Video Improves This Teacher’s Ability To Give Back To His Community

Marlon Galdamez is a third grade teacher at Downer Elementary School in Richmond, CA. Working at Downer is an opportunity Marlon greatly appreciates, because that’s where he attended elementary school when he was a kid.

We sat down with Marlon to discuss why working in the same school he attended as a student is meaningful to him.

“I love working in this community,” Marlon said. “I’ve seen it at its highs, and I’ve seen it at its lows. I feel very fortunate for the opportunity.”

But being able to teach in the community he grew up in is not an opportunity that Marlon takes lightly. It also inspires him to work hard to become a better teacher — something he does in part through the use of video.

“Being able to collaborate with my colleagues through video is something that’s super valuable to me,” Marlon said. “And I especially appreciate how I can interact with my videos on Edthena.”

Marlon has been using Edthena for two years. His first was as a graduate student at Loyola Marymount University.

“Edthena served initially as a way for teachers like me to reflect on our practice, as well as collaborate with colleagues. And at first I didn’t know about all the great things Edthena had to offer, like being able to trim time off the beginning and end of my videos. Now I really understand how useful of a tool it is.”

Marlon considers video crucial to his continued development. He’s even found video to be such a powerful tool for reflection and coaching that he plans to use Edthena to improve his practice again this year.

“I’ve discussed adopting Edthena at our school with my principal,” Marlon said. “That’s how strongly I feel about the value of the platform.”

You can watch Marlon’s Teacher Voices interview below. You can also watch our previous installments of Teacher Voices here.