{"id":8888,"date":"2026-01-15T12:39:30","date_gmt":"2026-01-15T17:39:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/?p=8888"},"modified":"2026-01-17T12:08:50","modified_gmt":"2026-01-17T17:08:50","slug":"the-preface-a-bit-of-context","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/2026\/01\/15\/the-preface-a-bit-of-context\/","title":{"rendered":"The Preface: A Bit of Context"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"842\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/family-842x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8911\" srcset=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/family-842x1024.jpg 842w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/family-247x300.jpg 247w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/family-768x934.jpg 768w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/family-1263x1536.jpg 1263w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/family.jpg 1684w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 842px) 100vw, 842px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>My name is Christy Heiple, and I am in my final semester in the MIS program. I live in Bismarck, North Dakota. My husband, Kris, is a middle school counselor, and we have four children: Wesley (15), Bre (10), Graeme (4), and Levi (2). We also have two extremely snuggly and slightly mischievous cats (Rajan and Lego). <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>I have been in education for 17 years, with 14 years spent as a classroom teacher and 3 years as a Library Media Specialist. I have had the amazing opportunity to teach in various locations, including Bronx, New York; Erie, Pennsylvania; Detroit, Michigan; New Delhi, India; and for the past 12 years, in Bismarck, North Dakota. Right now, I am a K-5 Library Media Specialist in two public elementary schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-ad2f72ca wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<p>I am passionate about digital literacy and cybersecurity. I love every part of my job, from teaching students how to find good-fit books to coding, creating different kinds of digital media, finding and citing reliable sources, and so much more. Watching the students grow in their curiosity and confidence is a constant reminder of why I do what I do.  I also enjoy sharing new ideas and tech tools with the teachers in my buildings and providing professional development within the district. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/recognition-badge-educator-1024x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-8913\" srcset=\"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/recognition-badge-educator-1024x1024.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/recognition-badge-educator-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/recognition-badge-educator-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/recognition-badge-educator-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/recognition-badge-educator-200x200.jpg 200w, https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/recognition-badge-educator.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Most of my free time is spent supporting my children in their activities. Wesley plays the trumpet in the high school marching band and is involved in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.deca.org\/\">DECA<\/a>. Bre takes horse riding lessons and ballet. Graeme plays soccer and wants to start T-ball this summer. Levi\u2019s favorite pastimes are unloading all the kitchen cabinets, climbing onto the kitchen table, and trying to flip over the back of the couch, but I&#8217;m sure he&#8217;ll be in organized sports in the near future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When I do have time to myself, I enjoy building a puzzle (specifically the <a href=\"https:\/\/dowdle.shop\/?srsltid=AfmBOoo-93IeR_YcKcYQgk_2tU2-j5MWwBQ7L2XQQ9t7JusY75NWI2px\">Dowdle<\/a> brand) or reading a book. I also dabble in writing and aspire to be a published author someday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>My name is Christy Heiple, and I am in my final semester in the MIS program. I live in Bismarck, North Dakota. My husband, Kris, is a middle school counselor, and we have four children: Wesley (15), Bre (10), Graeme&#46;&#46;&#46;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":181,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[83,2],"tags":[84,25],"class_list":["post-8888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-spring-2026","category-student","tag-ml1","tag-student-posts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8888","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/181"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8888"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8888\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8914,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8888\/revisions\/8914"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8888"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8888"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/torch.cci.fsu.edu\/~lis5313\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8888"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}