#i do NOT have proficiency in microsoft word or excel or powerpoint i am completely lying about that on my resume

[danandfuckingjonlmao]

do you ever think about how we have phannies in every field? like we have doctors and baristas and mental health therapists and geologists and audiologists and engineers and neuroscientists and authors and social media consultants and activists and child care workers and museum managers and teachers and biologists and emts and linguists and accessibility coaches and sign language interpreters and artists and musicians and editors and actors and chefs and fucking EVERYTHING. not to mention the specific knowledge bases and hobbies we have outside of our professions—coding, linguistic and cultural diversity, artistic creativity, political/social awareness, passion for justice, research, make up and hair and fashion design, media literacy, philosophy, all of our special interests/hyperfixations, etc. we could run a successful commune no problem at all. we’re so smart and talented and resourceful and powerful.

the phandom is rooted in a past of being infamously shitty, and i do see yall slipping back into old habits sometimes (mostly on twitter but sometimes here and you know it <3) but it’s pretty fucking cool how capable this community is and our ability to unify. anyway phanmune when.

(if you want, leave your knowledge base/skills in the tags or replies. can be profession, hobby, major/program of study, what you study in your free time, what you want to learn about, what you’re interested, all of the above, anything)

[stephaniestoup-blog]

My technological history

My first memory of using technology was my family’s Dell computer that we got in 2005 when I was 7. My brother and I would play a video game called “Pajama Sam” that we both loved and would play for hours and hours. 

The computer game was about this kid who went on an adventure to find darkness. Here is the link to a YouTube video of someone playing the entire game through. I wasted way too much time watching this when I found it, so I thought I would share it with you guys: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5vte0EXhK3Y Getting to play on the computer was a privilege we got when we did chores and behaved well. Then in 2009, my family got our first Apple computer for Christmas. I remember spending many hours on Christmas morning messing around with the Photo Booth application on the computer. My family took hundreds of pictures with crazy filters that would deform our faces or insert wacky backgrounds.

 During middle school and grade school, I became fairly familiar with Apple computers because we had our family computer at home which I would use and my school also had a “computers” class we had to take using Apple computers. I learned to type, use different applications like Kid Pix, Word, PowerPoint, and the internet. I was starting to learn a new digital language. 

The next big step in my technological history was getting my first cell phone. I started out with your typical flip phone where you had to press the buttons over and over just to type a simple message. I really only used that phone to make calls, text and play games (there was some simple game like Snake or Solitaire that I would play). I eventually upgraded to a sliding phone that had a full keyboard, which at the time, was really cool. I could text a lot faster and the screen was bigger and had more graphics compared to my flip phone. At the time, I also had an iPod touch which essentially had all the capabilities of an iPhone at the time, except for making calls, data, and texting. I carried around my iPod and sliding phone everywhere I went. I really hit the jackpot in middle school when I got my first iPhone. It was the iPhone 4 which combined the technologies of my iPod with my cell phone. 

It was SUPER cool to have an iPhone in middle school and I was lucky enough to get one. Ever since then I have always had an iPhone-I am currently on the iPhone 6. In high school, every student had their own MacBook Air laptops which we used both inside and outside the classroom. Many schools in the area began to incorporate technology into the classroom. For example, at my brother’s high school, every student had their own iPad to do homework, turn in assignments, and take notes. The transition to using more technology was important because familiarizing students with different technological platforms is important for the future. During high school, I became well versed in using technology because I was using it on a daily basis between my school laptop, iPhone, and home computer. I have used those skills to help prepare me for college. I currently have a MacBook Pro that I use in college to do homework, take notes, complete assignments, take assessments with, and keep up to date with my classes. Even though I have become very proficient in using Apple products over the years, I am still learning new technological skills. Recently I downloaded Microsoft Windows onto my MacBook Pro via Parallels so I can use Windows Excel for my business classes. I had very little experience with Excel in the past so I am teaching myself how to use the program so I can excel in my business classes (no pun intended). It will be a constant race to learn new digital medias and platforms as they are always evolving at an exponential rate. Growing up in the new era of technology, I was very fortunate to be exposed to different kinds and learn the digital language. I was constantly surrounded by technology at school and home so I quickly acquired new skill sets that some of my peers were not as easily able to do. The population assumes that all Generation Z kids are well educated with technology because they grew up in a revolutionary era where the standard expectation is that each child is a “computer wizard.” Generation Z people grow up surrounded by technology and society falsely believes all of these kids will automatically strike an interest for technology and perfectly understand it. Just because children are growing up in a more technological era, does not necessarily mean they will completely adapt. 

Although many people from this cohort may have an extensive knowledge of different technologies, the same is not true for all. This misleading assumption will negatively impact anyone who does not have sufficient technical knowledge and puts them at a disadvantage in schools and job markets. The world of technology is changing every day and society has to keep up with it. I went from using a big and chunky Dell computer simply to play video games when I was 7 to using the latest MacBook Pro laptop with a dual operating system providing me with both Microsoft Windows and Apple just 12 years later. I cannot imagine what technologies we will have in the world in another 12 years. Flying cars? Robots? Hoverboards? Technology is the future and as good citizens, we need to teach young people the digital language.

[teachercast]

Bridging the Gender Gap in STEM Education

On today's episode of the TeacherCast Podcast, we take a look at the topic of the Gender Gap in STEM Education. For more information on this topic, please visit MakeWhatsNext.com.  I would like to thank Microsoft Philanthropies and Microsoft Education for helping to set this episode up.  

What if she could be the one to find the cure, crack the code, or invent something that has the potential to save lives? When we encourage girls to pursue science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), we double the potential to solve problems. If she stays in STEM, she could be the one to change the world.

Recent research shows that, on average, only 25% of tech jobs are held by women. If we really want to close the STEM gender gap, we must start early. In this conversation, join current and veteran classroom educators, who share concrete tips and best practices for encouraging girls’ interest in STEM subjects and helping them to persevere once they start down that path.

About our Guests

Tracy Immel Kennedy 

Tracy Immel Kennedy brings passion, innovation, and education experience to her role as Director of Marketing for YouthSpark, a Microsoft Philanthropies initiative focused on providing access to computer science education for youth most at risk of being left behind. Combining over 20 years of marketing experience with her passion for teaching and building human capacity, Tracy has a unique background that bridges both the public and private sector.

As a consultant, she has worked with governments, schools, NGOs, and companies to effectively integrate technology into teaching and learning. She has personally delivered professional development to over 5,000 educators, trainers, and education leaders and has been a featured presenter and blogger on the topic of building educator capacity.  At Microsoft, Tracy developed professional development opportunities for educators and created a Training Provider program that helped scale reach to hundreds of thousands of educators globally.

Today, Tracy is using her unwavering belief that all people should be valued, respected, and have the opportunity to live meaningful, productive lives to help inspire and engage young people in the opportunities that computer science education can enable.

Denise Cathryn Spence

Denise Spence has been an educator for over 22 years. She has earned her Master's degree in Curriculum and Instruction, emphasis in Instructional Technology. Over the years, Denise has earned the following IT certification credentials: CompTIA A+, CompTIA Network+, Adobe Certified Associate in Dreamweaver and Microsoft Office Specialist in Word/PowerPoint/Excel/Outlook. Her accomplishments include being selected as 1 of 3 finalists for Lee County's Teacher of the Year in 2000; she was the 1st ever Career and Technical Education Teacher of the Year for Lee County in 2006; she was named Certiport's Global Summit's Teacher of the Year for 2010. Plus, Denise was a 2011 and a 2012 finalist for the Microsoft Innovation Forum.  For her leadership in providing college and career related information technology training, Denise was asked to be a Faculty Champion for the Microsoft Imagine Cup and was selected to be an Adobe Education Leader. For her impact on the business community, Denise was selected as a finalist for the Fort Myers Greater Chamber of Commerce - Women in Business - Apex Award in 2011. Recently, she was nominated in the Education category, for The Greater Fort Myers Chamber of Commerce Celebration of Business & Tourism Chrysalis Awards 2015 & 2016 and Denise was selected as the winner of the Inaugural Southwest Florida Regional Technology Partnership Women in Technology Award for 2015.

Presently, Denise is the lead technology teacher at Dunbar High School, where she serves as the business technology department head and is the program's manager for award winning technology programs: the Academy for Technology Excellence (a Microsoft Showcase School), the Academy for Digital Excellence (an Adobe featured school program) and the Academy of Game Design and Programming Excellence. These programs have been featured both locally and internationally for how they prepare students for both college and careers. She has developed a long-term relationship with the business community by maintaining their Business Advisory Committee at Dunbar High School. Plus, Denise has trained and certified students, teachers, and administrators in a variety of Information Technology industry areas. Denise is also, an adjunct professor at Florida Gulf Coast University, and served as an adjunct professor at Hodges University.

Concurrently, Denise has presented at several state and national conferences, including repeat appearances at the Florida Educational Technology Conference, Magnet Schools of America National Conference, and a presenter for Adobe and Microsoft at various Career and Technical Education conferences around the United States.  She has even done several national and international webinars related to career and technical training in high schools. Denise collaborated with The National Career and Technical Education Foundation (NCTEF) and Microsoft Corporation’s U.S. Partners in Learning to help develop the IT Career Cluster guide for the States ”College and Career Readiness Program” series. Denise collaborated with the local YMCA to develop and host “Tech Quest, a technology enrichment summer camp. Plus, she is the founding sponsor for an all-girls computer club called GO-4-IT (Girls Opting for Information Technology), which tackles the diversity issue in the computer science fields.

Tiffany Thompson

Tiffany is an Instructional Technologist with  15+ years in the education field including experience as a classroom teacher, STEM coordinator, and intervention specialist.  After teaching first grade in Maryland, she moved to Tokyo, Japan where she gained a love for technology while completing her Master’s Degree. From there, her hands have consistently been in the “educational technology pot”. She currently consults and trains on instructional technology locally and nationally; designs and facilitates online workshops for Maryland State Department of Education; teaches a graduate level technology course at McDaniel College, and writes technology training content. She is a Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert, Surface Expert and Master Trainer.

In her many roles, Tiffany has led school initiatives as well as research to support interactive/digital and mobile learning, STEM education; written grants for digital technologies in her previous schools; planned and conducted numerous workshops for parents, educators, and students; written and developed content for online courses; and presented at local and national conferences.

Her educational background includes a Bachelor of Science degree in Early Childhood Education and an Administration and Supervision certificate from Maryland State Department of Education.

Her enthusiasm for developing 21st-century learners and innovative educators has inspired her to begin development on an app for educators. She is always willing to assist novice and veteran educators in finding new and creative ways to incorporate technology into their teaching. Her philosophy is, “To improve rigor and relevance in the classroom, teachers must become proficient and comfortable in using technology to create innovative and engaging lessons that extend students’ personal limits and potential. Using various instructional technology tools is key in advancing 21st-century skills.

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