![]() Education: Children at a young age always say "I'm going to be a teacher when I grow up!" Or "I'm going to be a doctor!" Believe it or not being a teacher was the LAST thing I ever wanted to do. According to my parents I always said I wanted to be a Lawyer so I could be rich. Little did I know that I would be rich but in a way I never expected. My heart was rich with joy, knowledge, and perseverance the day I chose to officially make my major Elementary Education. Hello! My name is Paulette Vargas and you're about to embark into a bit of my learning, career, and technology journey. My teaching dream began in 2016 during my Junior year at Mississippi College. I had to face the reality of having to add an extra year to my college career, but I was willing to face that challenge. Throughout my time there, I learned to work with different tools, that have shaped me into the teacher I am today. Those consisted of TK20, SMART board programs, iMovie, Quick player, Youtube, reading literacy skills, educational standards,Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and many more. In May of 2018, I became the first one in my immediate family to graduate in the United states with a Bachelor's degree. In August of 2020, I got accepted into the Human Capital Development (with an emphasis on Instructional Technology) Masters Program. This is yet another first for me and my family, for I will now hold the first Masters Degree in my family. It has all been a learning process for sure! I am a full time teacher while also finishing up a degree fully online. Throughout the way, I have met people from all over Mississippi, Louisiana, and now Texas! I have also learned to implement educational tools while using the following instructional programs: Canvas, Schoology, and Wix. Career: This year marks year three of teaching second grade in Mississippi's Public School Systems. Every year is an adventure where I learn something new to enrich my career as as teacher. After surviving a pandemic school year, I can proudly say there is not a challenge I am not willing to take. The 2020-2021 school year has been one I will never forget. It was full of unknowns, bumps, and reevaluating the guidelines for the school year. I was a full face to face teacher from day one. We started with a soft start where we taught in person for four days, and virtually for one. That one day allowed for disinfection in the classroom and school wide. That day also let teachers work on ways to implement technology as a way to create engaging lessons where students would not physically touch other students work . Thankfully, I work for a school district that went above and beyond to train all teachers with all the Google programs a year before we got hit hard with the pandemic. Through my work experience, I have gained knowledge in every tool Google can possibly offer. For example, Google Classroom, Drive, Document, Slides,Forms,Sheets, and Sites. Google Classroom was the main tool I used with my second graders. Each student was given their own ipad to help bring interaction into the classroom while socially distancing when working in small groups. It also allowed any quarantine student to partake with the classroom activities when at home. In Google Classroom, my students were able to find links to educational search engines, like Ducksters.com. They could also find weekly quizzes, and even access their centers. My overall experience as a teacher has been an unforgettable and rewarding one. I look forward to continuing my growth and expanding my horizons. Technology: The world of education and technology is continuing to expand and change. My knowledge in technology consist of the following:
Teaching Philosophy: I believe learning must be engaging for a student to fall in love with it. As a teacher who has grown up in the 21st century of technology, I find it important to stay in tune with the constant changes in the digital world. With new generations come new ways for students to maintain their engagement in the classroom. The norms of society point to the digital world when it comes to education and even everyday life. Yes, technology is a great tool to use, but I also believe that everything comes with a limit.
1 Comment
Teresa Washington
6/4/2021 11:28:13 pm
Hi Paulette! Hopefully, this comment posts. Also, I thought I was going to be a doctor and make it big and be rich as well. Nevertheless, we still did it! We're rich in experiences and the joys of helping students. I look forward to working with you this summer.
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AuthorPaulette Vargas |