Hello! Welcome to my First Blog Post!

With all the advancements in technology and my interest in finding all the latest tools to use in my personal and professional life, it is hard to believe this is my first blog post! Please bear with me as I try to figure it all out as I embark on this new journey. I was asked to create this blog as a part of a graduate course I'm taking to complete my Master's Degree, and I'm excited to figure out what this has to offer.

 

I'll start by sharing a little bit about myself, my family, and my profession. My name is Mandy Derfler. I am a mom of 3 - one human child and two doggie children. My daughter, Madison, turned 6 in September and is in her first year of kindergarten. She is such a sweetheart and my Mini-Me. She plays soccer, basketball, and T-ball, and just joined the Girl Scouts. 

I also have two Boston Terriers. Duke is named after the best sports team in the world - the Duke Blue Devils! He is 11 years old. We recently got Mackenzie, who is almost 7 months old and is a little spitfire. 

My husband, Kevin, and I have been married for 11 years. He works at a dairy factory and enjoys buying and selling antiques on the side.


Personally, I am a sports fanatic, and enjoy watching football, basketball, and baseball. I used to play basketball in high school and college before tearing my ACL. I now run almost every day to stay fit. Besides spending time with my family and dogs, I enjoy reading. It's a great escape from some of life's daily struggles. And yes, I am probably the most obsessive, loyal Duke fan in the country. I've been following Coach K and those boys in blue since I was 11 years old when the likes of Bobby Hurley and Christian Laettner graced the hardwood at Cameron Indoor.

Professionally, I am a special education teacher at Cocalico School District. I teach 7th and 8th grade Direct Instruction Writing. I have taught at Cocalico since 2002 after working in the Lower Dauphin School District for one year after graduation. I am currently on sabbatical and am enjoying every minute of it. I needed this time to refresh and regroup, spend time just being a mom, and pursue my Master's Degree. 

I hope to use this blog to share various ways to incorporate technology, understand how to overcome some of the struggles with using technology in the classroom, and explore how technology can make an impact in my classroom.

To close this first post, I wanted to share one of my favorite educational blogs. Edutopia has some great insights about technology and many other school-related issues.
Here's a link to their Technology section: http://www.edutopia.org/technology-integration

See you soon!
~Mandy