ABOUT ED+TECH+TEACH
ED+TECH+TEACH grew out of my desire to share my passion for educational technology and teaching. ED+TEACH+TEACH is currently home to the E+T+T Toolbox, with plans to expland to ED+TECH+TEACH Courses, ED+TECH+TEACH Programs.
The ED+TECH+TEACH Toolbox is designed to connect educators with 1:1 tools so they can craft meaningful learning experiences. I aim not only to share high quality tools, but also to share implementation best practices and ideas, so you can put them to work easily and seamlessly. Whether teaching virtually, in a blended environment,
ABOUT THE EDUCATOR
Jessie Crandall, M.Ed
Educator & Creator
I became an educator in 2009, and over the years, I have worn a number of titles including non-profit program manager, teacher, instructional technology specialist and coach, Dean of Instruction, and Director of Academics. A passion for 1:1 (one laptop: one student) teaching and learning has been the common denominator over my career, and I've tuaght or led in a high school 1:1 environment since 2013.
I studied architecture in undergrad, and fell in love with the design process. Simply put, I loved designing meaningful experiences; the texture of materials, the hight of the ceilings, the flow of spaces - they were designed to evoke emotion. As I reached the third year of college and learned more about the indistry, I knew the real world realities of life as an architect weren't for me, so I joined WorldTeach, graduated, packed 2 suitcases, and moved 4,000 miles away to start my teaching career, and, again, I loved designing meaninful experiences. The activities, the class culture, the classroom - I could design them to evoke emotion and invest students in the learning. Thus, I became motived by design and I was fueled by the opportunity to create meaningful learning experiences every single day.
My why runs much deeper than surface level curriculum and lesson design. When I moved 4,000 miles away, I landed in American Samoa, a tiny group of islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. The island's foundation is rooted in a communal family structure that celebrates rich, traditional polynesian culture, and, at the same time, the territory (like most countries) was grappling with social, economic, and political issues. Domestic abuse and alcoholism were common, corruption was baked into politics, the treatmeant of the Phillopino community was unacceptable, 30% of the country had diabetes, and the healthcare system was incredibly poor. Because all of these issues take place on a 56 sqare-mile ilsand with 60,000 people, the issues are present, felt and seen everyday. My students felt the weight of these issues and wanted to protect their traditional way of life while improving the conditions around them. I felt like my classroom could be a place to grapple with problem solving, to amplify their voices, and to give them the skills they needed to make the country the wanted and deserved. I was a first and second year educator, so I know I didn't have the skills to fully realize my goal, and I'm sure I made daily missteps, but the experience set the course for my career. In my hometown of Houston, Texas, I've worked exclusively at Title I schools in underserved communities. I teach, I lead, and I share so that students can choose their path and create the change they want to see in the world. While I'm still an instructional leader by day, I'm setting up this space on the web by night, because my why is still the same. I hope ED+TECH+TEACH can play a small part in helping you achive your why.
I believe....
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black lives matter.
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love is love.
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science is real.
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education deserves to be funded.
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excessive state testing is not the answer.
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teachers are highly skilled professionals and desrved to be paid and thought of as such.
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we ask teachers to do to much in too little time.
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classroom academics and culture go hand and hand. You cannot have one without the other.
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black and brown students have been affected by systemic and individual forms of racism and oppression. We have to be actively anti-racist to dismantel these systems and beliefs.
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every student deserves an education that meets their unique individual needs.
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educational technology and 1:1 programs can create limitless possibilities to help us reach all learners.
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our students are the future. period.