A Little Slice of Me

My name is Robert Weaver, affectionately known as "Bob" - yes, that little red and white thing that's attached to your fishing line.

I started working in education while still in high school.  I worked under the supervision of the SBTS (School-Based Technology Specialist) and T-Spec (Technology Specialist) at my high school for 3 years.  I got to see a good mix of technical and instructional strategies.  I even got the chance at a leadership role as the student member of the Technology Committee.  In the summer of 2001, we received our first mobile lab, which I cloned, and configured.  Then the technology committee met and we developed guidelines for use, reporting problems, security and training for staff (most of whom had never used a laptop extensively).  As a student, I actually assisted with the professional development with teachers and was able to teach portions of some of the sessions.

Upon graduating, I pursued my BSBA in Accounting and Information Systems at Appalachian State University.  My very first semester I took two classes that immediately changed my life.  One was Introduction to Leadership, the other was Social Issues and Social Change.  These classes were taught by a group of 3 professors who planned their entire curriculum together so that they could provide authentic problems and authentic assessments all while immersing us in the Boone, NC community I still refer to as "home."

While at Appalachian, I spent my time volunteering at a local women's shelter as part of the Maintenance Team.  We planned yard maintenance, semi-annual cleanups, gardens, interior projects - one year, I even provided the christmas tree and wreaths since the shelter was full and most of the women had kids.  I also worked as a Construction Manager for the local Habitat for Humanity office and completed 5 homes with them and was involved in the opening of Watauga County's first Habitat ReStore (and yes, I shopped there frequently too).  I wired the ReStore for internet, installed servers and managed their software.  When the restore moved to a new location, I spent many hours helping to prepare the space, painting, building, demolishing as needed.  Then I had the pleasure of wiring the space for data and phones - it was messy work, but well worth it.  While in school, I worked part time with the ACT office.  ACT is an acronym for "Appalachian and the Community Together."  I managed the community partner listservs, events, and our database of volunteer opportunities.  I worked with our Service Learning Coordinator to prepare the documents with SL opportunities for professors to choose from.  I even got to see these Service Learning Projects from start to finish.  I participated in and helped plan activities such as the MLK Challenge, Don't Throw it Away, and The BIG Sale.  The people who ran the ACT Office were actually the professors I had in the Introduction to Leadership and Social Issues and Social Change classes

During summer and winter breaks, I always returned to the DC area to work.  I spent three years interning for different law firms in DC and one year interning for a government contractor.  At the first law firm, was exposed to the different aspects of their IT department: training, networking, word processing, help desk, phone/voicemail infrastructure, and equipment repair.  I was a part of a very successful Windows XP roll-out in 2005 and several equipment replacement programs.  At the second law firm, I wasn't much more than a temporary legal secretary, but it exposed me to the software that lawyers and their staff used.  I got to see how to do research and manage document versioning.  I learned just how much Microsoft Word could do.  At the government contractor, I got into systems management and licensing compliance, as well as a fair amount of training.

I am currently a Technology Support Specialist (TSS) for a smaller school district outside of Washington DC.  I support all 8 comprehensive secondary schools plus about 8 additional alternative programs and the central offices.  I am also finding myself supporting our county's roughly 25 elementary schools more and more often.  The ITS program through George Mason has given me a feel for what a teacher can do in their classroom.  However, I see that much of it can apply outside the K12 classroom as well.  As I develop training for teachers and staff, I often think about how best to teach a particular topic.  Usually that results in some kind of Authentic Learning Experience.  It's new and different and I don't think my co-workers have caught on yet, but I feel that if I model it enough and provide encouragement and support, they'll jump on the bandwagon.