The Lens Behind the Data with Dr. Doris Chavez-Linville

It's actually funny that you asked that question because I wanted to make sure I share that story because it really connects to my 26-year career in edtech.

So as I was both working, doing after school, before school, and homebound work with migrant education, during the summer, This is seriously beginning of the century and it sounds like crazy, but it's true.

It was very early in the 2000s, very early in EdTech.

We actually adopted a program that was called Lightspan.

So it was video games that were played on PlayStations.

So we will get PlayStations and they were like reading and math video games.

And I love video games.

So I started to implement this.

I will go to the homes of my students.

I will plug the PlayStation in their TVs and then we will play video games.

And that's I started into it.

So while I was doing that, my children and their families were exposed to a lot more English because all the games were in English.

So their English was developing faster.

So I started actually sharing with the company.

I'm like, Hey, this is actually pretty cool because the kids are getting to learn some of the math facts and information in English because we have these resources available to them.

And so they invited me actually to become a consultant to work for LightSpan.

And I'm like, what do you mean a consultant? I'm a teacher.

I'm always going to be a teacher, right? I'm going back to get my certification in special ed.

And then they say, if you want to, you can do that.

I'm like, okay, maybe I'll try.

And a little funny story is that I did not have a green card.

I had graduated as a college student and I had a work visa for a year, which I was working with MigrantEd and then they were sponsoring me.

And the company said, we'll sponsor you.

I'm like, what? So that's how I ended up moving from being a college student, being a teacher for MigrantEd and then going and being a consultant at EdTech starting again in 2000.

And again, I've been in EdTech for 26 years until now.