Independent Project

     For my independent project, I went to the charter school on Wednesday, February 23, 2004.  My partner for this project was  Megan Lapinsky.  We worked with three kindergarteners in a duration of an hour and a half.  The classroom was equipped with one computer.  Our objective was to help them insert clip art into a PowerPoint story presentation, Crazy Clown.  The story had already been written in PowerPoint for us by other University of Houston students.  We worked with each child individually for approximately 25 minutes.  The first student we worked with had technology skills such as mouse capability, internet familiarity, and knowledge of inserting clip art.  I helped the first child maneuver the mouse and insert the clip art while Megan read the storyline and showed sample pictures.  This child inserted clip art into five PowerPoint slides of the story.  She enjoyed selecting the different variety of clip art pictures available.  The second student did not have the same capabilities as the first student when it came to the computer.  Although he was familiar with the internet and PowerPoint, he was not as familiar with tasks such as dragging and inserting clip art.  We helped this student insert clip art into three different slides.  Megan demonstrated to the student how to insert the clip art into the first slide, while I read the story.  The last student we worked with had very similar technology skills as the first student.  He was very enthusiastic with showing us his skills.  He inserted much of the clip art on his own.  Megan and I dictated the storyline to him while he chose which clip art to insert.  Due to a lack of time, he was only able to insert clipart into two PowerPoint slides.

     Megan and I both feel that we benefited from this experience.  We enjoyed our experience at the charter school, however, it made us aware of the disadvantages some schools face.  This school was equipped with an outdated computer.  While searching for clipart on the web, the internet connection became disconnected several times.  It took an incredible amount of time to shut down, log back on, and get back on-task.  As a result, we feel the children lost valuable learning time that could have been spent learning more technology skills.  Through all of this, we gained valuable insight into working with children and using technology.