Nicole Wessel – Future ELA TeacherTheatre Arts: I have been working in the theatre arts for over 15 years as a Stage Manager, Director, Actor, and Producer. I have had many opportunities to also teach both acting and technical theatre during my career. I have been pursuing my degree in English in order to teach full time as that has been the greatest reward I have received in the past 15 years of work.I have two dogs and my wonderful stepson Jamison who I love to spend time with.

Although I have enjoyed working in theatre and continue to do so as I work through school, by teaching I look forward to having my evening and weekends at home with my family. I am also excited for holidays and summertime that do not include me going into work while my family celebrates without me.

Other Things I Enjoy when I’m not busy working and in school… Golf Campi

ngMovies

Skills and Ideas for online learning

I didn’t really read/hear anything “new” in the strategies videos. I’ve been an online student for a while and I’ve also been working with many of the time/schedule management software programs throughout my career. It was good to touch back on some of the tips that I’ve forgotten to incorporate though for some time.  Break assignments into manageable pieces Set up a reward system Use checklists: I LOVE checklists

Ask your boss before using work equipment for school work This wasn’t necessarily a “new” concept to me, but I hadn’t thought to pose it as a question.

Due to the nature of my business I’m often on my own computer for work so break times I have the luxury of getting a bit of school-work in. I am in fact writing this section on my dinner break between shows.

I’ve been fortunate to also work for companies that allowed me to use the printer and network when I have needed to for school

“One sub-folder for each week of each course, using a naming convention that includes the dates of each week. For example, Wk1_Sept01-08” I DO THIS! This is a similar tip that I have tried to get people to follow over and over again.

It is especially important when you share files with a group. This is applied to both dates and numbered lists of files. A key point is to put the 0 in front of the 1 if your numbers go over 10 so that the files will show up in a list in chronological order.

21st century Skills

ELA content area skills I believe the most important 21st century skill for ELA teachers today is to

“create, critique, analyze, and evaluate multimedia texts In the new digital environment students are more often reading content from

their computers, pads, and phones. News, communication, and entertainment is presented in multimedia formats rather than simple print. It is therefore part of the ELA teacher’s instruction to help students navigate, interpret, and create content for the 21st Century

ISTE Educational Technology Standards for Teachers I think what I will most need to work on is to “Promote and model digital

citizenship and responsibility”. With the plethora of today’s social media it can be exhausting to learn how to

use and navigate the latest popular cites. Although I have stayed technically savy with programs and apps that are used in my industry and I’m able to quickly pick up new technology, I have avoided most social media. It is not something I enjoy and so my experience is limited. I understand as a teacher it will be important for me to at least be familiar and try to keep updated on the current popular cites so I can understand the needs of my students.