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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 surprised with the entrants. One entrant used a program called Jam Trap to produce an original song.  The student despite being nervous was able explain some of the limitations of the program. For example, it does not allow you to edit your song once created. Another student used a digital program to create an audio-track with visuals in colorful rectangles. The rectangles were very visually appealing and located at different heights on the screen according to the changes in pitch in the track. As the track faded to close, the rectangles also fade. Another of my favorites entrants presented an original podcast written and directed on the subject of music. The entrant explained that along with other students, they write and create podcasts on approved subjects and upload them to the application Spotify for their listeners to enjoy. After competition, we were able to engage in discussions with Media Specialists and technology instructors about the projects and the history of the competition. Winners of the competition will advance to the state round of competition next. I truly enjoyed the experience. I was able to network and learn.

After the competition, I was able to work with my school media specialist. In addition to her many duties, I learned that she is also responsible for all of the low and high technology in the school. Working with her, we had to account for an enormous list of items at the school to include laptops, smart boards, cords, smart pens, and many more.

Additionally, I had the opportunity to assist a fellow teacher with adding technology albeit a small amount technology, to a lesson. This colleague is not comfortable with a lot of technology but very interested. Together, we looked an ELA lesson and added access to an app that allows students to manipulate letter tiles. In an effort to allow students the opportunity to practice the skill, we created a gaming activity. It was both fun and engaging for our students. The most humorous portion for me was the indignant shock of the students when they discovered that to successfully play the game required that they actually read!! The horror! (Insert huge grin here). 

I also had the opportunity to interview the media specialist at the elementary school level. It was so informative, and I truly appreciated the time that she spend speaking with me. The interview is available on my website. Stay tuned for more adventures of the Inspired teacher, post meltdown and prodding forward.  

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