Introduction
Hello Everyone!
Image Source: Personal Photo
Welcome to my first introduction blog post! Let's take this blogging journey together! My name is Maggie Stimac. I am a math teacher, daughter, sister, friend and dog mom. I am currently in my 5th year as a freshman math teacher at Victoria Soto high school. I am also a grad student at Dominican University working on my masters degree for education. I recently completed my English Second Language (ESL) endorsement and have been incorporating those skills in my classroom. I love what I do and could not be happier with the school I am at. My students are amazing and keep me young with all the latest "chisme." My students come from a Hispanic heritage and I enjoy learning about their culture and educating myself about their community.
A little bit about me- I am a dog LOVER. I always tell people I prefer dogs over humans. The photo above is me with my German shepherd, Coco. She is two years old and I consider her my child. I have her ESA (Emotional Support Animal) certified so she comes just about everywhere with me, besides work. During my summer breaks, I take Coco to my parent's house in Michigan and we do lots of outdoor activities together. The more blogs I make, I am sure the more you will learn about our adventures together.
Similar to how my teenage students talk about their personal relationships, my relationship with technology is "complicated." I like to say I am young and know about the latest technology, BUT either I am getting older or technology is changing fast. I would not consider myself bad when it comes to technology, but I also know I am no tech wizard. Just the other day, I could not get my laptop connected to the projector and ended up unintentionally wasting over 10 minutes of class time. With that being said, I have my issues when it comes to technology, but I also know more than others. For example, I use my I-pad as a tool during class and I incorporate Desmos activities into a lot of my lessons.
If you are a math teacher and do not know what Desmos is, this is me telling you that it is a MUST. Desmos is an online software that has premade or you can make your own activities that can tie into just about every math topic you can think of. It is student centered and I have noticed my students prefer this type of learning rather than the traditional worksheet. Let me know in the comments if anyone needs help creating their own account!
I use technology in and outside of the classroom. I am not a huge social media person, but I do have Snapchat, Instagram, and TikTok. I am not a big poster on these platforms, but I like to scroll through and stay up to date on the latest trends going on. In the classroom, I would like to use technology more. Like I mentioned previously, I use some, but I know I can even get more students engaged in the lessons if I used technology platforms that kept them interested. I hope to gain knowledge about these technology possibilities to help my students learn to their fullest potential.
Image Source: giphy.com
Great to meet you, Maggie. Everyone has had that moment with technology when it won't cooperate- even those in the "tech game!" The best thing to do is shrug your shoulders, admit defeat and restart (both the device and mind!). German shepards are great pups. Thanks for sharing yours with us. Looking forward to learning with you this fall.
ReplyDeleteHi Maggie! I am also a fifth year teacher and a dog mom! We are on the same track as well because I just got my ESL endorsement and am working on the tech classes. I am on track to graduate in December! I am not a math teacher, but I am curious about Desmos. Is it assignments that you can give to your students? I also recently got an IPad and would love to hear how you use it in your classroom. So far, I just plug it into my SmartBoard and mirror the screen. Thank you so much for sharing!
ReplyDeleteSo I have to admit I use social media the same way. I could spend hours on TikTok watching and sharing clips with my husband but I have yet to actually post anything on there. I post some stuff on Facebook or Instagram but it is usually my own kids or vacation pictures. I am hoping that I will be more inspired to write more posts/share more things on social media.
ReplyDeleteAlso Coco is super cute - my kids are so into dogs around the area and will stop anyone that has a dog.