EDIM 508 Introduction

I am currently at teacher in a unique educational setting. I work at a public charter school in a farming community in California's Central Valley. We have 300 students in grades K-8. Since our particular charter is home-based (parents serve as the primary teachers for core academic subjects) I serve as an Advisory Teacher. I am assigned 12 families and stay with the students from Kindergarten through 8th grade. I have a teaching credential as well as certification in teaching English as a Second Language and testing/tutoring for Dyslexia.

My job at the charter school is multi-faceted. I give both formal and informal assessments and tutor in reading, writing, spelling and math. I assess and give recommendations for curriculum (as the parents choose from a vast assortment of books and publishers.) I have taught writing as one of numerous weekly classes we offer for the students. This fall I hope to teach a Digital Storytelling class and a K-1 "Camp". I have also taught parent workshops on Learning Styles and Intelligences, Motivating the Reluctant Learner, Teaching Reading and more. I keep attendance records, help with planning and check student work. I try to attend the monthly field trips and do whatever I can to support the parents as teachers.

My goal for the Digital Media class would be to learn how to incorporate media into the students' daily lessons to help them become more motivated and successful. We currently use Discovery Education's United Streaming to present (mainly Science and Social studies) lessons, but are unaware of the vast resources available and how to use them.