Allie Nickerson

Background

About Allie Nickerson

As an ice hockey player my freshman year of high school, I decided to volunteer as a speed skating coach for the local Special Olympics. I loved coaching and teaching community members so much that I volunteered every year until I graduated. My school counselor told me that I had all of the qualities to become an executive member of Best Buddies, so I became the Historian for Best Buddies at my high school. I learned about creating relationships with students who have special needs in the classroom and around campus. I loved every second of it. I decided to take that passion of teaching with me into college and became an Elementary Education major at the University of Arizona. I volunteered in a variety of Title 1 Tucson schools within K-3 classrooms and worked on the Scholarship Committee for my sorority. Once I graduated, I decided to pursue a career in a Title 1 school and worked in Tempe, Arizona where 100% of my students received free breakfast and lunch. I immediately noticed the great importance that technology had in the classroom and decided to get my Master’s Degree in Learning Design and Technology (formally Educational Technology) at Arizona State University while teaching. I was able to use technology to help one of my students with muscular dystrophy become more engaged and want to learn through interactive science videos. Another student who barely spoke in class was able to utilize FlipGrid, a video discussion application, to have a voice and talk with classmates. I am always amazed at the impact that technology has in the classroom. From applications such as EVERFI that teach social emotional skills to Google Classroom, my students utilized technology every day in my classroom. While I was teaching, I loved to use my passion for public health to help students in extracurricular events. I coached for my elementary school’s Girls on the Run program. This program teaches a curriculum that empowers young girls while also staying physically fit by running. I was also the head coach for the local middle school’s JV softball team. After my third year of teaching, I decided to become a digital innovation instructional coach for the district. I am currently in this role helping teachers see the benefits of integrating technology in the classroom for their own students. I am now able to help teachers and students in Tempe become the best that they can be. https://alnicker.wixsite.com/portfolio https://sites.google.com/tempeschools.org/missnickerson/home