Catherine+Schmidt

= CATHERINE SCHMIDT = I am Catherine Schmidt. I am a senior at Clemson University in the Elementary Education program. I am from Greenville, South Carolina. I have two brothers named Josh and Christopher, three dogs and two cats. I became a teacher because I always loved to help my little brother when I could.

I am currently on block at Mt. Lebanon Elementary School in the Anderson 4 district. My mentor is Ms. Eudy of 2nd grade. I love working with the students there and hope that this year continues to be successful in my pursuit to becoming a teacher.

I have always struggled using technology; probably because I really don't have much interest in it. Overall I think how you can use it for so much is interesting, but me personally I don't desire to get extremely involved in the use of it. However, I do realize that society's use of technology grows every day and therefore, my students should be equipped with the knowledge of how to use it so they can be successful.

Since the school is a technology school, the classroom is equipped with whiteboards, a smartboard, and 4 computers that are designated for the students use. The school also has a computer lab and each room is equipped with a smartboard. My teacher uses the smartboard on a daily basis for interaction and lesson instructions.

One thing that I found interesting at Edutopia is how the entire site is a reference tool. It is equipped with videos that I feel would benefit upcoming teachers because the videos provide strategies, information, and instructions on how to be an effective teacher.

==== My Math Extension idea that uses technology, is the flashcards on Smartboard. I really liked this simple use of technology to help with learning math facts that children should know quickly. The flashcards on Smartboard are capable for being used in addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. A teacher could do a relay in the class having students quickly go through the flashcards and state the answers to them. This would provide a great review. ====