We’re back with more EdTech success stories to share through our Eduporium Featured Educator series. The latest educator we connected with is Tricia Louis, a tech integration specialist with the Richland School District in Wisconsin. Tricia has worked with a number of EdTech tools and given the students she coaches a ton of positive experiences. We’re excited to share Tricia’s story and hopefully inspire more educators to take chances in the classroom and unlock new learning opportunities with technology!
Tricia Louis
District Technology Integration Professional, Richland School District (WI)
Q&A:
Please share any innovative EdTech project(s) you've completed as an educator with your students or plan to complete.
I have worked throughout the district bringing EdTech tools like Bee-Bots, Ozobots, augmented reality, Sphero, 3Doodler pens, stop motion animation, and many more into the fold for students to use. We had a project started in which we were going to make a tactile puzzle of the US in a fifth-grade classroom and share it with students in a second-grade classroom and, in particular, with a student who has low vision capabilities. As an educator, I'm lucky to have a great group of staff and students to work with. They're always looking to add new things into the curriculum and to provide students with new experiences.
What is a challenge you faced or are facing with your EdTech use? What resources did you use or are in need of?
I am lucky to have district level support with the implementation of devices across our schools. Each student has their own device, so, when I bring other things in (like the Sphero or Ozobot), we don't have to worry about having enough devices. I am, however, always in search of additional funding opportunities like grants and other programs. As it stands right now, our biggest challenge is not having a "real" classroom to use in working with students, which is understandably a big issue for any educator.
While our school was closed for the remainder of the year, we were at least still in contact with students. But, we'd have done more if we had that connection and they could work with EdTech and each other!
As an educator are some of the real-world skills you've seen your students develop through regular EdTech use?
I really like to have the students work TOGETHER when we are doing any type of tech integration. Teamwork and problem-solving skills are at the top of my list and the tech that I use is a gateway for students to use and develop those soft skills while they are learning about new technologies.
What interests you most about Eduporium as a STEM educator?
It is a great "one-stop shop" to be able to purchase and learn about new things in EdTech! The site is easy to navigate and I know I'm going to get quality products at a good price!
We sincerely appreciate Tricia sharing her thoughts and experiences with us and also for inspiring students and educators. Be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more updates on the great things educators do with EdTech. Also, if you’d like to apply to be highlighted on our blog and social media channels as an Eduporium Featured Educator, we’d love to have you fill out the application!