Week 1 ~ Introduction for EDUC 6810

Who am I?

Hello my name is Jaime and I live a few minutes from Farmington, WV in a little area called Katy Village.  I have been in this area with my husband and two kids for 11 years.  Aaron and I just celebrated 13 years of parenthood yesterday as our oldest made the leap into teenage hood.  Seems unreal.  

My daughter is getting ready to turn 12 in about a month and that fact is just about as head spinning.  Michaela's favorite song by Owl City has a quote I love, "I'd like to make myself believe
That planet Earth turns slowly…" but as time moves on, it seems to speed up.


What I Do...
I am the Coordinator and Education Specialist for STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) based student programs at NASA's IV&V Educator Resource Center (ERC).  I teach 6 workshops for secondary students, which include Aviation, Robotics, Rocketry, Planetary Geology, EM Spectrum, and Living & Working in Space.  I also help spearhead outreach in the state of WV.

I recently took on a second role as the very first FIRST Senior Mentor for FIRST Robotics in the state of WV.  FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) covers grades K-12th, which is excellent because it engages all school aged kids at an age appropriate level in STEM based challenges.  For more information check out FIRST Robotics.  This site will give you an idea of Mission Goals, our nation-wide efforts to engage kids in STEM, and the various age level competitions.  

What I Expect to Learn

The moment I think I am completely ready to make sure my students (as well as myself and my kids) are responsible digital citizens, I learn something new.  I will graduate with my M.Ed. in Digital Media and New Literacies this December.  This journey has been amazing.  I feel that I've come a long way and my knowledge base is only expanding.  Each class in this concentration brings me more resources to utilize in my informal setting and brings me much closer to being the mentor I need to be within a technology setting such as FIRST robotics and NASA. 

Animoto

I picked a couple of pictures to represent some of what I do at the ERC and for FIRST.  

Life at the ERC

EDUC 6810 Homepage Q's & A's

• Why is teaching media literacy important?

Multimodal images are all around us and in most cases deliver some sort of message. As mentors in the classroom, it is the job of an educator to starting helping our students develop literacy skills to interpret the images they see in their day to day life. Being literate in multimodal texts and images will enable our students to make educated decisions regarding media information.

• What do you want to learn about teaching media literacy? 

I want to learn about various free and available resources to share within the classroom to help increase media awareness.

• What concerns do you have about teaching media literacy?

My own tech readiness is always on my mind. Which is why I like trying out various tools like animoto, makebeliefcomix, digital storytelling, etc….

• When are assignments due in this course?

Assignments are released on Sunday and then due by the following Sunday at midnight unless otherwise stated.

• What are the rules for late assignments? 

Contact the professor within 24 hours to receive partial credit. If there is no contact within 24 hours then 0 points will be rewarded.

• What is the best way to contact me?

Through personal gmail or by cell phone.

• Should you work ahead?

No; assignment evolve according to classroom progress.