Neal Austin Smith III
My name is Neal Austin Smith III, but I go by Austin. That can make things somewhat confusing, especially for my students and their parents since my school e-mail address uses Austin, but my name is listed as Neal on their schedules and report cards.
I went to college at the University of Georgia where I majored in journalism then earned a masters in sports communications with intentions of working for a sports team. The reality of that proposition was not nearly as fulfilling as I had hoped, so I turned to a passion from my time in college, teaching. I started out as a Language Arts teacher at Pike County High School in Zebulon, Georgia. While I was in Pike County, I also earned a masters in Secondary English Education. After two years there, the call of the North Georgia Mountains, where I grew up, became too strong and I left teaching for a year to open a small restaurant with my sister. Again, it did not take long for the teaching bug to bite again, and I left my sister with the restaurant and made a move to Cobb County which has the right balance between the mountains and the city to keep me happy. I spent three years as a special education teacher at Simpson Middle School. I taught Language Arts, Social Studies, and Math in that time. I also became involved with the technology club and started a web design club that finished in the top three in the state in two different design competitions. Following my third year at Simpson, I was offered the opportunity to help start a STEM program. For the 2014-15 school year, I am a STEM-technology teacher. I teach two classes in each of the three middle grade levels, and even though the year is more than half over, I'm still adjusting to teaching in the connections department. That said, I'm passionate about teaching my students how to use new technologies efficiently and responsibly. In class I teach everything from the basics of engineering to the safe use of tools to robotics and 3D printing. I also serve as the coach of our school's First Lego League team and work with the data team and the professional development team to spread my passion for technology in education to my colleagues. At Kennesaw State, I am pursuing an educational specialist degree in instructional technology because my passion across all subject areas is implementing technology in every opportunity possible. After shepherding the Simpson STEM program into a well-oiled machine, I hope to eventually transition to a technology position with an administrative role so that I may have more impact on the use of technology in the classroom. |