Introduction

Hello, my name is Rebecca Rivan. I have been teaching high school math for 17 years. I began integrating graphing calculator technology into my instruction during my first year of teaching. I developed an interest in learning about new graphing calculators and computer algebra systems and attended summer workshops to learn more. I became a resource for other teachers in my department and led sessions during Institute Days to train other math teachers. This role expanded when my District instituted a program which gave teachers a computer in exchange for attending 72 hours of training. I became one of the trainers and taught sessions in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc. Several years later, a position opened up to become a technology staff developer during two periods of release time each day. I have held this position for six years.
Our class defined technology integration in the following way: Technology Integration is seamlessly incorporating multimedia and other innovative tools to enhance the teaching and learning of subject matter. This could be my job description. Each week I provide training sessions for teachers to attend during their planning periods. The purpose of these training sessions is to empower teachers to utilize current tools more fully and explore new tools more confidently. In the beginning there were only two technology coaches, and now we have seven. A tablet PC program began three years ago with 25 teachers and has been growing ever since. This tool has been integral to technology integration at Lyons Township High School.