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Introduction-EDUC 5333




My name is Katrina Lifer and I am a 2nd grade teacher and Instructional Technology Coach in small town Altus, OK.  I started my teaching career in 2009 as a teacher's aide and quickly realized how much I wanted to have my own classroom. I have been teaching 2nd grade for the past 4 years and served as an Instructional Technology Coach for the past 2 years.     

I have been married to my husband for almost 21 years. We were set up on a date by my best friend during my senior year of high school and have been together ever since. Together we have 4 children (20,17,10, and 6). Our 20 year old is leaving for the United States Air Force in January 2025. Our 17 year old is in her senior year of high school and will be going to Spain in August 2025 to play soccer for an academy in Castellon de la Plana. We love to spend time together by going camping,  hiking or traveling to new places. 

When I first started to read this assignment I was very much confused by what story to tell, but after the readings for this week I have a better understanding of what I need to do to complete this course. Some ideas that I have for my story include talking about the process of adopting my youngest two children, although after last night's Zoom meeting I am starting to think that it is not quite time to tell that story since my boys are still so young and wouldn't be able to be an active part of the process. Another idea that I have is that being only 17 when I got pregnant with my oldest child, I had to make a lot of decisions about my life through those early years. I dropped out of high school and got my GED and now here I am getting my Master's degree, so telling the story of working through adversity to get what and where you want to get in life is another idea I have. My last idea is to tell about my health/fitness journey over the last few years. Being a young mom, it was easy to give up on myself and gain a ton of weight and be unhealthy. Through the process of adopting my youngest two children I decided that I needed to be sure to take care of myself as well. 

I hope as we continue to explore the process of digital storytelling I can narrow down my choices and decide what story to tell. The Digital Storytelling Cookbook was the most helpful reading this week when it came to figuring out what it meant to tell my story. It gave me the most ideas for discovering where to move forward with this project. Depending on what story I choose, I think that it will resonate best with my coworkers. If I choose the adoption story it could be utilized by colleagues as way to help them see the other side of things. We don't always know what is going on in someone's life and finding a way to reach them can be challenging. If I choose the story of myself, I could use it with high school students or even speaking to students at the alternative education program on how their life is what they make of it. Finally, if I choose the journey of my own health and wellbeing  it could be used with my school's Wellness Wednesday program. In my district we have a committee that tries to find ways to help teachers and staff take care of themselves throughout the year-physically and mentally. We have speakers as well as organized fitness activities and my story could fit right in with one of our activities. 


References

Lambert, J. (2010). Digital Storytelling Cookbook. Center for Digital Story Telling. Open Education Resource. (Chapter 1)

Comments

  1. Kyle GreenOctober 20, 2024 at 8:19 AM

    Hi Katrina, It sounds like you have so many different personal stories to choose from, that can inspire and connect with audiences! You overcame adversity as a young mother and went on to get an education - that is definitely something to be proud of, and is something that can resonate with students and peers! I also really appreciate that you care about how your stories might help others - through adoption insights, perseverance or self-care. I'm excited to see which story you ultimately choose, and how you'll decide to bring your story to life!

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