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I accidentally typed that Mrs. Francisca Jensen has taught in her 2nd grade class for seven years, but I meant to type KINDERGARTEN 

     The teacher I interviewed is Mrs. Jensen from Wilson Elementary here in Norman. She has taught in her second grade classroom for the last seven years. In her class there is lots of awesome technology and she told me there is more on the way! 
     The tech she uses in her classroom every day is iPads, her Smartboard, and Mobies. A mobi is a portable mouse that she and the students can use to interact with the smart board from anywhere in the classroom. 
     Her training for tech happened in the summer and the school year where she learned about the logistics of using her tech and also about how to teach cyber safety to her students, which is something she really stresses because she realizes that the filters on the tech at school aren't always on their tech at home so she wants to make sure her students develop safe habits so they're safe at home too. She also gives training to her kids at the beginning of the year that teaches them how to turn the iPads on and off and how to download apps. Now they are all totally self sufficient with their tech! 
     I asked if there was tech she has in her class that she does not use and she told me about all of her old CD's that she has forgotten about. It is so interesting how technology eve loves and becomes obsolete so rapidly. There is no tech that is up to date that she doesn't use! 
     The things that sometimes keep her from using tech in the classroom is that she still values the ability to handle physical books and write with physical pencils. There is a balance to strike in using technology in the classroom.
     She loves using her technology and so do her students. When asked how her students use technology creatively she had a lot to discuss! She loves seeing their creativity. The main way she gets them to be creative is by ASKING them how THEY would use their tech to learn such and such subject and they usually have wonderful ideas! She teaches her kids how to use 8-10 apps at the beginning of the year (by teaching them 3-4 a day) so that for the rest of the year they can have freedom to choose which apps they will use for different assignments. I think this is a great way to let children be creative with technology and their learning. This gives them ownership of the material which is invaluable to learning positive experiences.
     The teachers all support each other as tech needs or problems come up which I think is great. I think they have an IT guy they can call as well. She was unclear about this.
     There is not any tech she does not have that she wishes she could, but she was so excited to tell me how they are preparing to upgrade all their old Dell classroom computers to Macs next fall so that there are less technical difficulties that outdated computers often cause.

The teacher I interviewed teaches Elementary in Clovis, New Mexico. She has 3 computers, 3 iPads, a teacher laptop, an avermedia (projects an image of a paper or object), and a projector with an apple TV. She does not help choose the technology, all technology was provided for her, or their technology team applied for a grant for their classes to receive additional iPads. If something is broken she can request a technology replacement, but their district office is the one that orders all technology. Any of the equipment previously listed is what they have access to. They can also “borrow” a roving laptop SE from the upper elementary grades in addition to practice keyboards for their class. The teacher’s team member is a part of the technology team at their school, so she first asks her for support. They also have a technology support staff that works from their district office that will offer support remotely or come to check on any problems they are having/run updates. As in most districts there are certain websites that are blocked if using our district’s internet (Facebook, any site classified as a “blog,” etc.) All technology students use has to be for an educational purpose (testing, practice, research, assignments). They get to use technology in the classroom everyday. Currently some of her equipment is older or broken and costs a lot of money to replace. New Mexico is currently in a budget crisis so they have limited resources for replacement. Something she wishes she had available to her in the classroom but does not is more access to individual computers for typing assignments, especially for students who struggle with fine motor skills in writing. Most items are used daily so there is not really anything they do not use. A difficulty about technology in her classroom is that students are actually so reliant on technology that when something doesn’t work or is inaccessible, sometimes students have a difficult time not using technology. For example, her projector has not been working (meaning she has to write everything on the board), which students have difficulty following along with. There is a computer lab in the school and the tech cart they can use is primarily for 4th/5th grades but they can request to use it. The teacher I interviewed likes the ability to use technology for students to research and for accessibility for students with learning disabilities. Her school trained them on how to use their district’s websites, but not the technology itself. The technology she uses most often are laptops, iPads, and desktop computers which are used everyday Her kids very rarely use technology creatively. When I asked the teacher “As a future teacher, what should I try to learn while I am still in School to be a great tech using teachers?”, she answered by saying “I would look at computers as a tool for project-based learning and not just as a tool to “test” students, which it is often used for. Technology also provides access to research for teachers sharing ideas about units, projects (such as teachers pay teachers or even Pinterest!). I would also plan for different ideas in how to help your students use technology (teaching them how to use it appropriately),”.

• What grade level do you teach? 
• ESL-K-5 (I have groups for each grade level)
• Do you use a lot of technology in your classroom?  
• Blended-learning environment. I try to balance technology to consist about 50% of instructional time.
• How do you use it?
• Guided reading groups with books from raz-kids.  Google Docs for recording information and sharing documents. Great way to edit student work. I like to drop documents and slides into Google classroom for the students to retrieve and use. Google slides works well with iPads and chromebooks. I use multiple apps with different age groups. It depends on what I need to teach them.
• What kind of technology do you have? Did you get to help choose it? 
• Technology in my classroom: Apple TV, teacher iPad, MacBook, document camera, a set of 10 iPads with a tray for my learners, iRig mic, class desktop, and LDC projector. Most of the items are from the ESL department of my district.  The ESL department appreciates our input to choose materials but it depends on what the district has for the mainstream. We are not able to buy the same items due to funding.
• What technology is available to you? 
• My school has chromebooks for us to borrow if we need them. The majority of all the 4th and 5th graders (1 on 1 technology) have access to a chromebooks.
• Are there any rules about what you and/or the kids can do with technology? 
• The ESL department has a form for the students to get signed by them and their parents. My district also has a technology form for students and parents to fill out at the beginning of the school year.
• What things do you wish you had available to you in the classroom but do not? 
• Wishlist: wireless printer and a class set of durable head sets with microphones. It would be nice to have funds to buy apps.
• What makes using technology difficult in the classroom? 
• Difficulties: wifi connection and network servers able to support all the technology within a large school. The student population is almost at 1200.
• Does your school train you in how to use technology? 
• My school has technology training available, the ESL department has training for all their devices, and the district has training too. It all depends on the teacher and their willingness to learn and adapt to use technology in the classroom.
• What technology do you use most often? 
• I use a variety of technology but I am most comfortable with the items from the ESL department.
• As a future teacher, what should I try to learn while I am still in School to be a great tech using teachers?
• As a future teacher---remember to learn how to use technology to support learning. Teach kids how to safely use devices and not solely rely on it. Be willing to adapt and change what your school has available for you to use. It's great to be updated in the tech savvy world but remember that schools will always be behind due to funding.

I interviewed an excellent teacher from North Carolina who teaches ESL for elementary grade students.  She had a ton of great information and advice for me as a future teacher.  One thing I took away from this interview is to not be over-reliant on technology in the classroom because schools won't always have the funding to support it.  However, it is still important to be flexible with it and use my resources to enrich my students' learning experiences.  I also learned that it's important to attend workshops for professional development to continue to develop my skills with technology in the classroom in order to hone my skills and use new tech.  Overall, I like the idea of a blended-learning environment in my future classroom so my students can develop valuable tech skills and familiarity with technology and learn how to use it in their education.  

Mrs. McPherson’s 4th grade math class was a room of four groups of six desks. Lined against the walls were books, two computers, a smartboard, a chalkboard, and other classroom materials. Other technology that was available to her included a shared rolling cabinet full of dell laptops. This cabinet is used in the 4th and 5th grade building for all the teachers to share. How did she get these? Mrs. McPherson uses the smartboard everyday for her lessons. She usually teaches an interactive lesson on the smartboard using the pen tool. She lets students come up to the board and interact with it as well after the main lesson is taught. There is not a technology resource in her class that she does not use.
When more than two students need to use a computer, they are allowed to go to the computer lab or the library when the rolling cabinet of laptops is being used in another classroom. When the students are able to use the laptops, they generally practice their multiplication facts and play math games on them. When she needs help, she usually asks the other 4th grade teachers. IT comes in once a week if teachers have problems. The internet at the school includes a strict protective firewall called the sonic wall. Certain websites can be accessed with a provided code.
What keeps you from using technology in the classroom? Laptops take a long time for distribution and it is sometimes a hassle to keep them charged. Sometimes the laptops are slow with the internet. They are constantly updating which takes time as well.
What things do you wish you had available to you in the classroom but do not? She wishes there were desktop computers enough for the kids to use so the computers can connect straight to the internet. She also wishes that the wifi was fast enough for the laptops she already has.
When the smartboards were first introduced, trainers came in the classroom and helped the teachers set them up. They were also there to teach the students and teachers how to use it. For my future classroom, she recommended that I let all the students use the board, not just a few. She reminded me that they need to take turns and that I needed to keep track of who used it. One of the most influential uses of the board was including educational games. She said that really motivated students.

Tell me about your classroom? My classroom is set up into five pods of four to five children, each pod having their own color. We have one white board at the front of the room and a neglected chalkboard at the back of my room that I now use as an outdated bulletin board. I have a total of 22, three of which are morning only.
What kind of technology do you have? In my classroom or in the school? In my classroom I have two computers, one at my desk and on one the side of the room which students can use to take reading tests on, as well as the IPad that sits next to it. I also have a smart board and a projector from before the smart board was integrated into our school.   
Do you get to order technology yourself? I have no control over what technology we receive and it does not look like we have upgraded our technology in our classrooms, much less our computer lab, in many years at least
What technology is available to you? We have our computer lab in the library and the smart board in my classroom, but other than that anything with a screen is a limited resource. We have TVs that we can use from the office if we need to show our kids a movie from a vhs or dvd but now it is almost easier just to google a clip from the smart board directly. We don’t really have any individual ipads, mainly computers in the computer lab.
Who do you ask for help? Our librarian was one of the first trained in using the smart board when they were implemented in our schools so she is who I call the whiz at it.
Are there any rules about what you can do with technology? Our district does not have much to do with technology due to budgeting so there are no set in stone rules. More common sense, don’t show anything inappropriate and have all clips ready to go at the beginning of class. Our principle recently reminded all the staff that videos shown must serve an educational purpose so that must be the closest thing we have to a set of rules.  
Are there any rules about what kids can do with technology? I don’t allow my kids to take the IPad away from the charging station and on the classroom computer they are only allowed to take reading tests so there is no reason they should be on google. When we go to the computer lab we spent a lot of time at the beginning of the year over how to act on a computer and what to do when we log on. They know that when we need to go on google for any reason that they are only allowed to search the topic we are talking about. Most of what we do are math or reading games which are applications on the PC already so there is very little reason for my kids to be on the internet.
How often do you get to use technology in the classroom? We use the smart board every day. We take brain breaks called GoNoodle where the kids pick a song and dance to it. I also use it during math so my kids can work through problems. If a student has a question that I don’t know the answer to I will also allow them to ask siri through my personal phone the answer. This is a rarity so the kids are super excited when it happens.
What keeps you from using technology in the classroom? The lack of technology that I have. We do use the smart board and the IPad but we only have one computer in my classroom so it stops me from using it. A classroom is lucky if they have four computers. We do go to the computer lab twice a week where we either work on reading or math. I try to use the smart board but it does not always work properly. My students love using it so that’s why I do but I am not a huge fan. Sometimes it is convenient but when it stops working it’s too frustrating.
What things do you wish you had available to you in the classroom but do not? Individual Ipads and more computers. A newer version of the smart board would solve many of my frustrations as well.
Is there anything that you have that you never use? I almost never use the projector anymore.
What makes using technology difficult in the classroom? Not in the classroom but in the computer lab it is difficult to monitor what they do on the computers. There's 22 of them and only one of me so making sure every child is actually playing an education game and not a free for all makes me want to pull my hair out.
is there a computer  lab in the school? Yes, just one.
Is there a tech cart that you can use? No, we don’t have one or at least I’m not aware of them.
Do you like technology? I think it can be beneficial to my students but personally I was never taught how to use it so Im torn on the issue. Being on the computer and the ipad really does excite them and I truly believe when they’re excited they are more likely to retain the information but I also believe in old school ways. I want my kids to know how to use a dictionary, not just how to type a word into google.
Does your school train you in how to use technology? I’ve never been to any training but I am new so maybe they have not gotten around to me yet.
What technology do you use most often? The smartboard
Do you or your kids use your technology creativity? Unless you can count GoNoodle or using it as a white board.  

As a future teacher, what should I try to learn while I am still in School to be a great tech using teachers? To work on a limited budget and to be able to work with what you have. Were fortunate to have the resources we have but it is not much and many schools have less than we do. Make sure your privilege does not create unrealistic expectations. (Again this is my mom talking so she knows the schools I went to were very lucky because we did have many computers and ipads at our disposal.)     I actually learned more than what I thought I would from this interview. Mostly because I was interviewing my mom but also because I thought her answers were going to be different. My mom teaches in a low socio economical school in the heart of Oceanside. Most of her kids come from poverty ridden families and come to school most days hungry. She said the majority of her students qualify for free and reduced lunch and that she suspects many of them are undocumented. During this class, most of us get so excited to learn new applications on the ipad so that one day we can use them with our students but what most of us fail to realize is that there is a chance that we won’t have the luxury of 1-1 ipad to student or even 1-1 computer to student. It really opened my eyes and like my mom told me to. Made me check my privilege and realize not all schools can afford what we are used to. It also made me consider ways that I can implement the use of technology with just one ipad, like the interactive white boards we have been doing. My dad just bought my mom an ipad for Christmas so her and I had a long discussion over brainstorming ideas for her classroom and I told her about nearpod and she said she is going to bring it up in her next faculty meeting to see if she can use it and possible help train other teachers to use it as well. 

For this assignment I interviewed Shelbi Samples-Cude a pre-school/kindergarten special education teacher. When asked about her classroom environment she shared that she teaches 8 students with severe cognitive disabilities. She teaches in a school where the majority of students speak Spanish at home, although she doesn’t have any problems communicating with her students that are able to talk.  Her classroom is very open with a few areas sectioned off for independent learning.  Even though there is not much technology in her classroom due to the high risk of it being broken due to misuse, Shelbi has a Smart board that she uses frequently and she uses her personal school computer as well to enhance her student’s learning. She shared that she did not get to help choose the technology in her classroom, however she has previously taught at another school that only had a computer and a projector and a screen, so she is very happy that her current school gave her a Smart Board. Shelbi shared with me that she does get the option every once in a while to request new equipment for her classroom, sometimes that request may be technology, but due to her classroom needs, many time it is not technology she needs. Shelbi shared that even though her school is located in one of the higher end neighborhoods of their community, the school does not receive a lot of money from the community so they do not have much technology sitting waiting to be used. The majority of technology that the school owns is in the classrooms, and so if there was something that another teacher had that she wished to borrow she could ask, but that has never been a problem. Shelbi shared with me that the SmartBoard and her computer really accomplish a lot for her classroom. If she needed help getting new supplies she goes to her principal. There is not much of a hierarchy in her Special Ed department. There is only one teacher for every few grade levels so there is no real department head to report to. When asked about the rules surrounding technology use she said that they are pretty standard and come from the district. The technology has to be used for educational purposes. There is a little of leeway for her and her special ed peers in that they are able to show YouTube videos that may help in sensory control or may help to ease tension when needed. She stated that the principal has left that up to their digression. Every morning she tries to play a song or two that the students can dance to or sing along with that will allow them to get out some energy. As far as the rules for the kids, the rules from the school/district are pretty standard and similar to those for the teachers, but she has her own rules in her classroom of the students not touching the Smart Board or her computer without permission.  Shelbi uses her SmartBoard multiples times a day everyday. She has an agenda template that she utilizes that the kids use to move their picture from one task to the other to let them know what they need to do next. Also, every morning she takes attendance using the Smart Board and they do calendar and weather work using the smart board. The main use of her computer alone, is to administrator assessments to her students and then everyday during nap time, she must play overlapping sounds from YouTube to try and find a sound that soothes her various students needs. The biggest barrier for her and using more technology in the classroom is need and liability. Though there are some neat gadgets out there that could really benefit her students, there are a lot on non- technological supplies she needs more. Furthermore, her kids are so young and their behaviors can be unpredictable at times, so bringing in more technology is a large liability. Shelbi has a couple of students who are non-verbal and have a very hard time explaining her needs and feeling to her, if she could bring in some technology she would  love to have a device that has words to speech so that she can better know how to serve her students. Also like many pre-schoolers, her student’s writing is very illegible, yet that is how many of them try to communicate so she wishes she could give them all IPad with an app that she knows of that takes their writing patterns and types out what was drawn on the page. This would help her immensely, but IPads can be easily broken in her classroom. There is a computer lab in her school’s library, but her students never use it.  Shelbi shared that there was a brief training on how to use the SmartBoard when she first started working at the school, but that is all she has received. Shelbi researches assistive technology on her own time, but has not found something feasible and durable enough to try to bring into her classroom.   From my conversation with Shelbi I learned how useful some of the simple things we have access to are. Even though there are many gadgets out there that Shelbi would love to use, it can be risky bringing in expensive technology to the environment that we both are/will be educators in. I want to teach much older students than what Shelbi has, so I expect to have a little more freedom to bring in technology due to my students being more mature and having better control of their behaviors. I did think the sounds from YouTube thing was interesting and can see how something so easy and accessible can make such a huge difference in her classroom. 

For this badge I interviewed a pre school teacher Marye McDonald. The first question I asked is how does she include technology in her classroom? She told me that her school offers very little access to technology but the little amount given she uses. She tries to use apps on iPads as a center to allow children to play spelling and match games. She also uses the apps for months, dates, and years. She said that biggest form on technology she uses are the iPads. The second question I asked was how do the parents react to her using iPads in her classroom? I asked this because i know some parents allow their younger children to use iPads and some try to refrain from it. She told me that majority of parents are for it but she also has the parents who are not a fan. She explains to those parents to benefits of it and why she uses it. After she explains, the parents usually get on board. The last question I asked was, does she like using technology? She said she does but it can be tricky using it with such young children. It can Take awhile to teach them to use and play the games. She wishes there were more options to incorpate it into the classroom. She is thankful though of the little amount given though.
From this interview I learned that not every school has a wide array of technology provided and you have to be creative with how you use it. I also learned that using technology can be super frustrating especially with children who have no clue how to use it. In other words set apart a few days to thoroughly explain it to them. I like hearing how other teachers use technology and How innovative they can be with it. 

Brittany White Interview a Teacher               
   For this badge I interviewed Taylor Allen, a 9th grade English teacher at Edmond North. Allen graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma and began teaching in August of 2016. Allen’s classroom has an outdated computer but does include a smartboard which she uses often in class. She does not have any rules or regulations in regards to technology as long as what she does is educational; same goes for the students. Ms. Allen makes an effort to use technology in the majority of her lessons because she believes that the students will connect more if she does.
   Ms. Allen said that the biggest difficulty she faces in the classroom is children on their cellphones. She wishes the students had individual laptops or tablets so they work with the technology or app at their own pace. Ms. Allen loves using technology in the classroom and is continuously asked for help by the other teachers on how they can use technology more. The school does not train their teachers and they are forced to figure it out by themselves. Ms. Allen is a great asset to her school because she knows how to use technology in the classroom.    
   After interviewing Ms. Allen, I learned the importance of technology in a classroom. Ms. Allen explained to me how her students pay attention when technology is involved. When technology is not involved the students lose interest and become easily distracted. As a teacher I will make an effort to use technology to further engage my students. The simplest things can make a difference. Instead of doing quiz on paper, have the students take it on Kahoot. The students will be more engage and perform better. 

Haven Ellis Interview a Teacher Badge 02/21/17
  For this Badge, I interviewed one of my good friend’s mom. Her name is Wendy Sanchez and she is a 3rd and 4th grade special education teacher. While I am an elementary education major, I thought it would be interesting to take a look and see how a special education teacher integrates technology in the classroom with her students. She teaches in Moore Oklahoma at Oakridge Elementary School. She has a smart board, an iPad and three computers in her room. She does not get to choose the technology that is placed in her room but she does have access to other items such as more iPad's if needed, the computer lab and Alpha Smart. She said that if she ever needs help using the technology provided for her and her students she calls the school site tech for help. Mrs. Sanchez says that they use technology in the classroom daily. She said it is hard to do activities with the iPad's because there are only three in her classroom and she wishes she could have enough for all of her students. When I asked her if she liked using technology she said “Kind of” I asked her to explain and she said “I wish I was more knowledgeable in regards to what is available. The younger generation seems more confident which can be helpful.” She said that the school keeps everything pretty filtered and monitored so she has to watch what the students are doing when they have their own time. I asked her to name a couple of activities that the class does with the technology provided to them and she said that they take turns and type their weekly vocabulary on the iPad's and take reading comprehension tests. On the smart board they do cursive writing activities and play multiplication games.  Mrs. Sanchez said that her students are better than her when it comes to using the technology and that she enjoys having access to it in the classroom because it gives the students a chance to be creative and problem solve.

I interviewed Kathleen Blake of Mount St. Mary's Catholic High school in Oklahoma City. Kathleen Blake is a visual arts instructor, and has been teaching art since 1980. She has a bachelors of Fine Art, and a masters degree in Education. 

Mrs. Blake teaches Art I, II, and AP studio art. Her class sizes range from 5 students to 20, and there are 10 students currently enrolled in her AP studio class. She said that "Technology is so big at our school." They are a Chromebook school, so every student has a Chromebook available for their personal use. In her classroom, she has 10 PC computers equipped with Adobe Photoshop, 10 twelve megapixel point and shoot cameras, a large format color printer, a color laser printer, a projector, and an large external drive shared between all 10 computers where the students store all of their digital art pieces.

Mrs. Blake told me that she did get to choose the technology for her room. She wanted to have apple computers in her classroom because they are the most "cutting edge" for digital artists, but her budget allowed her to get more PCs because they were less expensive. This is why she made the choice to have 10 PCs. The school does give all teachers training with technology and if they don't have someone who can train them directly, there are opportunities to go to conferences to learn about technologies. Mrs. Blake attends many national conferences and workshops and keeps her knowledge of art technology very up to date.

Mrs. Blake explained to me that the students make a large portion of their art digitally in Photoshop. Even the traditional art that they create is photographed and color/level adjusted in Adobe Photoshop to restore the digital presentation to better represent how it looks in real life. The AP exam is now a fully digital submission, and most show entries require digital submissions as well. She commented, "If our computers aren't working, it is disastrous."

Some technology that Mrs. Blake does not currently have that she would like to acquire are Wacom Tablets. Wacom tablets are pressure sensitive pads that you can draw on with a stylus, and the image appears in a photo editing program (Photoshop, Illustrator, Corel Painter, etc). She says her students manage to draw digitally on the PCs right now, but that these would take their digital drawing to the next level.

She has one piece of technology that she wishes she could use, but her classroom set-up does not make it feasible. Mount St. Mary's is an old building, and her classroom specifically is the old laundry room. The technology is a device that plugs in to a USB port on her computer, and has the capability to project her live art demonstrations for the class to watch. She said that with the classroom set up and size, it is difficult to make this work. 

I really enjoyed talking to Mrs. Blake, and I think she has such a desire to keep the most updated technology available for her students to use. Art, as with most other things, is quickly advancing into the digital world. Mrs. Blake is helping educate her students to become highly competent in this area so that they will be prepared for the future of visual arts. 

Interview with Sloan Rohrer: 6th Grade Teacher at Oklahoma Christian School
 Tell me about your classroom: I teach at a small Christian school in Edmond. My classroom is pretty small, but it is very bright and cheery with decorations and posters covering the wall. I have fifty-six students total, but my largest class is 15 students, and they are almost completely white, anglo-saxon, protestant. 
What kind of technology do you have? Did you get to help choose it: In addition to my computer, I have a SmartBoard. I did not get to choose it, but I was familiar with it before I started at the school, and it would’ve been my first choice. I also use an iPad, but mostly just as the means through which students can check out books with an app. I also have a classroom set of chromebooks. Each student has their own, and they are kept in a computer cart that charges all of them. 
Do you get to order technology yourself?: No, but I can request it.
What technology is available to you?: The above-mentioned technology, but there is also a computer lab at the students’ disposal. 
Who do you ask for help: The school has a IT person who I can call or email for help. She is also in charge of setting up all of our classroom websites and emails.
Are there any rules about what you can do with technology?: Not that I’m aware of.
Are there any rules about what the students can do with technology?: There are restrictions placed on the computers that block any unapproved websites, but the rules are pretty basic. They have to be on ‘educational’ websites.
How often do you get to use technology in the classroom?: I use technology every day, especially my SmartBoard. And because I have my own set of chrome books, I can use those whenever I need to, which is at least 3, but usually more like 4 or 5, times per week.
What keeps you from using technology in the classroom?: Ignorance. There are so many great things you can do with technology, but there are also so many things that can go wrong. It’s hard to know all of that and plan for it accordingly.
What things do you wish you had available in the classroom but do not?: I really would like to have a document camera. I can make do without one, but it would be very useful. 
Is there anything that you have that you never use?: Not that I’m aware of.
What makes using technology difficult in the classroom?: It is fairly difficult to monitor all of the students to make sure they are on the correct websites. There are also a ton of variables that can go wrong. In the end, though, it makes life a lot easier.
Is there a computer lab in the school?: Yes.
Is there a tech cart you can use? Yes. But I have my own chrome books.
Do you like technology? Technology and I have a love hate relationship. It makes my life easier in most respects, but getting started on it is always a challenge. And there are inevitable days where it just doesn’t want to work, thus ruining my entire lesson plan. Always have a back up plan!
Does your school train you in how to use technology? Occasionally, but not since I’ve been there.
What technology do you use most often? I use my SmartBoard every day, but I use my chrome books for all of my projects and lessons. Not only are they great for assignments, such as group papers and presentations, but I can also have them test on them and it grades automatically.
Do you or your kids use your technology creativity? I am still expanding on my technology creativity. I like to think that I am getting more adventurous in the ways we use it, but there is always room to improve.
As a future teacher, what should I try to learn while I’m still in school to be a great tech-using teacher?: Learn how to troubleshoot. Of course, every bit of technology comes with its own problems,  but learning the basics of how to fix them is key. Also, learn where to find good ideas. There is a whole world out there, full of brilliant ways to use technology. A good teacher is always learning and improving herself, so learn how to learn. Also, embrace Google. Google docs, classroom, and everything else is wonderful and incredibly helpful for both you and your students. The more you know what to do with it, the better. 

This interview was actually eye opening for me. I chose to interview my sister who has been teaching for a year and a half because I wanted someone who I can relate to and who has been thrown into teaching right out of school. This interview made me realize that it is very important for me to learn how to utilize any apps that I can as a resource for lessons. I also realized that I am always going to need to have a solid backup plan if my technology fails me that day. Interviewing her made me want to learn more about using chrome books because I could potentially end up working at the same school that she is when I graduate and I want to be able to feel confident in what I am using in my classroom.