3 - 2 - 1 Action!

 I have learned that at the end of the day, problem solving skills are life skills.”

Gabe Hock is a veteran teacher who has been a major asset to the English Department here at Mars High School ever since being hired in 2004. Beside a wide range of English courses, she also offers a popular course in Journalism. 

​You can imagine her surprise when she was suddenly called by high school principal Lyndsey Rosswog in May of this year to teach a technology course.  Desperate to keep the Broadcast Media course available to students after the departure of Jake Petras, Mrs. Rosswog had to think outside of the box.  Jake Petras was a relatively new, energetic, and resourceful Technology instructor who was hired for better pay by another school district, and who was not replaced by MASD.  Only two of the four technology teachers in the high school remained (Rob Case also departed at the end of the 2019-2020 school year).

Gabe’s initial thoughts?  “No! I am not super tech savvy.  I can do Schoology,  I can do all of the stuff I am supposed to do but when you walk into that broadcast room there is all of that technology in there.”   Ultimately, she agreed, and thanks to some students who were willing to share their expertise, she has managed to get the morning announcements done every day. Even that, however, has been a major challenge due to YouTube copyright protections, shared folder restrictions, and other unexpected barriers.

Mrs. Hock’s biggest concern is she does not really know how to use the software to edit and she doesn’t have the time to sit and learn how to use it.   While she is learning together with the kids, she is aware that someone with a technology background could bring a lot more to the table.
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“I have learned that at the end of the day, problem solving skills are life skills.”   While she wishes she could do the course justice in terms of the technology component, she believes that by working together with students she can still create a meaningful learning opportunity for everyone taking Broadcast Media.