Internship+Activities


 * EDLD Internship Activities **



**August 2009 ** Due to the growing population at Roberts, the computer lab had to be replaced with a regular classroom. The computers were dispersed to teachers on a first come, first served basis. I spent a lot of time during the teacher work days helping the staff to set up the newly acquired desktops in their classrooms. The cords for all the computers had been stored all together in boxes over the summer. Organizing them to make sure each desktop had the corresponding cords was quite a task. Once that had been worked out, I helped them to create a functional set-up in their classroom. While having a computer at every table would have made it more accessible ot students while they worked in groups, that set-up would not be practical on a daily basis. Thus, the computers were consolidated into a work station.

During the summer, the administrator contacted me to ask if I would be interested in providing a professional development for smartboard usage. I agreed. To begin, I wanted to be sure all the staff had the software on their laptops. I sent the download and product key in an email to everyone and suggested they download it ahead of time if they knew how to. Unfortunately, most did not. I set up a space in my room with power strips for them to plug in and give their laptops time to load the software. In the meantime, I walked them through the tools that they can use within the notebook software. Then I showed them how it can be used to present or highlight information on a website. I showed them online games that I knew would work with their curriculum. I also had them get up and try them their selves. Once the software had been uploaded to their laptops, I guided them to experiment with the different tools and the gallery collection. Before they left, I had them create and save one activity that they could use with their students right away.

The culminating IB project for 5th grade students is their Exhibition presentation. They are required to research a problem and perform an action to help the situation. My two mentees were working on autism awareness. Before they started doing the research and printing out pictures for their tri-fold, I instructed them to save the websites where they found any information or graphics in their favorites. That allowed them to quickly create the list of their resources
 * October 2009 **

After returning from the Christmas vacation, we were having our grade level meeting and discussing the resources we would be using for the upcoming units. When I was asked to email a certain activity, I replied that it was on server. It was clear that my grade level did not have access to or know how to use files save on the server. I map to the server on all their laptops and on the desktop that they use most often. I also made a new file for each team member. Then I showed them how to navigate to the shared files. This made the process of sharing activities as simple as dragging and dropping.
 * January 2010 **

Because I am the technology specialist for our grade level, I created activities for using smartboard software for upcoming math and social studies lessons. I then modeled how to use the software could be used. There was a pattern completing activity and a weather preparation activity.

We began our technology inquiry groups. As a part of our professional development hours for the year, each staff member selected a topic they wanted to learn more about. I along with eight of my colleagues decided to inquire into technology integration. For our first meeting, we discussed the goals we wanted to achieve.  · Research the affect of technology on learning.  · Create a powerpoint for open house.  · Improve classroom websites.  · Bring in a speaker.  I contacted Velvette Laurence, an educational technology instructor from University of Houston and scheduled her to meet with us in the next inquiry meeting. I provided her with information about my group's current technology skill level. I also informed her about the tools that are available to each teacher at our campus.
 * February 2010 **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt;">

As the yearbook teacher, it was my job to collect and edit pictures of classroom activities from every teacher on campus. I had to assist many with transferring their photos from their cameras to their computers. For a few teachers, I helped them to take some pictures, because they had not felt comfortable with using it.

During the next inquiry group, we were presented with many ideas for making use of the technology peripherals available to us. Velvette Laurence suggested allowing the students to capture representations of concepts they were learning about with digital cameras and then create a digital collage by subject. My group was receptive to her ideas and had lots of questions about putting technology in the hands of Kindergarteners. She made it clear that they were capable of and likely already using technology. She suggested adding a few adaptations to make certain items more kid-friendly. We took her advice and added a neck lanyard to all the cameras to protect them from being dropped. We also purchased smaller keyboards and mice to match their small hands. We found that the kids responded with excitement to getting to actually hold and use the tools, which helped them be more engaged in the learning activities.
 * <span style="color: #1111b6; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">March 2010 **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">

One of Velvette's suggestions was to have students use technology in new ways. It immediately made me think of the sight word flash cards powerpoint I made my children watch at station time. I decided to switch it out for a jumpstart world software. Now, the students are much more excited about having the computer station.

When my site-based mentor, Stephanie Walton, sat down to talk about my internship, she helped me think about how much leadership I had already done on campus. She told me that the training sessions I provided should be included along with time spent helping my inquiry group. She allowed me to see that I was already doing much what the internship required.

At the end of each IB planner, the students must complete a formative assessment to see if they understood the concepts presented. I created an assessment for Classroom Performance Systems. I knew the first time the students used the remotes would be challenging, so I asked a fifth grade class to come and walk them through the process. The students were immediately engaged and loved the instant feedback. I was able to see right away how much information the students had retained about the planner. This method of assessment provided more data than a traditional test.
 * <span style="color: #1111b6; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">April 2010 **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">

Each inquiry group was required to present what they learned. My group felt it was important to use technology in our presentation. We made a jeopardy game using powerpoint. All of the questions were also related to technology. The presentation was a funny skit in which the younger members pretended to not know the answers and the older ones did. Using the projector, computer and powerpoint during the presentation showed that they had learned more about using these tools. Since being a part of the group, I have seen my colleagues making better use of technology in their classrooms. I feel very fulfilled knowing that I had a hand in helping them improve their skills.
 * <span style="color: #1111b6; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">May 2010 **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">

This year, helping my colleagues set up their computer stations was much easier. I didn't spend nearly as much time in each classroom. Rather than helping them set-up, I only had to answer questions and trouble shoot when something didn't work. I think they learned a lot from the one-on-one time I spent with them last year. This gave me some extra time to help my colleagues with their new blogs.
 * <span style="color: #1111b6; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">August 2010 **<span style="color: black; font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%;">

The school didn't feel that paying for school notes was cost-efficient anymore. They decided to have everyone switch over to blogspot.com. I was asked to help with the creating them. In the meeting, the administration wisely suggested that everyone have their welcome letter posted to their site before they leave. That way, if they needed any help, we would be there to assist them and they would have it ready for the beginning of the year. Some had no problem. Once I showed them where they could find different layouts and How to copy over the HTML, they were off and running. Others however, had trouble just changing the font. By the time the day was over, every teacher at least had a basic blog with a welcome message to their new students. Advanced users, had a blog with slide shows, calendars and more.