Introductory Survey

Personal Info:
Hi! My name is Ariella Epstein. One would think that at some point duing my life I would have acquired some sort of lasting nickname, but that's not the case; everyone has just always called me Ariella! I grew up primarily in Beachwood, OH and now reside in University Heights, OH. In fact, I just bought my first house here with my fiance in November! My primary e-mail address is AriellaAnne@hotmail.com
I recieved my BSW (Bachelor of Arts in Social Work) in 2002 from Cleveland State University. I am currently working on my M.Ed. and licensure in Middle Childhood Education, concentrating on Language Arts and Social Studies at John Carroll University. I will also have a Reading endorsement when I am done with school, which will be Spring of 2010.
For extra income I tutor. I have three clients right now. One is a third grader who goes to Gross Shechter Day School, which is a Jewish day school. Originally I was only going to tutor her in Math, but as it turns out I help her with all of her subjects. She is excelling in Math so we do a lot of literacy activities when we are not concentrating on her homework.
I also tutor an eighth grader who goes to Laurel. I was hired when she was in seventh grade to be more of an ADHD coach for her. We work on her organization and time management, and sometimes I am able to help her with her subjects.
The third student I tutor goes to Shaker Heights High School and is in the tenth grade. I am not quite sure what her diagnosis is, but I believe she has Aspberger's Syndrome. I help her with her organization and time management, as well as her Language Arts and Social Studies classes. I absolutely love tutoring! Not only am I able to provide one-on-one instruction, but I am able to apply things that I am currently learning, which helps me in the long run.
I have to say that I do not exactly have any hobbies that I am actively pursuing right now, unless planning my wedding and fixing up my new house counts! Between all of that and schoo and tutoring I do not really have much time for anything else. In general I love reading and exploring literature and languages. When I have more time I would like to start building dollhouses. I love decorating and I also love miniatures. I have a kit waiting for me to build when I have more time.
As far as unique travel experiences are concerned, I have spent considerable time in Israel and attended school there for parts of 3rd, 4th, 6th and 7th grades. My family owns an apartment right outside of Tel-Aviv and I love it there!

Learning Style and More:
In order for me to feel comfortable taking intellectual risks in the classroom I need to feel that I have the opportunity to explain myself thoroughly to my instructors and classmates. Prior to my John Carroll experience I studied in other institutions of higher education and I often felt as though my comments, thoughts and ideas were misconstrued. Ever since I transfered to John Carroll I cannot recall a time that I have felt this way. I guess what it boils down to is respect. I need to feel respected in order to feel comfortable taking academic and intellectual risks. The same goes for asking for help, which I have no problem doing both in and out of class when necessary, as long as I feel that I have done my best to figure it out on my own and that my requests will not be scoffed at. Thanks for asking!
I am definitely an active and oral class participant. I am a strong visual learner, but I think that since becoming aware of different learning styles through my classes and being pushed to use them I am learning to incorporate other styles into the way I learn. I am usually responsible and and timely in my class preperation, almost to a fault. For instance, I often complete assigned readings early and then cannot recall all of the details during class, but I do remember the main points.
I am usually off- point regarding self assessment. When I think I've done poorly I've often done well and vice versa.

Tech Section:
Silly as it may be, I believe that the sharpened stones that early humans used as tools are the most important technological inventions in history. It seems to me that we have always built on the technology that has come before and these stones got us going!
There is so much technology that is absolutely essential to my life, including things that I don't even realize are pieces of technology. At the same time there are things I enjoy and use everyday and would certainly miss if they were taken from me, but are not essential. SO, here's a brainstorm of the essentials: computer (laptop), car, pencils, refrigerator*, oven* and stove*, indoor plumbing units, phone (cell*), alarm clock* extension cords*,washing machine, and dryer. Some of the non-essentials that I would feel lost without are as follows: t.v.*, DVR*, radio, camera*, microwave, dishwasher, CDs* (more for computer than music), ear buds* GPS.
I am always on the computer- I check my e-mail at least twice in the evening- when I get home and before I go to bed. I probably text more than I talk on the phone because it's quicker and I have so much to do. The important things get e-mailed. I do talk on the phone, but I often ignore calls when I'm in the middle of something, but I usually text back if I receive one. I often use the microwave or toaster oven to heat up previously cooked food. The t.v. keeps me company through my evening, but I usually don't really pay attention to what's on. I can watch the same show over and over again without ever looking at the screen- I just know the voices after a while!
The internet can be a scary place. Just as it is up to adults to take care of children in the real world I think we need to do the same for them online. I'm not exactly sure how to do this appropriately and sufficiently, but I think it's really important to figure it out.
I think in order to get the most out of this class we need to behave like our students do, in the technological sense. This means being exposed to the technology they use and have at their disposal. I wish I could be more specific about this, but it's overwhelming because I don't think I even know what's out there. I also think we need to focus on ethical issues about using technology such as appropriateness and fairness regarding what's economically fair in our classrooms. Finally, I believe that some sort of retraining is necessary regarding literacy. There is so much to be read in books, but there is so much more online and as one of the articles we were assigned to read points out, there are emerging forms of literacy that challenge our conventional ideas of how we transmit information.

About Dr. Shutkin:
How do you keep up with all of the new technology? How do you think this class would be different if you were teaching it two years from now? Five years from now?