As a premier member-based organization devoted to the use of technology in education, TCEA relies on our innovative members to make us shine. We provide the resources to encourage the thoughtful implementation of technology through webinars, events, and this blog. But it is the educators who take these ideas and use them out in the world to create student engagement and amazement.
Today, we want to turn the spotlight on one of our incredible members: Louise Morgan. Louise has been an educator for 13 years. Currently, she is an instructional technologist at STEAM Middle School in Burleson ISD in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. She manages the technology, media center, and makerspace for the school. She has presented at the Global Education Conference, several past ISTE conferences, and TCEA’s own Tots and Technology (now renamed as the Elementary Technology Conference). Louise describes herself as a global educator. She strives to “flatten my classroom walls and bring the world to my students.” She also encourages her students to find and pursue learning they are passionate about. Read on to learn more about Louise and her life-sparking creativity in middle school students.
No Such Thing as an Average Day!
For Louise, the average day is anything but. The makerspace she manages is always a flurry of activity with new creative projects constantly being produced. “As soon as we open our doors in the morning, kids flock to our makerspace to tinker, explore, and socialize. It is the hub of creativity in our school and I am thrilled to be the facilitator!” says Louise about the space.
Witnessing Sparks of Greatness
Louise working with a student in the STEAM makerspace.
Louise loves her job because it allows her to work with middle schoolers. This is an age often plagued with self doubt and self consciousness about one’s own abilities. She says one of the best things about her job is that she gets to “see their potential before they do.” She knows her students are capable of incredible things and just need to discover what ignites their interests to make them shine.
Planning for the Future of Innovation
STEAM Middle School opened three years ago, and Louise is thankful to have gotten in on the ground floor of the undertaking. According to their website, the school “provides students with courses and electives that integrate science, technology, engineering, and math content with art elements that focus on visual and graphic design.” The curriculum is far from by-the-book and instead takes a project-based approach to learning using “advanced technology in an alternative learning environment.”
Louise welcomes these alternative methods and being able to explore new ideas and strategies, saying: “As we have evolved over the past few years, it’s been fun to develop new programs and try new things.”
Tips for Other Educators?
What’s the best advice Louise can share with other educators, and particularly those operating makerspaces or technology-rich environments? “Be open to new ideas and and the changes that are occurring within the library, media, and makerspace.” She herself is always open to fresh ideas. She is an attendee at the TCEA Convention and regularly makes use of TCEA’s online community. She’s also a TCEA-certified Campus Tech Integration Specialist. Her favorite tech tool is none other than Twitter. It’s a great way to connect and share ideas with other educators and thought leaders.
I hope you enjoyed learning about Louise Morgan, one of TCEA’s many incredible members. To learn about other innovative educators transforming education, you can read some of our previous member spotlight posts here, here, and here.
Tara didn’t immediately start her career in education. Prior to beginning to teach media arts at Lanier in 2013, she spent 10 years working in television and film production in Los Angeles. When I asked Tara how she found the transition, she said it was definitely a change that “took a while to get used to.” In fact, five years later, Tara is still happily getting her bearings and enjoying the fact that teaching is a profession in which the learning never stops. As Tara describes: “Teaching is completely different. I had a lot more freedom in media production, and there are way more restrictions in teaching. Both fields are extremely rewarding, and require hard work, but they are very different environments.”