Jennifer+Freeda

** Week 1-2 **
Hi Everyone, My name is Jennifer Freeda,

I am a kindergarten teacher in Greenwich, CT. I’ve been there for 10 years and prior to that I taught preschool for many years. I have waited a very long time to FINALLY get my Master’s. The clock is ticking on my state certification so I decided on SNHU primarily because of the online aspect. I love the online format. I was surprised how many of the same people I "see" in each class. I think I have taken at least one class with every person in thsi course. I cannot imagine getting in the car to go to class at night. As a side note, since I sat down on the computer to work tonight I have quizzed one daughter on Chemistry (Democritus' theory of atoms) and reviewed a lab with my other daughter. This is not possible if I’m not home. Skiing is way more fun than studying for Chemistry. So is watching hockey...

I probably will not leave the classroom setting, I really do enjoy working directly with the students. However, I love the idea of a technology integrator. I think that this background will help me be a stronger teacher moving forward. At some point, I see myself teaching in the upper grades, possibly middle school as I think that’s a really interesting age group that many people sort of shy away from. For now, I like my little guys (people shy away from them too...)

Now for the questions, yes I think technology integration goes beyond the classroom. I see individuals using and creating with technology all of the time. It could be through social media or just having fun creating videos or stop motion shorts just to be creative. I love that my own children and their friends use this as a creative outlet.

This is a link to a video project my daughter Gabi and her friend Annie made a few years ago in middle school. Check it out. http://vimeo.com/35688461

I think society can drive technology. We are already seeing a push back from the younger kids regarding Facebook. It has been dated and that is not good. The kids will find something else, but I think (really hope) that the pendulum will swing in the other direction and people of all ages will start to realize that they have disconnected from the world because they are so “connected.”