilitate the transition of young learners into a public school setting.  I thought it might be fun to share an example here of how I used our summer welcome letter to create an interactive experience for children and families.  Included in the letter was a QR code link to this video:



Children and families were able to view the video as many times as needed during the month prior to school.  When they came to meet me the first time, they were welcomed into a space that had already become familiar to them.  Using technology in ways such as this has allowed me to create safe emotional and social experiences which enable successful learning and independence.

Over the past couple of years I worked to complete a Certificate in Digital Technology and the Early Childhood Environment through Bank Street College in New York City.  Through that program I met and collaborated with amazing teachers of young children from around the world.  I am also currently a Book Creator Ambassador working with teachers to support the use the Book Creator App as a creation tool for learners and teachers.  The following is a link to a blog post I recently wrote for their blog.

Learning Through Windows and Mirrors: The Role of Book Creator in Early Childhood

I am thrilled to have the opportunity to take this course, and continue the journey of learning and growing as a 21st century educator in the Kindergarten world!

To hear a little bit more about the experiences I share on this post, check out the screencast below.