Kimeth Helsel

Background

About Kimeth Helsel

Once upon a time, there was a business/marketing teacher who enjoyed incorporating educational technology into her lessons. Nearpod was 'new' and Flippity.net was her go-to tech tool. Fast forward eight years, and this teacher enjoys sharing with her colleagues the many exciting and new tech tools as an ITRT (Instructional Technology Resource Teacher).With the advancement of Google and its tools and the updated Microsoft Office tools, teachers have more powerful productivity options. Teachers also can access a plethora of ed tech tools such as Flipgrid, Screencastify, BreakoutEDU, GoosechaseEDU, etc. As an ITRT, I share/demonstrate how tech tools can enhance instruction as well as possible time savers.Currently, my position also involves device management, a time-consuming, never-ending process. This tracking, trouble-shooting, responsibility is necessary as my school is one-to-one. We are fortunate to provide devices to our students which helps our students access our LMS - Schoology and the many software applications they use.As I continue in this position for another few years, I look forward to the growth of ed tech tools - especially AI. I feel this is a game changer in the field of education - an opportunity for students to explore and apply their knowledge to their futures. AI will help students think and apply rather than just produce and regurgitate known information. Many individuals have likened AI to programmable calculators - a tool that does the work for a person. While AI tools have been around for some time, it's use can lead us into a less knowledge-based education. While ed tech tools wax and wane, AI will become the shining star in education if we allow it.