Class Introduction for CEP 810

Hello!
My name is Catie Barber. I am a traveller, a mom, a teacher, a wife, a beach comber, a book devourer and a bike rider. My number one priorities are my husband Scott (a HS English Teacher) and my three and a half year old son, Brodi. We currently live in Warsaw, Poland and teach at the American School of Warsaw. We have been teaching internationally going on 10 years now and we love the life style. Brodi is an international boy, we adopted him when he was 7 months from Ethiopia and he has fit right in since that first moment together.
I started out teaching English in the Peace Corps in Thailand after college. When I returned to the states I got my Masters in teaching at UC Santa Cruz and then taught recycling after writing a grant for Whatcom county in Washington. I was known then as the “recycling lady”! Soon after my husband got his teaching degree we taught in California one year and then moved over to Brent International School in Subic Bay Philippines. After a couple of wonderful years there we switched to teaching in Nicaragua at the American school and two years later found ourselves in Dubai at the American School there! We stayed 4 years in Dubai... Now we are in Europe and we LOVE it! We have loved all the countries and schools, it has been a great ride so far!!
I learn best through communication. People! I love talking, and teaching and figuring out what makes people tick. I would say hands on for me is also a great way to learn which is why i love tech so much. I love new programs and figuring them out, there is nothing like experiencing things like that for the first time!
I have wanted to be a tech integrator for a long time, my chance finally came in Dubai when i had been integrating like crazy and the principal noticed and offered me the job as one of the IT teachers for grades K, 3 and 4. There was a big learning curve, but I managed to teach both in a lab setting and get out and help the teachers integrate with their SMART boards, or bring the lap top carts in for some in class experiences. When I moved to Poland, one of the big attractions for this job was the fact that they were starting a one to one program in Grade 5, and I would be there to help from day one.
Last year was a little more rough, but I have been slowly getting many more units integrated and the lap tops are coming out daily. I have just finished integrating our entire literature circle unit that now uses blogging as it’s center piece. We also did “A Day in the Life” video project that turned out well, but there was lots of room for improvement as it was my first time really teaching video.
I am excited to start the program and hope to be a candidate next year for the tech integrator position that may open up here at American School of Warsaw!
Catie Barber