My name is Valerie Wells and this is my sixth course in the MET program. I live in St. John’s, Newfoundland with my husband. My two sons are finished post secondary education (for now) and have left home to pursue careers in Engineering and Musical Theatre. We are enjoying being empty nesters!
I completed a BA(ED) in 1979 and a Bachelor of Special Education degree in 1996 from Memorial University in St. John’s NL. I have been teaching for 20 years, the last 8 years in a Grade 3 classroom. My current school is in the inner city in St. John’s and services a population with low literacy and numeracy skills. Students and parents are disengaged from the learning process. Over the last 5 years, I have integrated technology into my classroom with very positive results. These technologies have included a Smart board, web-based instructional resources and software applications, such as Audacity, Photostory and Glogster. The students have enjoyed their experiences with technology and are more engaged in the learning process.
This has motivated me to strengthen my understanding of educational technology and its integration in the classroom, particularly in a Primary education setting. My professional goals are to become proficient with new learning technologies available to aid in delivery of programs across the curriculum in order to improve student success. This proficiency will allow me to integrate technology into the classroom on a daily basis to enhance my teaching and the learning environment of my students.
My areas of interest are mathematics, enabling students to visualize abstract mathematical concepts, putting the fun back into the classroom while learning and language arts, specifically motivating students to interact with text in a variety of ways.
I am taking on a new challenge this year. I will be spending part of each day facilitating the use of technology in primary classrooms in my school. As the year progresses it will be interesting to see how this will unfold!