|
||||
| At Valley Oaks, IT professional development is offered
at both the district and campus level, depending on the needs of the
teacher. The district IT training has a regular schedule that can be
accessed on line at: http://it.springbranchisd.com/dev/course/calendar/
|
 http://school.discovery.com/clipart/
|
|||
| This district schedule allows teachers to take
classes in the afternoons from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. or once a month on
Saturdays (listed in black). Upon approval, some classes are
available during the week where a paid substitute will cover the teacher's
class so that she can acquire training during the normal school day
(listed in red). In this manner, the individual needs of the SBISD teacher are met by having
a flexible schedule. these classes require a minimum of six
participants in order to be held, and teachers register on line at: https://springbranchisd.edmin.com/
|
 http://www.teacherfiles.com/clip_computers.htm
|
|||
| In addition, if there is a definite campus desire, the principal can request the IT division to send out instructors to the home campus to hold training on site for the convenience of the teachers. |
  http://teachers.net/images/lib/graphics/
|
|||
| On the campus at Valley Oaks Elementary, they retain a .5 Technology instructor, Carlee Klam, who is paid only 1/2 day to instruct grade level teachers in various computer applications. Professional development occurs in small group and one to one interactions. Carlee Klam uses appropriate terminology and imparts this knowledge of vocabulary to both teachers and students. Mrs. Klam was a full time Technology Instructor for five years prior to the financial cut backs which reduced her position to part-time. |
 http://www.clipart.com/en/index
|
|||
| I do not feel as if I have been adequately exposed to enough areas of the school or grades to make a definitive analysis of the technology integration within the classroom but I do see it being used some in the curriculum as a method of teaching technology itself. I personally only observed teachers using the computer in their classroom to check emails, write and print up lesson plans, and to send in attendance. There are two computer labs available for the students, and I have been in attendance in both the primary and upper level computer classrooms. On both occasions, the students were admitted to the lab where they observed the technology instructor, Mrs. Klam, give a brief demonstration of the computer goal for the day and then each child went to an assigned computer. There were some computers that were not connected to the Internet, but most of the computer time was used familiarizing the children with the application of Kid Pix (with Uh-Oh man), and how to start, open launcher, save work to a specific grade level and class, then put away their folders. The only technology of any type I have seen within the classroom has been a tape recorder for music in Pre-K, and an overhead projector in 5th grade. I do not feel as if the teachers are able to adequately integrate technology into their lessons because most of the teachers are not comfortable with technology and a majority of the students do not have access to computers and have no underlying knowledge base upon which to build and expand. Therefore, the students are learning from scratch and the teachers are trying to help them but the time in the computer labs needs to be spent allowing the children to become familiar with the computer software and general capabilities. There were a few exceptions, and some students required little or no assistance but the majority needed individual attention. Yet, the best example of computer use around the entire campus that I found was in the library as students researched the on line catalogue for their school library to locate topics and books of their own choice. |
 http://webclipart.about.com/library/
|
|||
|
I would like to see the students given an entire week of technology instruction for a set amount of time each day to get the basic foundation necessary to open files, and to save their work. Once this is accomplished, I would like to see some technology required components in the assignments that require them to perform simple tasks such as drawing a representation of a scene from literature, making a mathematical model with shapes, writing up science observations to be entered into their journal, or researching a topic for social studies in which they have an opportunity to discover the vast quantity of information available. These constructivist activities will help them have a concrete product and reason for participating. Recently, as a PUMA class, we worked with students in second grade teaching them how to read a thermometer. We took them into the computer lab to add technology integration concerning current temperature readings all over the world, the children were simply fascinated. The young lady I worked with had admitted that her favorite part of the entire lesson was the “computer part” because she does not have a computer at home and really thought it was fun. Technology should be exciting for students and can be used to motivate them and augment and accelerate their learning. I would love to see a few computers in each classroom so that students could have more exposure to them on a daily basis. As a result of this infrastructure scavenger hunt, I can see a definite need to saturate the curriculum at every available opportunity to include some type of technology component, but it will be difficult if the computer room is unavailable. The lessons will have to be timed accordingly to coincide not only with the correct computer day for the class, but the time as well. My lesson plans were already going to include technology components, so this will not change, but the manner or type might, depending upon the age and ability of the students. Once I am assigned to an SBTE, I will work with her to create an effective lesson for everyone involved. With Mrs. Klam’s limited schedule coming up, it will be important to time the lessons appropriately. I really have enjoyed working at the campus and everyone has been generous and kind, but I do see that more training of almost everyone in technology would be beneficial to both the staff and students.
|
 http://webclipart.about.com/library
|
|||
