@duncanbilingual
Jake is a 6th grade bilingual social studies teacher in New Caney, Texas. He was born and raised in East Texas and graduated Salutatorian from Splendora High School in 1997. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Radio/Television/Film with a minor in Speech Communications in 2000 and began teaching in Aldine ISD in 2001. He decided to return to his hometown to teach the growing bilingual population of Splendora. He began his career in elementary before moving on to Splendora Intermediate, Splendora Junior High, and Splendora High Schools where he spent 10 years working with the ESL and bilingual programs. He earned his Master of Education degree in Instructional Leadership with a specialization in Bilingual Education and Effective Instructional Strategies for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners. He became an Instructional Technology Specialist for the Region 6 Education Service Center in Huntsville, Texas in the fall of 2011 but returned to the classroom the following school year. His heart will always be with his students. He is a huge proponent of effectively utilizing technology tools in the classroom to promote student achievement. He believes that students need to learn how to use the devices that they have to promote their own growth and self-directed learning.
Favorite Tech Tool:
He has too many favorite tech tools to even try to mention. His best response would be “the best one for the task at hand.” He is currently a huge fan of everything Google, Cel.ly, Chirp, and Kahoot! Ask him tomorrow, and you probably won’t get the same answer.
Upcoming Projects:
His students are in a two-way dual-language bilingual language immersion program at New Caney Sixth Grade Campus. They strive to learn about cultures in their hometown and all over the world. They use Google Hangouts often to speak with members of each of the respective cultures that they study and have begun a postcard exchange program with various schools in Mexico and Central and South America. They will be involved in a global book study led by a Spanish school in Barcelona in January and will continue to work to connect with classes around the world however they can. Jake’s classes are supporting 5 small business ventures in a variety of locations through Kiva. They have also begun and plan to continue a community sponsored adult bilingual education program through the YMCA.
Contact:
Jake Duncan
Twitter: @duncanbilingual
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