Truth, Tech, and Teaching

After navigating my first year as a K-8 computer teacher, I came to a new appreciation of just how many computer skills I take for granted. As adult (and a millennial) I'm so familiar with the vocabulary, workflow, and technique needed to use a computer that I forget how I learned all these things in the first place. (This is a phenomenon I've experienced many times as a teacher when I need to teach a subject I've never taught before.) I had some knowledge from using computers often in my previous job as a middle school math, language arts, and religion teacher. I generally knew what to expect from 6th-8th graders in terms of what they know and don't know. However, I now teach much younger students too and my first few months on the job were a steep learning curve in how to explain computer skills to young kids, and manage them on the machines - so they understood what to do AND nothing got messed up on the computer. Below are the top skills I discovered are definitel

Welcome to "Truth, Tech, and Teaching!" My name is Lauren and I live in the suburbs of Detroit, MI. Since my career is in teaching, that will be the primary topic of this blog, but I plan to bring in some of my other interests too - the Catholic faith, books, movies, TV shows, music, color guard/marching band, Michigan State University (my alma mater), youth ministry, and various other randomness. My life tends to be an eclectic mix, but somehow everything seems to connect. At least it does to me. Some background on me: I'm a computer/media/technology teacher at a K-8 Catholic school. I teach all grades in the school, from kindergarten to 8th, and students have computer class with me once a week. (I'm what you call a "specials" teacher, similar to music, art, or gym.) I had each of the 6th-8th grade students create a blog this year to serve as a portfolio for computer assignments and a place to write reflections on the tech concepts they learn. Their blo