Professional Skills – 2008

My goal in this school year has been to take our school’s computer lab to the next level. Here is a video I did about what happened in lab in the first half of the school year…
Download Video: Posted by mizmercer at TeacherTube.com.

Professional Experience – 2008

I am a computer lab teacher at elementary level in Sacramento, CA. I teach students from Kindergarten to sixth grade. I see most classes in 45-minute periods two-times a week. The curriculum in my lab is directly tied to the grade level standards, and the inquiry themes they are studying in their regular classroom.

Prior to my current position, I taught fifth grade, and five/six split classes. Every school I have taught has been a Title One school, on whole-school free lunch, and in program improvement (the last school I was at exited program improvement status).

For examples of my work, the links section at the right will take you to my current class website/blog, and the previous blogs and website I used for my classes.

My professional and community experience prior to becoming a teacher includes seven years as an Analyst at Wells Fargo Bank, in San Francisco, CA, and one year as president and 4 years on the Board of Directors at Friends of the Oakland Public Library, Oakland, CA.

Here is a copy of my current resume:
resume.jpg

Professional Experience – 2007

For help navigating this site, here is a screencast on how to get around.

I have used technology in my classroom since I began teaching, and it has been a critical part of my instruction in the last two years. The links section will take you to my current class website/blog, and the previous website I used for my class. All of my use of technology is based in two goals: the activities are directly related to core instruction in my classroom; and the activities give students an opportunity to authentically demonstrate their mastery of what was taught. Examples can be found here, or by clicking on the Examples category in the right sidebar.

Here is a copy of my current resume.

Professional Skills – 2007

• Knowledge of and experience making grade-level standards engaging and accessible for a wide variety of students
• Ability to integrate technology meaningfully into instruction
• Willingness and ability to supplement or add to core instructional materials to improve instruction, and better align to grade-level standards
• Ability to maintain control of classroom, and to motivate my students to assist me with this task.
• Experience with a variety of students including students at grade-level, ELLs, and behaviorally challenged students.