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=Tamara Michelle Bellah=

Campus Tech Coordinator

 * Position Goal**

As a student in Lamar University’s Educational Technology Leadership program and a middle school teacher, I have a variety of opportunities to implement the knowledge and skills I’ve gained in my professional role. The assignments and activities this program provides have enabled me to broaden my ideas of what it is to teach in the 21st Century, and have instilled in me a passion for sharing the tools I’ve gathered with others. Teaching is a collaborative profession by nature, and I strive to encourage my colleagues to learn, implement, and improve technology in their content areas. Teachers love learning new tools and tricks to make their jobs more manageable and their students more successful, and I believe educational technology is the wave of the future in education. Many districts are seeing a need to hire Instructional Technologists and Directors of Technology to facilitate the integration of technology on the district, campus, and classroom levels. My goal as I continue my career in education is to become a valuable resource for teachers, in whatever form that may take. I desire to support and encourage them as they venture into Web 2.0 and other tools, and to be a resource for them as new unforeseen challenges arise.

Leadership Goal
Teaching for a district in which almost every student is considered “at-risk,” I have realized the absolute importance of student motivation as related to student achievement. In my own ELA classroom, I have witnessed students with no intrinsic motivation whatsoever become successful and achieve goals they never thought possible. One reason for this is my focus on technology the past few years. I strongly support the notion that technology is imperative for this generation of students to make the transformation from apathetic to engaged learners. Based on my students’ TAKS scores (56% Commended last year), I see technology increasing analytical thinking, problem-solving, and literacy skills. I find students excited about coming to class and eager to finish projects involving digital pictures and video and educational websites. The accomplishments my students have made encourage me to share my experiences with others, because as a teacher, there is no better feeling than watching a student grow, improve, and achieve because of the effort you both put forth. My journey as a middle school teacher and campus technology coordinator to a Master’s degree candidate has prepared me to lead students, colleagues, and eventually entire schools to greater student achievement via integration and effective use of technology. I have experience leading students in new directions, and hope to continue to grow as a teacher, leader, and administrator throughout my career.