My name is Shaela Kuntz. I was born and raised in Regina. I completed the Bachelor of Education program at the Univeristy of Regina in 2005 with a major in Physical Education and a minor in Health Education. In 2008, I completed the Certificate of Extended Studies in Inclusive Education through the Center of Continuing Education at the University of Regina.
In August of 2006, I was hired by Regina Public Schools as a Special Education teacher. My first teaching assignment was half-time Special Education at Campbell Collegiate and half-time Home Economics/Health at Scott Collegiate. I continue to teach Special Education in a Senior FIAP (Functionally Integrated Academic Program) classroom at Campbell Collegiate. The focus of the Senior FIAP class is transition to employment after graduation.
I am involved in extra-curricular activities at Campbell. I have coached Junior Boys Volleyball, Junior Girls Basketball, and Alternate Education Special Olympics Soccer. I have assisted with organizing the feeder school elementary basketball and volleyball tournaments. I enjoy organizing and assisting with extra-curricular activities, as being involved in a highschool is more than just teaching.
During my eight years of teaching I have maintained a strong focus on professional development. I have attended many conferences including: Insight, Traumatized Children and Youth: A collaborative approach, The Mandt System, Dawn Reithaug-Supporting Adolescent Readers, and Inclusive School Cultures-Indicators of Success. I continue my professional development through Masters of Education courses at the University of Regina.
I appreciate you getting to know me, as I will get to know you and your child throughout the year!
shaelakuntz 
I am currently enrolled in the EC&I 831: Social Media & Open Education course at the University of Regina. I am excited to increase my level of technological competence and learn how to use it in the classroom. My focus has been learning and implementing assistive technology for students with multiple disabilities, so I have not spent much time learning social media. Technology in my Special Education classroom is limited to the Internet, specificially life skills instruction. We reguIarly search for Bus schedules, play money math games, look for recipes, etc. I have found that going beyond the Internet has been a struggle because of the level of independence of the students and individual assistance they require when using the computer. Increasing the use of technology in the special education classroom is a personal professional goal that I continue to work on each year.
I use Facebook and email regularly, for personal use. I am fairly new (1 year) to the Ipad/Iphone world and have recently joined Twitter and Instagram (2 months). Although this blog has been active for a few years, I use it as an infomation sharing site for parents. There has not been correspondence with parents through this blog, which is what I would like to work on during the EC&I course.
In mainstream classes I believe that social media can be used effectively and a great tool to engage students. Students are excited to learn through social media, as this is such an important part of their lives outside of school. However, I struggle with the relevance of social media with my special education students. Access to technology outside of the classroom often poses an issue. Many of the students require assistance and supervision when using technology, which is not always a priority outside of school. My special education students are not using social media at home, so I struggle with the relevance at school. I hope EC&I 831 can guide me through using social media with my students.
I am excited about the learning opportunities this semester. I hope to become a better educator, as I have heard from past EC&I 831 students that this class is transformational!
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