Reflections

December 2010-Met with Laura Willard and Allison Maurer, explained the project to them and what it would entail. We decided that since none of our lessons this year have used technology, this would be a great way to take advantage of this project. We have not received our Promethean Boards yet, but should have them for after Christmas. Our goal is to incorporate this into our everyday teaching, but to also develop in-depth technology lessons using our Promethean Board. January 2011-Laura and Allison feel very overwhelmed about the Promethean Board. We basically received the boards without any training and were expected to use them. Through my prior experience with the Smartboard and my education at DSU, I was able to help get both of them started with the basics. This should help them get comfortable with the basic use of the board and then we can begin to move on to more in-depth lessons. February 2011-Met to see how both ladies were coming along with using the board and their comfort level. Both decided they felt somewhat comfortable with the board, so I began showing them some of the other tools the board has to offer and how they could use them. We discussed some of the ways I use it, and I shared some of the flipcharts I had. I told both ladies they were free to use them and I could show how to find and use the tools I used for some ideas they might have. Allison definitely has a little more comfort with the board. She has not been out of college very long, versus Laura has been out for some time. Allison did comment that in college they didn’t use much technology. I feel by choosing both these ladies, we are giving students a great start to using technology early on in their education. I know they will use the technology and continue to incorporate it into lessons over the rest of the year and years to come. March 9, 2011-We narrowed down lessons we decided to work on. Laura commented how every year her students have trouble with 3-D shapes. We decided that this would be a really fun lesson to teach and that there were endless possibilities of what to do with this lesson idea. I know she is ready to go and can really come up with a lesson that will engage her students. I believe by her doing one lesson with Math, she will decide that using this for Math everyday is a great and valuable tool. Allison decided she wanted to use more technology with Science. She really enjoys Science and wants to be able to do hands-on-activities, but also wants to incorporate technology. We are going to do a lesson on plants and seeds, where the students can also do problem solving along with the technology. March 23, 2011-Laura has been working on the lesson. I have been offering her feedback on what I think would/wouldn’t work well. This is usually done in short 5 or 10 minute increments and we do this on an as needed basis. It is great that I can help her make a lesson, but also give her the confidence to learn things through discovery as well. She is keeping the lesson simple, using the skills she is comfortable with, but knows will offer a powerful lesson. I can already tell that she is looking at other ways to use it for Math, and that the possibilities are endless. Laura has struggled with a few of the tools, but through my guidance, she has been able to come up with her lesson and feel confident it will help her students learn the 3-D shapes better. Allison has been busily working on the plants and seeds lesson, as well as other Science lessons. Her excitement has really grown about the board. She has commented she has been doing some searching online as well for ideas on lessons, and just can’t believe how many resources are out there. Allison is also really seeing the value on not only using technology, but also using 21st century skills. She is especially focusing in on collaboration and problem solving. These are skills our students are just beginning to develop, and so any way to help them grow in those areas is very important. April 19, 2011-Lesson was taught. Allison had an absolutely fantastic lesson planned. The kids were involved the entire time and were really focused into the learning and collaborating of the lesson. The students really had a good time and I could just tell their excitement was present the entire time. I can tell the students are comfortable with the board, and when they need to use it, they are not reserved or concerned about making a mistake. They are very familiar with the procedure of using the board, which tells me she uses the board a large amount with her students J What went well: The students were engaged with their teacher as well as others when doing their activity. The students really learned about plants and seeds and discussed about how they were going to do things at home as well. That is the goal of teaching: to spark a student’s interest and want them to grow that knowledge. Allison:-Interaction with students-Learned a vast amount of knowledge of plants and seeds-Excitement-Technology worked well; 21st century skills were present What did not go well: The lesson took a little longer than planned. When trying to present 21st century skills and really focus in on them, it can take extra time. This is something that takes adjusting and the more we teach these skills and gain years of teaching, the time management will come. Allison:-Long Lesson (cut into another activity)-Took some time to prepare lesson/activities April 20, 2011-Lesson was taught. Laura had a great lesson and it was great to see the kids excited about using the board and learning the objective of the lesson. She has incorporated the Promethean Board into her everyday teaching. Her kids seem very actively involved and I know she feels she is getting students started on the right foot by using technology at such a young level. What went well: The students were actively involved in the learning. Laura and the students could see how much fun technology can be and just how much you can really do with it. The resources and the possibilities are endless. Laura: -Fun using the Promethean board-Enjoyed collaborating with grade level teachers to create project and get ideas for future use-Comfort level of board is increasing-Students liked to use the board for learning; used it during our free choice time as well playing the same lesson we had just finished What did not go well: As Laura was teaching the lesson, the board/pen started to act up. All she needed to do was pull out the USB cord and insert it back in. This is something that has been happening with her board frequently, and I told her to have the technology department look at it. Also, I know something I noticed and maybe it didn’t seem like a problem to her was how long the lesson took. The board is a very neat thing for students and every student wants to have a turn. Laura:-board was having problems and caused students to get restless-Took a long time to make the lesson; going to try and look for more pre-made lessons I can adapt to my class instead of starting from scratch