Introduction

My name is Teresa Wachtel and I am the Digital Literacy Teacher (fancy name for computer teacher) at Drexel Elementary in Cicero, IL. I teach K-6 grade students and have been in the district since 2014.

I received a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Theatre Arts along with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Marketing from St. Joseph's College. I also obtained a Master of Arts in Education from Roosevelt University. I am currently pursuing a Master of Science in Education with an Educational Technology concentration from the University of St. Francis.

I am Google 1 and Microsoft Certified and love using both platforms. Some of my other favorite tools include Kahoot (little ones love this), Socrative, jeopardyrocks, and Quizlet (really love the live game). I use Google Classroom almost daily and find this a great tool to run my daily lessons.

In my previous life I was a Marketing Communication Manager for an electronics company. In this role I was responsible for press releases, the company's website content, brochures, trade shows, etc. Also during my time in the corporate world I was involved in the Oracle ERP implementation. I was responsible for the Process Team which took the process from the legacy system and put them into the new system. I also trained people all over the world which was an awesome experience and strengthened my love for technology.

Training people ultimately led me to pursue a career in education. I really enjoyed teaching and instructing people in technology. I especially liked being able to assist people in enhancing their tasks at hand. So after 18+ years, I said goodbye to the corporate world and embarked on a journey towards a Masters of Arts in Education. To enhance and further my technology teaching, I have recently enrolled in a Technology Specialist cohort. By doing so, this will help me obtain a Technology Specialist endorsement and ultimately a Masters of Science in Technology.

I created this blog as part of an assignment for my first course. I will be using my blog to highlight technology trends, showcase technology success stories (or point out the not so great ones), as well as share my favorite tech and PLN resources. I will also be adding any interesting class artifacts I feel helpful for those on a path to receive a Tech Specialist endorsement as well.

On a personal note, I love to spend time with my husband, two children, and two dogs. I also enjoy traveling, playing sports, and hiking.