Introduction

Hey All!

I am Breann Larson and am a Lead Teacher with HRDC Head Start-Bozeman. I love preschoolers and fully believe that play promotes learning!

"Goonies never say die!"

I have been in Bozeman for the last four years, taught at an international school in Brazil for a school year, and spent two years teaching kindergarten in Glendive, Montana. Besides Brazil, I have been to China, Czech Republic, and Slovakia. My husband and I have a very sweet daughter who is a bit over a year and half. 

I was at one time adequately-versed on Smartboards/Promethean ActivBoards. I taught a teacher-led PD at my first school to help my colleagues. I was the “go-to” in my school whenever someone’s board was acting up. My undergrad course covered ways to have students use iMovie, Powerpoints, Prezi, digital cameras, wikis, and probably others that were never age-appropriate or options for my students, and thus forgotten.  

At my current school, we limp along with technology. Most of our laptops cannot handle Windows 10 and can no longer be unplugged. We have first generation iPads that have been used both for attendance and “educational” apps. We just received newer iPads that have been designated as teacher/attendance use only. We will most likely use them to pull up music and movement songs on Youtube and whatever is happening with iTunes, helping students find answers to random questions on Google or (the supposedly safer) Kiddle. We will also use them to document student progress. We use light tables with a variety of materials, and also have neat microscopes that the kids can use with the computer/projector to further investigate anything they can lug close enough.

Screen time is limited to twenty minutes per week (for the whole class) due to best practice, performance standards and the ECERS classroom assessment. So, I would like to learn ways to incorporate technology that are helpful for my students who are digital-age citizens and align with developmentally appropriate practice, while not causing loss of precious grant money.

   This blog is documentation of assignments and learning through C&I515 through the University of Montana during Fall 2019.