Sara+R.+Beauchamp-Hicks

I am a doctoral student here at MSU studying Educational Psychology and Educational Technology. I am entering my second year and this the first time I have had the opportunity to teach this course--I have known Ira virtually and enjoy his work and am excited to have this chance to work together.

I am in the second year of a life change--leaving the K-12 system after nearly 15 years as a special education teacher. My primary focus was grades 7-12, working mainly with students who had mild to moderate learning disabilities. However, I did my student teaching in first grade and in a mid-elementary special education room. My intentions all through my undergraduate career were to teach in that range--just goes to show you life can take you in entirely different directions! My love for technology (and official entry into geek-goodness) stems from my work in getting assistive technology into the hands of my students. Over the last ten years the field has exploded and the opportunity for accessibility is perhaps as high as it has ever been--that said, not enough teachers take advantage of what technology affords their students with disabilities. Hopefully we can enlighten you, give you a full toolbox and help you see the abundance of opportunity technology can bring to your students.

In addition to my work in special education, I have worked as a technology liaison for both the Upper Peninsula Writing Project and the Chippewa River Writing Project, the latter being my current role. I love the work I do for the National Writing Project. It is one of the most successful forms of teacher professional development--and I am certain you will hear me talk about it often throughout the semester.

I am married to an amazing man--Troy Hicks. He is a professor in the English Education department at Central Michigan University. He is a digital literacy guru and if you are interested you can check out his work at his blog, www.hickstro.org. Together we have five children--ages 5, 6, 7, 8 and 9. They attend Post Oak Elementary School and are involved in the Chinese Immersion program. I have a large extended family--most of which live in the beautiful Upper Peninsula. I feel extremely lucky to have the opportunity to attend MSU and pursue my studies and look forward to our time together this semester.