Welcome to this Blog!

Hi!  My name is Lisa Gibbons and this blog is dedicated to helping teachers, librarians, and other school folk integrate and use technology with students to expand learning and improve lessons. 

Work History

I currently work in Central Stickney Township for a small school district in an unincorporated area of Chicago.  Our township is 4 blocks x 8 blocks big. We are completely surrounded by the city of Chicago, but have our own school district, fire dept., park district, etc. I taught 6th, 7th, and 8th grade science for three years when I first started there, and then switched to teaching language arts. I've been in the language arts classroom for the past 14 years. But this year, I am moving (somewhat) out of the classroom. I will be teaching 8th grade language arts part-time and working part-time as an instructional coach helping other teachers in the building use our newly purchased chrome books to incorporate more technology and 21st century learning into their lessons.  

Education

I am just starting the Technology Specialist program at Dominican University as part of this new position. I have also earned an ELL Endorsement from National Louis University, my M.A. as a reading specialist from St. Xavier University, and I attended the University of Michigan where I studied Elementary Education for my undergraduate degree.

My kids at Camp Michigania-my favorite 
place on Earth Summer 2017. 
(personal photo)

Background

I was born and raised in Michigan and moved to Chicago after graduating from college. I met my husband here (although we grew up less than 5 miles away from each--crazy small world!) and we lived in the city for many years until our kids reached school age. We moved to the western suburbs of Chicago about with our kids who are now in elementary school. 

 About Me

Our annual Thanksgiving Turkey trot.
Last Thanksgiving our kids were big
enough to join the race. (personal photo)

I love to read and travel. I also enjoy running--but not quite as much as reading and traveling.  I read a ridiculous number of YA books.  I say it's for my job, but truly I just really like YA.  I also really enjoy historical fiction, and honestly read just about every genre out there.  My family definitely takes advantage of my summers off! We have a summer family road trip tradition. This past year, we drove to Yellowstone National Park and Grand Teton National Park. We saw five states and seven National Parks/Historic Monuments along the way. It was some of the most beautiful scenery. My new travel goal is to see most, maybe even all, of our National Parks. So far, I have made it to only eight out of fifty-eight. So it's an ambitious goal.

My husband and kiddos in Yellowstone
National Park on our family road trip.
(personal photo)

I am always excited to learn about new technologies that I can bring to my students and the other teachers in my building that engage kids in learning. Our district went one-to-one last year for our middle school students and having access to that kind of technology has made teaching much easier, but also much harder. Access to materials and new, interesting ways to teach things has helped some students stay more engaged, but it also means rethinking lessons, researching new websites, apps, and extensions, and always keeping in mind the "why of doing something." Technology for better learning, not technology for the sake of technology.