I cannot believe that my internship is almost over! I have finished leading all of my professional development sessions, although the one-on-one sessions will last the entire year and so will the ASPEN and Moodle sessions.
I met with my principal last week before the holiday and he was really pleased with everything that I have been doing. I told him that I would be more than willing to lead any workshops or professional development on technology this year and in the years to come. He knows this, and will continue to keep me posted as there are new developments. We all know that ASPEN is still the focus for the rest of the year for the staff usage of technology.
This has definitely been a more difficult process than I expected. Not that every school year does not have its fair share of tears and stress, but this added another element to it. Keeping up this blog, the staff blog, my final portfolio, and lesson plans! I feel like I have not had too much free time on the weekends, but I am hoping that is soon to change. Even as I write this it is almost 10PM on a Friday night, and I am at home, blogging about my internship!
I have done so much work on my portfolio and all of the resources from my internship, but sometimes it does not feel like enough. I keep staring at my portfolio, and it feels like a lot, and looking back from when I started, I do feel like I have come a long way.
Overall, I am pleased with how my internship was shaped. Even though there were changes, especially with ASPEN, I have a supportive principal who was always there to lend an ear, give advice, or just be a physical presence at various sessions. I also have an extremely supportive husband who is going through the same exact thing; thankfully, we have had our ups and downs at different times so that we could support ourselves better.
Although it did not turn out how I originally planned, I don't know if internships ever have the initial anticipated outcome. Here's to a couple more weeks of editing, creating my presentation, and sharing my experience with others!
Friday, December 2, 2011
Thursday, December 1, 2011
Glogster
I led a session on GlogsterEdu today for a handful of interested staff members. It was nice that there were teachers from other departments today! Winter sports are in full swing this, so it is difficult to get the attention of the social studies department (most of them are coaches)! Even one of the assistant principals came by today just to say hello, and he stayed for awhile because Glogster peaked his interest!
Glogster was interesting to attempt to facilitate because I basically had to sit down with the teachers to help them "play" with the program. I created a Glog and showed them some sample Glogs that my students had made last year and this year. Once their accounts were set up, I walked them through changing the wall background and adding text, graphics, pictures, audio, and video. The drawing and data additions are not accessible with the free account.
The teachers had a lot of fun working on test posters to try out different features. Before I knew it, 45 minutes had gone by. I was so thankful today that they were patient, willing to learn something new, and that the wireless Internet did not have any issues today! One of the teachers did not seem to have as much fun with the program by herself, but she told me later that she was really excited because she knew that her students would love it!
After using this program with my students, I know how much they enjoy doing this, and could not imagine the possibilities and growth if more teachers were using programs like this. Our students really want to utilize technology, but many of our teachers are using it occasionally in the classroom, but they are not meeting the students needs with technology. Taking the students to the computer lab for research or checking out the mobile lab for the same thing are not meeting the kids at their level. Mine have loved new challenges with using Glogster, Weebly, Museum Box, and Prezi already this year.
While it was not a challenging session today, it feels great and overwhelmed all at the same time to be finished with the sessions. Now, I just have to add a few more things to my portfolio, make some edits, and work on my virtual presentation!
Glogster was interesting to attempt to facilitate because I basically had to sit down with the teachers to help them "play" with the program. I created a Glog and showed them some sample Glogs that my students had made last year and this year. Once their accounts were set up, I walked them through changing the wall background and adding text, graphics, pictures, audio, and video. The drawing and data additions are not accessible with the free account.
The teachers had a lot of fun working on test posters to try out different features. Before I knew it, 45 minutes had gone by. I was so thankful today that they were patient, willing to learn something new, and that the wireless Internet did not have any issues today! One of the teachers did not seem to have as much fun with the program by herself, but she told me later that she was really excited because she knew that her students would love it!
After using this program with my students, I know how much they enjoy doing this, and could not imagine the possibilities and growth if more teachers were using programs like this. Our students really want to utilize technology, but many of our teachers are using it occasionally in the classroom, but they are not meeting the students needs with technology. Taking the students to the computer lab for research or checking out the mobile lab for the same thing are not meeting the kids at their level. Mine have loved new challenges with using Glogster, Weebly, Museum Box, and Prezi already this year.
While it was not a challenging session today, it feels great and overwhelmed all at the same time to be finished with the sessions. Now, I just have to add a few more things to my portfolio, make some edits, and work on my virtual presentation!
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