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Practicum Experiences _Week ending March 31.

 The week before Spring Break was a busy one. I was feverishly working on analyzing data from my classes in preparation of presenting at our monthly intervention meeting. In the midst of that, we received two new students. As it will likely happen, our school experienced some technical difficulties with our morning announcements. Our media center has recorded announcements at the ready so as not to delay the beginning of the day for students. It also allows the Media Specialist to troubleshoot the issues. It was another valuable lesson in the importance of preparation for those instances where technology might fail. Noted!  This week was spent in collaborative work on a instructional unit about Digital Citizenship. Along with my co-educator, we deliberated about which digital tool would best deliver the unit. We finally compromised and used Lumio by SMART although we had to forgo some of the animations that we wanted in place of the instruction. Also, this past week, I worked ...
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Practicum Experiences March 6th - March 20th

  What a busy two weeks! We spent so much time working to prepare for our leadership day. We worked to showcase the "Leader in Me" program at our school. It is our first face to face session since the Pandemic. We had a digital smart board set up during the performance recording & broadcasting the leadership event. I was also selected to manage the student leadership team during the performance. I also assisted student leaders in conducting tours of the school and all of our efforts to teach and promote leadership skills. It was so much work yet incredibly rewarding. Our school was represented so well and I am so proud of our students and staff.  I also worked with the Media Center in trouble shooting student devices with tech issues. Admittedly, most issues were resolved with the ol' control, alt, delete or our friend, "restart."  I spent a lot of time in collaboration with fellow teachers at my school. I have been trying to learn more and more about the Lu...
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Practicum Experience #4 Feb 21-March 5, 2023

I have been quite busy over the past two weeks.  Our school celebrated Black History Month with a guest speaker, a traditional dinner, and activities. I served on that committee in addition to my regular duties as educator. Although I had a few opportunities to meet with our media specialist, Ms. Erwin, I would have liked more time to discuss upcoming projects. During our meetings, we discussed the upcoming needs assessment of our center. We discussed technological tools that I have recently discovered. We discussed the radio broadcast used for morning announcements. I also worked with my co-teacher Ms. Simmons who is admittedly uncomfortable with technology. We worked on creating activities and assessments in Lumio. I will continue to share and collaborate with her throughout the remainder of the school year.  I had the absolute pleasure to visit and meet with Mrs. Norfleet, the media specialist at Rutland High School She was a wealth of information. I learned about the charg...
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Practicum Experience #3 Feb. 7-20, 2023

  I had the pleasure of visiting Rutland Middle School and working with the Media Specialist and students there. Although a bit under the weather, she graciously allowed me to ask a million questions. I also had the opportunity to meet with the media clerk and another educator. In the media center, I was able to observe and assist as students checked books in and out, brought equipment for issues, and browsed the shelves. I worked with one student in particular whose chrome book had a blank screen. Although it was an easy fix, I was impressed with this young man. He was able to teach me a thing or two! Also, while on site, I was able to visit a math class that used the IXL program for Math instruction. The math teacher also works as a science teacher and was currently working on a program that integrated Minecraft with Science instruction. The students were learning about the periodic table. Blending instruction with gaming was very engaging and really elevated the lesson.  Th...
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Practicum Experience- #2 Jan 24-Feb 6, 2023

  Honestly, I almost gave up and threw in the towel. I was quickly becoming overwhelmed with the number of daily tasks as an educator with too many responsibilities and duties to list, my practicum assignments, my personal responsibilities, and other unforeseen calamities.   I asked myself, “Self, what on earth made you believe that you could earn a master’s degree in instructional technology at age 55?” As I plowed on, I did enjoy quite a few experiences this week. One of the highlights was attending and supporting students in the Middle Georgia Regional Technology competition. Our school had a third-grade applicant who received great feedback on his project. Initially, I was assigned to students presenting in the category of digital game creation. At the last minute, I was moved to the Audio production category. The old-school gamer in me was a tad bit disappointed. (Mind you, I was the neighborhood Mrs. Pacman champion;   circa 1985!) I was however, pleasantly surpri...
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Practicum Experience -#1 Jan 16-23, 2023

This first week of practicum began in what was quite a busy week. Our school district initiated a new campaign to engage educators, students, and their families. It seeks to encourage all stake holders to be fully committed to their education. It was a logistical feat given the necessary adjustments to our schedule.  Additionally, our Culture and Events team worked diligently to plan events for the upcoming President’s Day and Black History month. I spent some time working on my social media presence via Twitter. Follow me: @TeachersTalkTec. Given all the activity of the week, I was extremely grateful for the support and training provided by our Media specialist, Ms. Erwin. Admittedly, as an older student, I was a bit apprehensive about technology. Ms. Erwin makes it appear easy. This week, while working with Ms. Erwin, I was trained the Destiny Library Management system. Destiny is the software platform used to monitor all access to media in our school. From Destiny, the us...
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