{"id":1249,"date":"2013-11-20T13:20:14","date_gmt":"2013-11-20T13:20:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/?p=1249"},"modified":"2014-04-15T19:34:47","modified_gmt":"2014-04-15T19:34:47","slug":"compass-keepers-club-laura-howell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/compass-keepers-club-laura-howell\/","title":{"rendered":"Compass Keepers Club: Laura Howell"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"laura\"<\/a>Talking about technology makes Laura Howell downright giddy.\u00a0 From i-Pads to laptops, microblogging to Skyping, Howell\u2019s excited voice fills the classroom as she runs down the list of her favorites. And if you get her going about Twitter, she will simply squeal with delight.<\/p>\n

\u201cTwitter is my hangout,\u201d she said after a burst of\u00a0laughter. \u201cIt\u2019s like my own guilty little hash tag pleasure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Howell, the computer resource specialist at Kellam High School, can certainly give you an earful about how social media and technology has changed the way teachers teach and students learn. \u00a0She uses words like \u201ctransformative\u201d and talks about how \u2014 when used effectively\u00a0\u2014 technology can \u201chelp integrate curriculum with the pedagogy in the most amazing of ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

Technology is nothing short of her passion.\u00a0 But it wasn\u2019t always so.<\/p>\n

Howell spent the first 14 years of her career teaching Earth Science at Kellam. She used technology when she could find time to fit it in to her lessons, but was often scared to venture out too far into the ever-changing technological world.<\/p>\n

Ten years ago, however, Howell stepped into a CRS position and forever changed her outlook on the very tools that once scared her. Last year alone she attended five conferences and more than 270 webinars; all in an effort to become a resource and resident expert for the teachers around her.<\/p>\n

\u201cTechnology can be very powerful when you use it correctly, but if every time you try to use a form of technology it fails, you stop trying,\u201d Howell said. \u201cI prepare, work, study and learn because I won\u2019t suggest anything to my teachers that I don\u2019t already know how to use and how it will work in our building to the benefit of our students.\u201d<\/p>\n

That\u2019s why Howell strives to be a visible presence in her building; continuously showcasing ways that even the most timid can venture into technology and allow it to transform learning in their classrooms.<\/p>\n

Last year, Howell facilitated Kellam math students\u2019 participation in The World Education Games, an annual global online challenge designed to get students excited about learning and to give students\u00a0an opportunity to see how they measure up against the best in the world. Howell\u2019s students were part of the more than 5 million students from around the world who logged-in to compete.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s just par for the course.<\/p>\n

Instructional Technology Coordinator Kimberly Adams said Howell sets the example for others to follow.<\/p>\n

\u201cHer students are so engaged with the technology that she has introduced into their curriculum, they can hardly contain their excitement,\u201d Adams said. \u201cShe is doing absolutely wonderful things with her students.\u201d<\/p>\n

For instance, Howell once organized an online exchange with students in Poland. Kellam students traveled to Washington D.C. to visit the Holocaust Museum and came back to exchange information with Polish students who visited a similar museum in their own country; then, Howell\u2019s students Skyped with two holocaust survivors.<\/p>\n

Another time Howell\u2019s students collaborated with children in Africa, Germany and France on a project about Jamestown. Her students traveled to Jamestown, collected answers and then reported the findings back in chat sessions with their foreign-based friends.<\/p>\n

She has helped English, history and foreign language classes connect with as many as 370 countries via the Internet, talking in their target languages, comparing cultures and exchanging information.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s important to make things available that give our students the opportunity to become ready for global collaboration,\u201d Howell said. \u201cTechnology really does enable our students to bridge the cultural divide and learn that they can travel around the world and find other children just like them. It\u2019s humbling.\u201d<\/p>\n

What comes next, Howell says, only time and technology can tell. She does know though that the promise of new technology that the new Kellam High building will offer has her giggling.<\/p>\n

\u201cI might just have a bed in the school so I can eat, sleep and breathe it all in,\u201d she said. \u201cI really love technology that much.\u201d<\/p>\n

Compass Keeper Q&A:<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

What is your favorite subject?
\n<\/span><\/strong>\u201cI love using technology to enhance science lessons because science is where my heart is. But, if you tell me today we are focusing on English, I am like \u2018Bring it on!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

What do you love the most?<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/strong>\u201cI love learning new things. I feel I need to be a model of life-long learning for my teachers so they in turn can be examples of life-long learning for their students.\u201d<\/p>\n

What do you hate the most?<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/strong>\u201cI hate having my picture taken. I have actually scheduled myself to be at a conference on picture day just so I don\u2019t have to have my picture taken for the yearbook. I\u2019ve been pretty successful at avoiding having my picture in the yearbook almost every year.\u201d<\/p>\n

What is your pet peeve?<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/strong>\u201cI don\u2019t like to hear \u2018I can\u2019t\u2019 from teachers or students. Everyone has to keep an open mind and remember that at one time we all thought we couldn\u2019t do something but look where we are today.\u201d<\/p>\n

What advice would you give to others?<\/span>
\n<\/span><\/strong>\u201cEmbrace change and never be afraid to try something new, that\u2019s what learning and life are all about.\u201d<\/p>\n

*Do you know someone\u00a0who should be featured as a Compass Keeper? Send your nomination to news@vbschools.com<\/a>.<\/em> <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Talking about technology makes Laura Howell downright giddy.\u00a0 From i-Pads to laptops, microblogging to Skyping, Howell\u2019s excited voice fills the classroom as she runs down the list of her favorites. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1249","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1249","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1249"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1249\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1835,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1249\/revisions\/1835"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1249"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1249"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.vbcpsblogs.com\/core\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1249"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}