Susan Schmidt:

Congratulations to Susan Schmidt who recently became
an MCPS E-TIPS Leader. Susan is a Media Assistant at
Wood Acres Elementary School. To become an E-TIPS
Leader, Susan completed far more than the required
75 hours by attending voluntary after-school training and
uploading numerous, creative files to the UDL share site.

E-TIPS classes are offered by the Technology Consulting
staff, Library and Media Services staff, Supporting
Services staff, HIAT and InterACT staff. 

After teaching nursery school for 15 years, Susan Schmidt came to Wood Acres ES as a special education paraeducator.  She quickly understood that the new technology available would benefit many of her students.  Although hesitant, Susan started taking E-TIPS workshops and realized Kurzweil and SOLO were very helpful for her students who were struggling to read on level.  Now that Susan is a Media Assistant, she has been able to introduce this software to general and special education teachers as well as support staff who work with students with a variety of learning styles.

Susan really enjoys showing teachers and paraeducators new software such as Discovery Education and Journey Back in Time.  They may not use it in their lessons on a daily basis, but will remember that it is available as an option. 

She understands after these E-TIPS classes that more than one program may suit each student’s needs.  They are wonderful to mix and match for any lesson and any learning method.

Susan believes that the UDL site is a remarkable resource for our busy teachers.  She is a firm believer in “borrowing” tried and true materials.  The more existing information staff has to choose from, the more successful their lesson will be for all students.

Susan’s fearlessness when it comes to technology is new (she still can’t program her VCR).  She owes it all to her Media Specialist, Jennifer Lauchlan, who encourages the experimentation and taking E-TIPS workshops. Susan is also very grateful to the HIAT staff who has been patient, reassuring and willing to answer the same questions over and over.

Susan takes every opportunity to share what she’s learned at staff meetings, after school and during classroom time.  “This is terrific!  I didn’t know this existed!” says one teacher remarking on the UDL site.  “It’s all right here.  Why didn’t anyone think of doing this before?  If Susan didn’t take these classes and share what she has learned, our staff would never have exposure to these programs and would not be able to take advantage of them.”

To view a list of E-TIPS classes currently being offered, go to the PDO and search for “TIPS.”

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