Becoming @TannenbaumTech #FCPSsbts @Sangster_ES
Hi, I'm Debbie Tannenbaum and I am a School Based Technology Specialist in Fairfax County, Virginia. I am in my third year in this position and my twenty-first year in education. This is an exciting and innovative position and I love it! As you can see, I love learning and have a growth mindset. I love helping students and teachers use technology as a tool for creation to activate and amplify student learning.
Although I am a Google gal (Level 1 and 2 Google.Edu Certified), there are many tools I use on a regular basis. I believe it is more important to use tools that match the instructional aims and provide an opportunity for students to stretch their learning in new ways. Sometimes, that means using @edPuzzle or @Flipgrid to achieve that purpose. Other times, my new favorite program, #Wixie is the answer.
It all depends on the learning outcomes.
I have always loved using technology. I got my Masters in Educational Technology from Johns Hopkins University back in 2002. (Wow, a lot has changed since then!) As technology tools changed, I continued using technology to enhance student learning. Before becoming a Technology Specialist, I was a classroom teacher (mostly 4th and 5th grades) for 19 years after graduating from University of Maryland, College Park (Go Terps!). Most of my teaching career, I taught in Montgomery County Public Schools.
In the fall of 2017, I began working in Fairfax County Public Schools. My principal @tchrwithatitle encouraged us to join Twitter. Through my experiences with Twitter, I built an amazing #PLN and that lead me to my current position as a Technology Specialist- my dream job! I love my job. I still get to work with students and share amazing technology tools with them to help them learn, Plus, I get to work with teachers and other staff to help them discover the opportunity technology can provide them and their students.
In addition to my "day job," I blog regularly and my website recently celebrated its second birthday. I am very excited to share that my writing will be published in the spring of 2021. My first book, TRANSFORM: Techy Notes To Make Learning Sticky, will be the inaugural book for Road to Awesome, LLC.
Outside of school, I have 4 teenagers. One of my sons attends WVU- Go Mountaineers, while the other son is working. Both of my girls are in high school. I have an amazing and supportive husband and my sweet dog, Brisket. I am also a runner and ran my second half marathon in May 2019- the National Women's Half in Washington, DC.