Get to Know Rachel Tucker
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Since graduating from UWG in '04, 8th grade English and coaching (fastpitch and soccer) have been my professional focus. I have practiced my craft at Bay Springs Middle School since 2006 and would like to learn ways to teach my students to use technology as a learning aid, and not just for entertainment. BrainPop, Prezi, Powtoon, Youtube, and Flocabulary are the links I use the most to add some punch to my lessons because they have been around for a little while and have well-developed materials available on them.
Most of my students have smart phones. Already we photograph notes projected on the Promethean Board and written in our journals to use for study guides. We upload photos to illustrate PowerPoint projects, and snap pictures of the notes in other student journals to catch up on missing notes too. Using our phones, we take advantage of apps such as Spelling City, Photo Booth and Pic Stitch to enhance photos to go with a theme and to create comparisons. I love Printicular especially because I can push photos from my Iphone6 to Walgreens and posters are printed before I can drive there, and for only $7! I love to see a student's face light up with joy when they see something of theirs printed on a 16 x 20 poster with their permission and displayed in the classroom.
In my classroom, I currently have 15 mini laptops that I have hoarded from other teachers who did not want them (I am working on locating 15 more). The computer admin set them up for “deep freeze” at 5 pm every day, so saving programs, or anything for that matter, in them is not an option. All of my students have been taught to use their Google accounts to create Symbaloo pages that go along with my lessons. I am interested in creating accessible online, standards-based lessons that my students can interact with in my classroom and at home. Google Classroom seems ideal, but I do not want the lessons to be too bland; I want them to be colorful and exciting like my students, so I am incorporating a variety of new multimedia devices into my curriculum. This website has a sampling of my favorites.
On a personal note:
I grew up in the little town of Pinson Valley located north of Birmingham, Alabama. My husband of 28+ years is my best friend; we met at Auburn University. He and I coach together, travel a lot, and chase after our daughters. We have two daughters, one who is seeking a master’s degree in Aquatics Sciences at Auburn University and the other a doctorate in Physical Therapy at Elon University. We have 3 cats because if you already have two, you might as well have three.
Most of my students have smart phones. Already we photograph notes projected on the Promethean Board and written in our journals to use for study guides. We upload photos to illustrate PowerPoint projects, and snap pictures of the notes in other student journals to catch up on missing notes too. Using our phones, we take advantage of apps such as Spelling City, Photo Booth and Pic Stitch to enhance photos to go with a theme and to create comparisons. I love Printicular especially because I can push photos from my Iphone6 to Walgreens and posters are printed before I can drive there, and for only $7! I love to see a student's face light up with joy when they see something of theirs printed on a 16 x 20 poster with their permission and displayed in the classroom.
In my classroom, I currently have 15 mini laptops that I have hoarded from other teachers who did not want them (I am working on locating 15 more). The computer admin set them up for “deep freeze” at 5 pm every day, so saving programs, or anything for that matter, in them is not an option. All of my students have been taught to use their Google accounts to create Symbaloo pages that go along with my lessons. I am interested in creating accessible online, standards-based lessons that my students can interact with in my classroom and at home. Google Classroom seems ideal, but I do not want the lessons to be too bland; I want them to be colorful and exciting like my students, so I am incorporating a variety of new multimedia devices into my curriculum. This website has a sampling of my favorites.
On a personal note:
I grew up in the little town of Pinson Valley located north of Birmingham, Alabama. My husband of 28+ years is my best friend; we met at Auburn University. He and I coach together, travel a lot, and chase after our daughters. We have two daughters, one who is seeking a master’s degree in Aquatics Sciences at Auburn University and the other a doctorate in Physical Therapy at Elon University. We have 3 cats because if you already have two, you might as well have three.