Wiki Link
Reflections of
Campus-Supervised Internship activities:
Looking back over the past year, I realize I have
concentrated most of my internship activities with technology training. I have completed 12 hours of Digital
Photography, Photo Editing, and Geocaching using hand-held GPS devices. I have been asked to design and present
Curriculum to our District staff consisting of 12 hours. I have collaborated
with and designed for all grades levels, at Ed White Elementary, for advanced
curriculum planning including technology applications, consisting of 6
hours. My principal, Erin Tite, at Bay
Elementary,has asked me to instruct and train our staff on implementing lessons
using our new Mimio technology. I have
begun the program, which is my Action Plan, and meetings both online, and in
person, consists of 6 hours. The total
hours earned, up to date, are 36. So
far, the Competencies covered are TFI-A-B;
TF-IIA-F; TFIII-A-E. I have
learned , through this course, it is important to be willing to learn and know
how to research, not necessarily how technology advanced you are. Although I
have always been interested in technology applications, and included them in my
lessons with my Gifted students, I feel I was very limited in my knowledge of
available software and insecure in my ability to learn new programs. This course has taught me to try several
software sites related to video production, which is an area I have wanted to
pursue with my students, but did not now where to begin. Most of my experience was limited to using
Flip cameras and running in to incompatible programs. Now, I realize there are many user friendly
programs, which I believe my students and teachers could master. I know none of them does “it all,” but each
has specific capabilities that would be important to expose my students to. I wil be using WeVideo for editing and
Audacity primarily for voice recording (Audacity, n.d.). I
believe students will become excited and interested in creating their own
educational films to teach others. I
also believe it will be a superb way for students to express themselves. I will include online articles, directions,
and links in my technology blog I have already set up for my teachers. I hope
to get this started over the summer, while teachers have time to review the
material and build the excitement now.
Step-by-step instructions will be shared with teachers and students in
producing a video in a collaborative group.
(Williamson and Redish, 2009, p.17).
I will also extend the use of photography/video to encouraging students
to make Historical Documentaries and how important it is to record voices of
our elderly. Another area to pursue is
sharing and teaching how students can make a difference in this World. I have learned so many aspects of using
technology to make the lives of teachers easier, such as online collaboration
using Googledocs; sharing thoughts and reflections using Blogs; and training
online at one’s convenience. I used to
think of training as taking place only in workshops and standing up front to
deliver the information. I now
understand video tutorials can be
created along with instructional videos “for both online and campus classes”
(McCrea, 2011).
Status of Action Plan
Research:
My action plan is at
the midway point. I began in
December, sharing during staff meetings
the idea of online training and organizing a voluntary collaborative group
interested in exploring the expanded use of technology in the classroom. A survey was delivered, online, and
information was gathered concerning usage of technology and working conditions
of the hardware. Results were tallied
and presented to Administration. I was
encouraged to build interest and excitement without forcing the issue and
mandatory training, I sent out emails
explaining the idea of joining and sharing ideas of use and lessons. We began with a group of 15 teachers who
attended a short introductory meeting and received information about the blog
and a brief overview of the Mimio hardware.
This went well except the internet connection did not work
properly. I have learned always have a
plan B, and, yes, technology can be frustrating if your equipment doesn’t
work. I made a note of all teachers’
issues with the hardware and software and presented these to our
Administration. All software was updated
within a week and hardware was ordered and taken care of within a month. This experience leads me to believe there has
to be a better system to report issues and a follow-up system for repairs. This is the number one reason teachers shy
away from utilizing technology in the classroom. They do not want to plan and waste their
time. As the blog was set up and
articles included for review teachers were asked to respond to the reading material
via the Blog. In the first stages of
accessing and responding to the Blog, many teachers were frustrated with the
inability to access. While I had already
been using one, due to Lamar courses, I had assumed teachers would be able to
use with the same ease. After
problem-solving, and one-on-one discussions of not giving up, we were able to
find the solution of having a Google address first. I have learned, during this step, to always
try the directions yourself, as a trainer, before handing out directions to
others. I should have modeled the Blog
site and response steps, which was the original plan before internet problems.
I have also learned careful
planning is extremely important. I know
I will be changing some tactics and listen to the teachers’ wishes and concerns
in guiding my training in my Action Plan.
At present, we, classroom teachers, have shared several lessons with the
entire staff, and my principal was pleased with the response, and has requested
more such sharing meetings. I did hand
over the reins to our peers and had the ideas and enthusiasm come from them,
not just me. One area of concern that
needs to be addressed is deciding a central site for storing all our lessons
for ease of access. We were instructed
to use Googledocs but find there is not enough storage space. Our District is extremely strict on using
outside sites. In continuing with my
Action Plan, I find one issue leads to another, and the entire process is a
learning experience for all, and we must be willing to change our methods and
paths as we progress and grow.
Audacity.
(n.d.) Introduction. l(2). Retrieved May 12, 2011, from http://audacity.sourceforge.net/manual-1.2/intro.html
McCrea, B.
(2011, March 23). Video tutorials to support instruction.
Williamson, J. & Redish, T.
(2009). ISTE's technology Facilitation and Leadership Standards: What
every K-12 leadershould know and be able
to do. Eugene, OR: International Society for Technology in
Education.
*