My name is Nicole Olcese and I am originally from Pittsburgh (Go Steelers! anyone?). I move around a lot, but have lived mostly on the east coast: Syracuse, NY; Chapel Hill, NC; Fort Myers, FL; Brooklyn, NY; Carbondale, PA, and now State College. Before returning to the realm of academia full-time, I was an English/writing teacher for middle, secondary, and college students. I’ve worked at schools in New York City and Pennsylvania.
Something interesting about me is that I am a (very) novice belly dancer. My other interests include cooking, snowboarding, and my dog, Dood. I also love music. My husband, Jason, is a musician, so I guess I would also say that I’m a singer-songwriter groupie. I also used to write concert reviews for a newspaper in North Carolina.
I am taking this class because I am interested in studying technology in the English classroom and in teacher education. One area that I’d like to research is technology funding programs (implementation, professional development associated with, etc). I’ve worked at schools that have been recipients of grants from the Gates Foundation and Classrooms for the Future. I am also interested in pedagogical implications of digital technology. Lately, I’ve focused on social networking tools for classroom use. I submitted a proposal for this year’s SITE conference on social networking and teacher education, focusing on the Ning platform.
I am fairly comfortable using technology and have always used available digital technologies in my curricula. As an English teacher and former print journalist, I am still diametrically opposed to the Kindle. That might change in the near future, but I haven’t been able to kick the feeling of a “real” book spine in my hand. That said, I think it is important for educators to embrace technology in the classroom for our 21st century learners. I see it as a major motivator and enabler of imagination. Some of the best units I ever taught resulted in projects like iMovies and podcasts. Some of the best classroom communities I’ve seen grow have been through wikis or blogs. I had the opportunity to see Will Richardson give a talk where he described the importance of technology in the classroom. He said that if we don’t try to incorporate into our classrooms the technologies that our students have access to in the “outside world”, we stand the chance of losing them altogether. I agree, but think technology should be used to enhance a curriculum in a meaningful way. There are some times when a real life class discussion works just as well.