UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Julie Henry, who received her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the Penn State College of Education, is passionate about the opportunities that technology brings to the classroom. She is preparing to advance her career in technology education even further this fall by enrolling in the doctoral program in learning, design and technology (LDT) in the College of Education.
“I have a personal interest in technology and enjoy learning about it and how it can be used for both personal and classroom tasks/learning,” Henry said. “How can we use technology to increase learning and engagement, even just make our everyday lives a little easier?”
Henry, who is from Lewistown, received her bachelor’s in elementary and kindergarten education (K-6 certification) in 2008. She started her career in Mifflin County before moving to Bellefonte to take a teaching position at Bellefonte Area Elementary School. While she did not go to college to become a technology teacher, she said, in Pennsylvania, you are able to add on certain certifications after passing the Praxis test in that subject matter. In addition to her elementary education certification, she has certifications in business, computer, and information technology and mathematics.
Henry’s original intention as she started her career was to teach kindergarten. However, she eventually realized that she preferred the upper grades, which led to a six-year stint as a fourth-grade teacher in the Mifflin County School District. During that time, she discovered that she had a passion for incorporating technology into her classroom activities.
“I was always that teacher who was experimenting with technology with my students and trying out new tools to see if they would be beneficial for enhancing their learning and understanding,” Henry said. “This led me to pursue a technology teaching position with Bellefonte Area School District (BASD).”
Since the technology teaching position was brand new at the time, Henry was given a rough outline of the course but had to devise her own lessons and activities.
“I was intrigued by the possibility of getting to take my interests and use them to have students not only learn these technology tools, but use them to create,” she said. “Not only that, but I would have students starting in kindergarten through fifth grade. ... I thoroughly enjoyed the role and relished getting to see the innovative and amazing things the students created with technology.”
The technology curriculum that Henry developed at BASD is vigorous and up-to-date with current trends. Bellefonte schools have a Google Chromebooks for each student, Henry said. In the early grades, students focus on fundamental technological skills such as typing on a keyboard, and using different Google programs to create documents, slides and spreadsheets. In fourth and fifth grades, students take on more challenging projects such as developing websites and podcasts.
“Once the students have the fundamental skills, how can they apply them to real-world practical situations?” she asked.
One of the main challenges of technology education, Henry said, is keeping up with a rapidly evolving technology landscape.
“I’d always felt like I got comfortable with one thing and then it changes,” she said. “It’s staying on top of those trends and figuring out which ones are going to stay. ... After I got my first year under by belt, I was like, ‘OK, let me look into a program that would help with some ideas. I’m Penn State through and through, bleed blue and white. I found the LDT master’s program through World Campus and felt it was a good fit for me to learn more and incorporate more into building our elementary technology program at Bellefonte.”
By enrolling in the World Campus master’s program, Henry said, she was provided with more resources to become a better technology teacher, and she also appreciated the flexibility to take as many or few classes as she wanted while still working full time.
After taking that year off after obtaining her master’s degree, Henry said she took some time to ponder her next step. Through researching and talking with Penn State academic advisers and faculty members, she arrived at a decision to leave her teaching position and enroll in the residential doctoral program in LDT. Her eventual goal is to teach at the university level.
“It’s a mid-career change, but I’m excited for it,” she said. “It’s like, oh my goodness, back to school!”
Last fall, Henry was asked to fill a vacancy on the Penn State College of Education Alumni Society Board (ASB). She served the remainder of that term and was recently elected for the first time to a three-year term. ASB’s role is to keeping alumni connected to the college. It can support current students and faculty as well as alumni.
“It’s my way of giving back to the University,” she said. “There are so many unique and amazing opportunities for students now. More alumni need to know what is going on in the College of Education and how they’re preparing students to become teachers and counselors.”