MassCUE is pleased to announce Mindy Murphy as our Featured Educator for October 2024.

Mindy Murphy is a collaborator by nature. So, it makes sense that she would share her interest in learning and technology with both her students and her colleagues. A fifth-grade teacher and building technology integrator at Hobomock Elementary school in Pembroke, Murphy sees technology as a way to meet student needs and encourage teamwork.

“A collaborative classroom is really important when we're using technology,” Murphy says. “As a fifth-grade teacher, I’m able to give the students a bit more independence. I’ll introduce a tool and give them opportunities to teach each other and show me what they can do.”

One of her favorite projects to do with her students is stop motion video.

For example, in a lesson on photosynthesis, she’ll show the students how to make slides in Google Slides or Canva and then change one small element. She gives the students the vocabulary that they need to incorporate, and the students then use We Video to put it all together and narrate the steps themselves.

“Stop motion is really fun to teach,” Murphy says. “Usually when they come to my room and learn it, it’s the first time they’ve seen it.”
Google Slides and Google Docs are Murphy’s go-tos for collaboration in the classroom. But she says she is learning more every day about the district’s newest addition: Seesaw. She says using technology helps her provide more personalized learning.

“Technology makes it easier to provide differentiation,” she says. “It helps to be able to meet students where they are and give them some independence.”

Another favorite for Murphy is Canva. She and her students have been exploring the AI features such as DALL·E. She incorporated the tool into a writing assignment with students in which they wrote about a haunted house and then used the tool to generate the image they described.

“The students love to see the images that come from their descriptions,” she says. “They are like something you can’t even imagine. It’s really cool.”

Her advice to other teachers who want to incorporate more technology into their lessons: have patience. She says it’s important to be flexible when it comes to technology. Have a backup plan and don’t be afraid to stop and come back to something or scrap it altogether.

In her role as a technology integrator for her school, Murphy serves as a liaison between teachers in her building and the technology team for the district. She enjoys troubleshooting, sharing tech tips and highlighting some of the ways teachers are using technology in their classes.

“I feel like teachers can get holed up in their classrooms,” she says. “If someone is doing a really cool project, I like being able to celebrate that and share it with other teachers.”

Her collaborative nature has also led her to share ideas on social media and to present at the MassCUE Fall and Spring Conferences. At first, Murphy says she did not realize that the projects she was doing in her classroom were worth sharing. But she says once she got over the imposter syndrome, she and her co-presenter found presenting at MassCUE to be a really rewarding experience.

“After our session, a lot of people took our contact information and reached out later. It was nice to get that positive feedback,” she says. “Meeting people from other districts really gives you a global perspective on what other educators are doing. Just being at MassCUE and the energy that’s there and seeing all the new things, I really love the whole atmosphere.”

You can catch Murphy and her co-presenter at this year’s Fall Conference on Thursday, October 17th for Tech Titans! Dynamic Approaches for Putting the Power of Technology into the Hands of Students in the Educator Showcase.

Mindy Murphy is a 19-year veteran classroom teacher and building technology integrator for Pembroke Public Schools. She has taught grades 3-5, and currently teaches 5th grade at Hobomock Elementary School. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education from Bridgewater State University, and a M.Ed. in Curriculum and Teaching from Fitchburg State University. She has a passion for giving students a voice through Universal Design for Learning, fostering collaboration, and incorporating technology into her daily practice. She currently also resides in Pembroke and her three children attend school in the district she teaches in. She loves cheering on her kids at their various sporting events and exploring nature trails with her dog.