About Me

• My name is Branden Atkins. I am 23 years old and I am from Cedar Springs, Michigan. My planned certification is in elementary education with group social studies as my content area. I hold season tickets for the University of Michigan football so it is obvious that I am an avid Michigan fan. I follow sports with a passion but I chose to go into teaching so that sports could remain a hobby. One of my favorite things to do when I'm not watching or going to games is shopping. It doesn't matter what I am shopping for whether it be groceries or clothes, I just love shopping.
• My experience with planning and using technology in a classroom has been interesting. I have helped 1st grade students use iPads during reading workshops. They would play a reading game at their table where everyone would have their own iPad and they would read a short story and their job was to highlight (touch) the words they didn't know. This was a great use of technology that I was able to see because students were just going through the motions and completing tasks. They were expected to participate by presenting the words that they didn't understand. My other example of experience was when I was in charge of a writing workshop in a kindergarten classroom. I used the ELMO projector which displayed what I wrote on the board for everyone to see. We were working on letters and they were filling out the same paper as I was. The great thing about the projector was that i was able to sit and face the students while using the handout and the material was being shown behind me. The benefit of me facing the students was that it allowed me to be more attentive to anyone who was struggling. 
• The picture that is attached was taken by me from where my season tickets are at Michigan Stadium. I chose that because no matter how my week was going I knew that on Saturday I would be at the game.
• I have done a lot of my service hours at Cedar Trails Elementary in Cedar Springs, Michigan. Cedar Trails is the preK-1st grade building in the Cedar Springs Public School District.