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 * Susan Stevens**

I teach at the Birdville Center of Technology and Advanced Learning.

[|Birdville Center of Technology and Advanced Learning]
7020 Mid-Cities Boulevard North Richland Hills, TX 76180 817-547-3889 office susan.stevens@birdvilleschools.net [|Birdville Independent School District]



**And now, a little about me...** I am married to Bob and have two grown children. Elizabeth is a Speech Pathologist and Bobby who will graduate from UNT in the spring of 2013 with a double major in Spanish and Film.

I graduated from Oklahoma State University with a Bachelor of Science in Home Economics. You might say my heroes have always been Cowboys...both Dallas and OSU. I recently completed my Masters of Education in Instructional Media through Wilkes University and Discovery Education. It proves you can teach an old dog new tricks.

I spent over twenty years in the "business" world where I worked as an account manager for a major watch manufacturer (Seiko) for eleven of those years. My expertise was training, sales, marketing and merchandising. I spent most of my time either on an airplane or in a buyers office. It was a great experience, but as my kids got older, I didn't want to travel as much as I had been. 9-11 happened and I changed my priorities as many people did. I had always wanted to teach but I didn't want to go back to college. After completing an alternative certification program, I started teaching family and consumer sciences classes which fall under the umbrella of career and technical education. I have loved every minute of teaching. It is so rewarding and I never dreamed that I would be so well suited for the classroom. As a lifelong learner, I share my love of learning new things with my students and I hope I instill my inquisitive nature in them. The best thing about teaching is knowing you have made a difference in a young person's life. The worst thing about teaching is all of the bureaucracy with funding that is happening with our schools right now. Funding, testing, accountability, no one wants to take the blame.

In August, 2012, I will begin my ninth year of teaching and my fifth year in BISD. Four years ago, I moved to the new Birdville Center of Technology and Advanced Learning. It is a wonderful place. Very "unschool" like. I feel very lucky to be part of the staff at BCTAL. We have beautiful facilities and up to the minute technology. Being in this environment made me want to know more about instructional technology and how to use web 2.0 tools in a meaningful way. I had always had a better than average working knowledge of technology, but I decided I wanted to "ramp" it up a notch.

Currently, I am teaching what I feel is the best course in the district. Education and Training. I have taught this class in one form or another for eight years. It is an internship based class for students who desire to major in education in college. Students who take this class will have a hands on classroom experience much like they might receive in a college environment. Students may take the internship class for up to two years. The first year is called I**nstructional Practices in Education and Training** and the second year is called **Practicum in Education and Training.** After taking this class, students have a real leg up in college education programs. College professors have told us that students who have completed these programs are more professional and prepared for the classroom than students who didn't have the classes in high school. **Human Growth and Development** is a class that focuses on human development over the lifespan. It features physical, social, emotional and intellectual aspects of development.

My hobbies and interests are hanging out with my family, traveling, reading, cooking and technology. I recently remodeled my kitchen and put in a gas cooktop range and granite countertops. I love to try new recipes even though I never really follow them. I am good at improvisational cooking and I love to take cooking classes. I love to travel, read, and plan to take up yoga! My favorite television shows are American Idol, Glee, Modern Family and Mad Men. I love movies and some of my favorites are: Forest Gump, Terms of Endearment, The Kings Speech and The Fighter. All are incredible "stories". I also love dogs and horses.

Please click on the links on the left side of this wiki to see some of the things I have either done in my graduate program or as class projects. I use technology daily in my classroom instruction. I believe I am teaching a generation of new teachers and they MUST know how to use technology instructionally!

 Susan