Bio Sketch

Teacher Librarian for Southeast Polk Senior High School
Location: Pleasant Hill, Iowa US

2005 - Recipient of a Glass Apple Award  for
Outstanding Service as Teacher Librarian
by IA First Lady Christie Vilsack,

I have been a K-12 teacher librarian in the Southeast Polk Community Schools for thirteen years, with the past five years  in the high school. The job is rewarding and challenging.  I work with 1800 students of all  abilitities and interests.

Being a teacher in the high school is rewarding as I watch students grow over four years. They blossom from being questioning freshmen into being mature seniors, ready to graduate and move on to adulthood.  In the library, interested teens excel in student leadership skills related to library management and technology! I often urge them to pursue a career in library services and half jokingly tell them  I'm reserving their spot to take my position, six to eight years or so down the road, after their college training!

My job is challenging as  literacy skills demand greater and greater knowledge of new technologies, emerging daily. Watching the rapid growth of the Internet since the introduction of WWW around 1995  has been fascinating. Each year offers new opportunities for  global use and value to our world.

In the classroom, I enjoy the potential and challenge of using Web 2.0 tools personally and with students! I try to keep an even balance of promoting reading and books and encouraging students and staff to experiment with blogs, wikis and podcasting!

It is with great joy that I am participating in the Flat Classroom Project 2008 as an international judge! I am learning right along with the teachers and students! I enjoy teaching learners how to effectively travel down Literacy Avenue in the WWW! Hop on board. Keyword search Flat Classroom Project 2008 and enjoy the reading, thinking, and problem solving!

Personal Learning Network (PLN): 


Updated: 2008