Field+Based+Activities+Weekly+Logs+and+Reflections


 * Field Based Activity Log April 12 - 18 [[file:Field based Activity Log April 12 - 18.docx]]**

__Discussion for Week__

This week was a very important week for me, and really helped me get my thoughts together on how to proceed with the internship. Initially, I was extremely nervous about the internship portion of this program because of the fact that I don't actually teach. After several emails with Dr. Abernathy though, I was very relieved and excited about my internship. I was introduced to my Mentor, Jennifer Lyons, by Dr. Abernathy and I couldn't be more thrilled about working with her. Jennifer is a 4th grade teacher at Regina Howell Elementary here in Beaumont, which is very convenient for me. She seems to be genuinely happy about working together and that gives me much relief.

Before meeting with Jennifer, I spent the day going over my internship documents, reviewed the standards, and looked over the text book for the course. I wanted to make sure that my first meeting with her was productive so I prepared a few questions and an informal agenda. When we meet I found that she had done the same. In our first meeting we discussed what direction my internship plan would take and briefly came up with some ideas for activities that would help carry out that plan. We decided that each of us would further the plan and would meet up later to finalize.

Later in the week did an analysis for the school using the AEIS and STaR data. I was pleased to find that school performed well in most areas but needed some improvement with the Economically Disadvantaged student population.

I also created a survey through Survey Monkey that I would give to the teachers at Regina Howell so that I could determine the current technology situation as well as the attitudes towards Technology Intergration. I was a bit surprised at the results because I expected them to be a bit more advanced. For the most part, they seemed to be receptive to a Technology Integration Team but really had no idea what that was or what they did. I shared the results with Jennifer and she I decided that forming a Technology Integration Team would definitely be a part of my Internship Plan.

Jennifer and I also decided that we would include a Professional Development Plan as a part of my Internship Plan. I looked for surveys that I could give to the teachers that would give me insight into what they needed. I decided to use a survey that we used for our Instructional Design course. I’m still waiting on results from this survey.

This week we also finalized the Internship Plan and I put it on my Wiki Portfolio.


 * Field Based Activity Log April 19 - 25 [[file:Field based Activity Log April 19 - 25.docx]]**

__Discussion for Week__

I sat down this week and began the readings for the internship. I've found that as I read I'm getting more confident that I'm on the right track with my internship plan. I've printed the K-12 Horizon Report but haven't had time to read it. I did briefly look through the report and was particularly interested in the section on Collaborative Environments. I shared a link to the document with my site mentor Jennifer, so that she could get the information to her fellow teachers. The report stresses the importance of a collaborative environment in schools today because of the great benefits of collaboration. These environments foster teamwork amongst the students and encourage critical thinking.

I am also looking for results from my Professional Development Survey that I've asked the teachers to complete. This survey is somewhat long and is not on computer so I'm hoping that I will get at least a few back. When I last checked only two teachers had completed one.

I've also began to look for opportunities for Online Professional Development for the teachers. I've started a list of links for Jennifer. Also, I've put together a list of research on the benifits of a Technology Integration Team. I'll forward this information to Jennifer as soon as it's complete.

I'm still getting things organized this week and hope to get things put together a bit more in the weeks to come.

Johnson, L., Levine, A., Smith, R., and Smythe, T. (2009). //The Horizon Report: 2009 K-12 Edition.// Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.


 * Field Based Activity Log April 26 - May 2 [[file:Field based Activity Log April 26 - May 2.docx]]**

__Discussion for Week__

This week was not as productive as I had hoped because of the work load in my current course. I was able to begin the Model for the Technology Integration Team though. I plan to present this to Jennifer Lyons when complete. My plan so far consists of ways to recruit potentially effective members, defining their Roles and Responsibilities, and and how to begin coming of with an effective integration plan. I have set up a meeting with Jennifer so that we can discuss her being the Team Leader and other potential team members.

I also spent some time working on my Wiki Portfolio so that I could meet the Deadline of May 1, 2010.