Susan Boone, Mathematics Teacher, St. Agnes Academy

"I really do feel that the vision of the CRPC and the dedication of the staff have made an impact on a vast number of educators."
I can truly say that computers have "changed my life." I was in the very first GirlTECH class. That class opened doors for me that I did not even know existed. The Internet was just beginning to become a household word and its use in the classroom was looming on what seemed some distant horizon. How time has changed in a mere five years! Once pioneers, some of those first 20 teachers in GirlTECH have become seasoned veterans of Cyberspace. I really do feel that the vision of the CRPC and the dedication of the staff have made an impact on a vast number of educators. The people who are familiar with the lessons developed and the teaching model used give new dimensions to the term "networking." It would be false to say that my life is less complicated with the advent of technology, but the richness it has provided in my chosen profession is overwhelming.

I have developed various attitudes toward technology over the last five years. I began as a mere novice. It was "fun" to have people contact me and ask my opinions on math questions. I felt that I had provided a service to math teachers by sharing lessons that I had developed. I grew. I learned. I began to share. As a master teacher for GirlTECH for three years, I have watched with awe just how much we all have learned about the Internet, how to use it in the classroom, as well as in publishing material on the web. The novelty has worn off some and the accessibility has improved. Almost anyone can have a web page, and almost every student I teach has Internet access at home. The computer is truly becoming an educational tool. The students I teach approach computers with as much ease as they would a calculator or a pen (perhaps a fancy pen). This is exciting for me as an educator. The vision that I had as a GirlTECH participant in 1995 has made it possible to provide experiences for my students that I would not otherwise have been able to do. I have enriched my curriculum with the kind of problems that provide meaningful relationships to mathematics. I think that is what teaching is all about. If I can bring life to problems and create motivation and interest in students, they will inevitably learn more mathematics. I would like to thank the CRPC for helping me become the teacher I am today.

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