Voice and Choice with CBE of the Month Shana White
Posted by cemignano on
We’re a week into September which means school is back in session and we have a new Certified BrainPOP Educator of the month! We’re thrilled to introduce you to Shana White from Lawrenceville, Georgia. Read on to learn about Shana’s experience as a Health and PE teacher and her current role as a technology coordinator.
What grade(s) do you teach? Subject area?
I currently serve as a technology coordinator at Creekland Middle School in Lawrenceville, Georgia. I’ve taught health and physical education at all levels (K-12); most recently at the middle school level for four years prior to becoming technology coordinator.
How long have you been teaching?
I was a classroom teacher for 10 years. This is my 2nd year as a technology coordinator, so a total of 12 years as an educator.
What inspired you to go into education?
I actually did not want to be a teacher, even though my mother and grandmother were both educators for 30+ years. Luckily during undergrad, a few of my professors commented that they thought my demeanor wasn’t suited for physical therapy (which was my intended career path), but instead I would be a good teacher and coach. Taking their feedback, I started volunteering as a basketball coach during my junior year at a local high school. I realized I was blessed with the ability to relate, understand, and help those student-athletes as well as had a keen interest in seeing them be successful. I ended up getting my masters degree in Physical Education and stopped fighting against the the career that God wanted for me. 🙂
Which CBE class were you a part of? What do you like about being a CBE?
I was a member of the first online CBE class in October 2015. I love being a part of a community of educators from all over the country who are passionate and genuinely love working with students.
What is one of the most memorable projects you’ve done with your class using BrainPOP resources?
During my time as a health teacher, the nutrition unit tools were a great primer for my middle school students. I used the video, quiz, Sortify, and Related Reading tools to introduce the nutrition unit to my students and help them better understand the vocabulary/content before starting their project. After building a base of nutrition knowledge, my students completed a fun nutritionist project where they assumed the role of registered dietitians. Their job was to help fictitious patients with their food selections from a variety of restaurants and justify their choices. It was great to see students able to rely on their prior knowledge gained from the BrainPOP resources to discuss ideas with fellow classmates and complete their projects.
How has BrainPOP impacted a specific student (or group of students)?
My 6th grade students loved using BrainPOP resources. When I was in the classroom, BrainPOP always got my students excited about the upcoming unit in my classes. As a technology coordinator it has been great to have my school better utilize our account and the variety of tools it offers to help personalize learning for our students.
How has becoming a CBE impacted you?
It has been wonderful to join a community of passionate educators who care about providing awesome learning experiences for all. It has also been awesome to be involved with an educational technology company who really listens to educators and wants to make their products better for all classrooms and students.
What are you most passionate about when it comes to education, technology, and your approaches to teaching?
I’m very passionate about purposefully disrupting the status quo and seeing all students receive a chance to experience success. I work in my pocket of influence to make things better for all students and provide them opportunities and experiences that they might not otherwise receive. Although I’m a major introvert, I passionately speak out against doing things like we’ve always done in my school and in education because we can always do better.
What’s on your BrainPOP wish list?
I would love to see additional students who are diverse answering questions with Tim. Maybe a girl and a student of color. I would also love to see augmented reality or virtual reality somehow integrated into BrainPOP tools, possibly into Sortify.
