Teachit - A Day in the Life of a Teacher

A Day in the Life of a Teacher

8:15 -8:30
Door Duty

"Good morning! May I see your ID?"
-Wendy Tisdel

Today is Wendy Tisdel's turn for front door duty. At 8:15, shortly after her morning staff meeting, but before the main doors open, Ms. Tisdel greets students entering Ronald Reagan High School in North East Independent School District, checking for passes and student IDs. She then proceeds upstairs, unlocks her classroom door for another teacher who uses her classroom first period, and walks to the math office to grade papers and write tomorrow's lesson plans.

These are the only low-tech activities she will do all day. Her school, along with several others in the region, received San Antonio Technology Education Coalition (SATEC) grants, which enable mathematics teachers like Ms. Tisdel to focus on applications using technology. "The infusion of technology allows us to put math in context," Ms. Tisdel says.

The SATEC grant began in 1997, and Ms. Tisdel and her colleagues continue to write and revise curriculum tailored to utilizing technology in the classroom. They succeeded in writing an Algebra I curriculum over the past two years and are currently in the revision stages of the Algebra II technology-driven curriculum.

Her classroom is wired. "I have seven computers. I have an LCD projector. I have a scanner," Ms. Tisdel states. "I have a digital camera. I have a video camera. I have a VCR. I have ULIs [universal labs interfaces] that are things that you use to connect science probes to your computer to gather data. I have four or five different types of software. I have graphing calculators and overhead calculators."

Ms. Tisdel doing a lesson with technology
Ms. Tisdel's uses technology throughout her class, in her demonstrations and in interactive, hands-on activities designed to engage students.

The main entrance to Ronald Reagan High School.

Ms. Tisdel cheking student IDs at front door

A student shows Ms.Tisdel his ID at the front doorway.

Ms. Tisdel's empty classroom
Ms. Tisdel's classroom.

When asked if she uses the book at all, she laughs, "Never! I opened my Algebra II textbook once this year, and it was to look for a word."

Indeed, technology is transforming the classroom, especially for young mathematics teachers like Ms. Tisdel, who stand on the cutting edge of integrating technology with instruction. Ms. Tisdel feels it is critical to train teachers how to effectively implement technology into their lessons. "It is one thing to know how to use technology," she explains. 'It is quite another to know how to teach with technology."

Yet, this generation of high school students grew up with technology. "They call them the digital generation -- the net generation," she says. "They are not afraid to experiment." And neither is Ms.Tisdel.