Catie+B.

Hello! I am Catie Bowman, a fifth year 7th grade reading/ELA teacher at Northeast Middle School in Bethlehem, PA. Just like any job, it has its challenges... but I really do love what I do!

Unfortunately for Adam, who is afraid of people from New Jersey, I was born and raised (and still reside) in Phillipsburg, NJ. I had known since kindergarten that I wanted to be a teacher, so when it came time for college //what// I wanted to do wasn't the problem... It was //where// I wanted to do it! I had a very tough decision between Moravian College and The College of New Jersey, and ultimately picked Moravian. I am so happy with my decision! I majored in English and concentrated in elementary education. Their education program is amazing, and provided me many different classroom opportunities. Since I already had an English degree, I took the Praxis for mid-level English as well as the elementary tests, and that is what led me to my job in 7th grade.

At Northeast I am an assistant coach for the girls' softball team. I played softball from elementary school through high school and also started playing slow-pitch softball last summer in a women's league in Easton, PA. I had a blast! I love sports of all kinds - particularly baseball and the Atlanta Braves - but I'll watch any game. I also love traveling, the beach, my cat, and my family. Speaking of family, I'll be adding some new family soon... I recently got engaged! My fiance Justin and I are getting married June 15, 2013. Even though it's just getting started, I am having a blast planning everything!

I've taken more Gratz/RTC classes than I can count (I did the Masters program, wrote the thesis, and then kept going to get to my +45 as soon as possible) and I have loved almost all of them. I'm looking forward to learning how to use Wikis and the other tools in this course! =)

First weekend: ** 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 **

1) Google Docs 2) Wordle 3) Wikis 4) Blogs 5) TeacherTube
 * 5 ** **new technologies to try:**

1) Google Docs 2) Wordle 3) Zamzar 4) The principles of UDL
 * 4 ** **ideas to share with others:**

**3** **principles of Universal Design for Learning:** 1) Representation 2) Action and Expression 3) Engagement

**2** **changes in your teaching to reach all learners in the Digital Age:** 1) Incorporate more varied uses of technology (not only using the internet for research, or not only the computer for word processing) 2) Allow students use digital media more often as methods of assessment

**1** **BIG idea to implement “on Monday”:** 1) Have students do joint writing pieces on GoogleDocs

Second weekend: ** 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 **

1) Skype 2) Using the "comment" feature on word processing documents 3) Sync.in 4) Tagxedo 5) Wallwisher
 * 5 ** **new technologies to try:**

1) bubbl.us 2) Kids Click 3) Giggle Poetry 4) Qwiki
 * 4 ** **ideas to share with others:**

**3** **principles of Universal Design for Learning:** 1) Representation 2) Action and Expression 3) Engagement

**2** **changes in your teaching to reach all learners in the Digital Age:** 1) Provide more visual/audio/kinesthetic lessons. 2) Create digital media-based assessments for students.

**1** **BIG idea to implement “ASAP”:** 1) Have students use Wordle or Tagxedo with an essay they wrote this year to examine their word choice and writing tendencies.