Teacher Testimonials for Technology Literacy Challenge Fund 2001 Grant
Tennessee Department of Education

Betty Hall Testimony, Week of April 29th through May 3rd, 2002
Mt. Juliet High School, Mt. Juliet, Tennessee (Wilson County Schools)
Teacher - AP English and Honors English IV

Imagine a fresh young college graduate entering her first teaching position in September of l962.  One of her first major traumas was that frustrating hand-operated ditto machine with the purple ink that inevitably left its mark on hands, face, clothes, and sometimes on the paper where it should have been all the time.  Imagine that same teacher forty years later (with one year off in 1967-68 to pursue an MA degree).  I was that teacher.  Having mastered the old ditto machine, a newer electrically operated edition of the same machine, a more modern copier, and an improved copier that even sorted and stapled copies together, I felt that I could overcome any obstacle—except perhaps that film projector, which I never did learn to thread correctly.  I was using the overhead projector and the VCR, which I could even reconnect correctly if someone borrowed it from my room over the summer.  I had settled into an easy year-to-year routine, and things were good.  Then one day at the first inservice of a new school year, I heard a nasty rumor that every classroom would have a computer on which we would check attendance and perhaps keep grades.  Never planning to learn much about it, I had only half-heartedly attended computer inservice meetings.  The very thought of actually using a computer struck terror in me.  Last year we did keep attendance on the computer, so I learned how to turn it on, check attendance, send it to the office, and log off.  The only other times I used it were to record grades in the guidance office.  A major accomplishment was being able to do this without having a guidance counselor stand over me to make sure I did it correctly.  Other than that, I never touched the computer—except to cover it up after I checked attendance—and I did not lose my fear of it.

At the beginning of this year when I learned that our school had been awarded a TCLF Grant, I was happy for “those other teachers” but thought I would not be affected by it since I knew nothing about computers.  When I learned that we would all be expected to integrate technology into our teaching, I was absolutely terrified.  Four days of training would help, but I was afraid I could never learn.  Because my training group was not until February, I began to attend every technology inservice offered at our school.  Gradually I felt comfortable enough to try some of the things we were taught in those sessions.  My fear turned to excitement every time I accomplished something I had been unable to do previously.  I began to search the Internet for new ways to present material and to make assignments that would require my students to use the computer.  By February when my training group met, I had lost my fear and felt only excitement and a desire to learn more.  Thanks to Diane Bennett’s patience, understanding, and knowledge, help from my fellow teachers, and even encouragement and help from my students.

I feel that I have been able to increase my technology skills significantly.  I can now send e-mail, use the Internet to find almost any information I need, create PowerPoint presentations, insert pictures, create word webs, and create files of material.  Knowing that the computer can undo almost any mistake I make, I have even become brave enough to experiment with new ideas.  For someone who approached the computer with “fear and trembling” a few months ago, this is a giant step.

These new skills have impacted my students positively because I can now confidently point them to instant sources of information and make assignments that require them to use their technology skills, which far exceed mine.  They seem to enjoy doing research assignments much more than they did before I was involved in technology training, and they take delight in showing what they can do.

I know that I am not the teacher I was.  In my thirty-ninth year of teaching, I suddenly find that I can no longer be satisfied with the routine into which I had easily fallen.  The excitement of discovery drives me to turn on the computer and satisfy the urge to explore more deeply all aspects of my subject so that I can be a better teacher and help my students become more excited about learning.  That’s what technology training has done for me.  Who knows?

Perhaps my fortieth year of teaching can by my best year.

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