Field+Based+Monthly+Reflections


 * __March 2011 Reflection:__** I am just getting started with my internship hours and I was able to completeone indicator this month. I researched a web quest for 8th grade History on Andrew Jackson’s Presidency. After finding a web quest I presented it to the teachers and showed them how to use it and to search for future web quests. To my surprise the two teachers I worked with had never heard of a web quest. After explaining how it worked and a few benefits both teachers seemed excited. One of the teachers has even looked up some of her own sense I met with them. The second area I focused on this month was reading my RSS feeds. I do not read them daily, but I try and look over them every couple of weeks. I was able to learn about two search engines through Google that is geared towards students that have sites previously recommended my educators. I also read an article on comic strips. I am a big fan of finding new quick projects for students to use and I really enjoyed this article. It listed the benefits of having students create their own comic strips as well as a few sites that will enable students to make their own comic strips.


 * __April 2011 Reflection:__**Reading my RSS Feeds along with reading from my EDLD 5362 class this month I came to the conclusion that handing a every student a laptop to use in school and at home seems great in theory, but it is very difficult for a district to sustain this. Many schools are able to apply and win grants where they buy amazing technology, but after a few years the school does not have the resources to maintain or upgrade this equipment. Investing in a few good pieces of technology coupled with good strategies and an effective leader will get you further in the long run.


 * __May 2011 Reflection:__**With a busy first month of summer I did not get to complete as many hours as wished. I was able to familiarize myself with Gaggle a bit to help our athletic department utilize it. Gaggle has many functions including: digital lockers, e-mail, text messaging capabilities, YouTube censored videos, and more. I would like to schedule training to learn more about all of its functions so I too can utilize it more in my classroom next year. The area I helped with was Gaggle’s text messaging capability. We were able to input athletes and parents cell phone numbers into Gaggle making it easy to get a quick message out. Coaches, parents, and athletes seem to like this function already. We have received feedback from parents saying they feel in the loop and athletes say they like the quick reminder. I think this function will spread as the next school year starts. For example, I see myself using it to remind students and parents of upcoming, tests, quizzes, and projects.


 * __June 2011 Reflection:__**This month I attended the T3 Conference put on by the technology department in the Lamar Consolidated ISD. This was a one day conference consisting over multiple breakout sessions. I attended five sessions and I believe that at least three of them I was able to take away information that will be valuable to me. These sessions were over: Backchannels, Google Docs, and Google Earth Web-Quests. Although I was familiar with all of these, sitting in on these training gave me a more in-depth understanding and hands on experience with using these with my content.


 * __July 2011 Reflection:__** This month I joined Twitter so I could read tweets and blogs posted by other teachers who implement technology in their classrooms. I found this tool very useful and enjoyed learning how to use it. I was able to connect to various people who tweeted daily about new technology as well as ways to use it in the classroom. Many of these tweets are linked to their Blogs where I was able to read a more in-depth description. For example, I never truly understood QR Codes, but through a tweet that linked be to a blog I was able to read in depth about them as well as look at a scavenger hunt set up in a school. I liked being able to gain information from this tool, but also liked the idea of asking for help through Twitter. To me it seems like this is an underused tool that could become very valuable in the classroom setting. This month I also designed two new Wordle posters for my classroom as well as helped another teacher learn how to make them. It was moving to see how excited she was and listening to her plan on using the site with her students.


 * __January 2012 Reflection:__** After taking a semester off I am back in school and integrating more technology than ever into lessons. This month I checked Flip Cams out from the library and had my students create a commercial or news cast over the physical and human geography of Russia. After working in their groups to create a script they then filmed themselves. They were able to film anywhere on campus and use any props that were necessary. I was more than impressed to see how far some of my students went. Some came in costume while other brought or made props. When they had ownership of their project and learning their motivation and enthusiasm was heightened. The flip cams were very simple to use and we didn’t have any technical problems!


 * __February 2012 Reflection:__**This month I took advantage of data analysis and staff developments days. During both days I met with teachers and trained them in collecting data over their students, helped them create a lesson, and introduced Gaggle videos. I was shocked to see how little some of our teachers on campus know or understand basic technology. Patience was key in the beginning, especially when they didn’t know where or what a URL address was, but they came a long way and I know they are continuing to use what I showed them. I think their favorite part was finding a way to bring in relevant and interesting multimedia videos that are curriculum based.


 * __March 2012 Reflection:__**This month I completed three parts of my internship plan. I started with using the website Culture Grams to help show teachers how this site has numerous capabilities including reading to students on parts when necessary and variety of pictures. I feel like both of these aspects help diverse or struggling learners. I also had the opportunity to meet with my mentor to discuss installing Smart Boards into more classrooms and how that would benefit students and work into the budget. The last part of the month I was focused in reviewing for our state standardized test. I found pictures using Google Images for each concept we were reviewing and had students make flash cards using them. The pictures were able to simplify concepts especially for my special education students. After seeing how well they did with it I shared the concept with my colleagues and showed them how simple it is to find pictures on the internet.