A Little About Me!
Hi! My name is Laura Scandariato and I am a 3rd grade teacher in the Corning- Painted Post School District in New York. I am currently in my first full time year, although I taught 3rd grade half- time for a year. Before that, I was a long- term substitute in 6th grade in Corning.
I received my Bachelor’s of Science degree from SUNY Cortland in May of 2003. I was lucky enough to get a job right out of my undergrad work. I just started taking Graduate courses this January. I am on track to finish my Masters degree in a year in a half (that is, if there are no major mishaps!).
I actually just purchased my first house in April. Can you believe it, a house before I turned 24. I am very excited about it, and it keeps me extremely BUSY!
Any hobbies or interests I had have taken a back seat to all the housework that needs to be done. I will soon start landscaping my yard (weeding and planting), painting some rooms in the house, do an overall summer cleaning, and my kitchen is in dire need of help. However, I do manage to find time to golf. I have been golfing about a year now, and I love it. I am learning a lot, and enjoying myself.
As for my knowledge of computer and technology, I would say that I am more than average. In my school in particular, my students are using the available technology more effectively than any other class. I am not claiming to be a computer genius (I assure you , I am not), but I do know a thing or two, and I do fully realize the role that computers play in the lives of students today. We have two computer lab times a week (so about 45 minutes), where I have them do things like keyboarding programs, academic leveling programs, AR tests, internet scavenger hunts, interactive games that tie in with curriculum, and teacher created word documents for assessment.
My students can search the World Wide Web, and understand most computer terminology. Our school library/ media center is really great. I take my students there at least once every three weeks for some sort of project, whether it be a research project with split page note-taking, or a writing assignment using Microsoft Word, and even creating Power Point Presentations.
In my classroom, I constantly have students come to the back of the room (where our only computer in the class is located) and view content that is related to topics we are learning about. There are amazing images and QuickTime movies out there that do a wonderful job of explaining things in a fun way!
Overall, I am on the computer a very large portion of my days. I would not live without e-mail and Internet shopping. I find it useful for research and just for fun.
*By the way, that picture is a pumpkin carved to look like me. I dont have any current digital pics at the moment.