Thirty-two computers, 26 students, one teacher: I was blind to everything besides these three elements as I first entered the technology lab at Simonton Elementary School. Knowing that I was going to be working in a technology classroom for my service learning site over the next semester frightened me. I kept thinking to myself, “Am I technologically savvy enough to assist these students?” I knew that I could guide them through most software and Internet searches, but computer technical difficulties were foreign to me. The children were going to expect me to know everything, and that rattled my confidence. The butterflies inside my stomach flew wildly as Mrs. Popcorn*, my mentor teacher, introduced me to her students. I looked at the students and was confused to see that they varied in all ages and grade levels. I had no idea that I was in for a giant dose of learning and a scientific experience unlike any I have participated in before.
Graphic: http://www.biblepicturegallery.com/free/Pics/Excited.gif
After further communication, I was able to discover that my first day at Simonton was a school-wide special science day called Jacques Costeau Day. I had the interesting opportunity to assist students of all ages and grade levels through an experiment on buoyancy that day. Throughout the day, I worked with five different groups of students, repeating the buoyancy exercise with each. The beginning of each period started with the use of a technological devise I had never before encountered, a SMART Board. There was neither a dry erase nor a chalkboard in the classroom; the SMART board served the purpose of these outdated methods of instruction. For Jacques Costeau Day, the students first watched a movie on the Internet via the SMART board. I was amazed to see that Mrs. Popcorn did not sit at her desk and use a mouse to get to the website she needed in order to view this video; Mrs. Popcorn simply touched the SMART board where she would normally click the mouse to arrive at the desired site. After the students watched a movie, Mrs. Popcorn wrote on the SMART board with specialized electronic markers. I had never seen such an amazing technological tool in a classroom!
Graphic: http://www.ed.kagawa-u.ac.jp/~sakasho/mtp/mtp2000/Kathy/0703/experiement.jpg
After the discussion over the buoyancy video, the students constructed an experiment discovering whether the buoyancy of an object changed if it were placed in salt water instead of fresh water. It was during this activity that I had the moving opportunity to work one-on-one with the students. One special needs student that I assisted, Lucia, was an English Language Learner. Lucia was struggling with the assignment because she could barely speak English. It was upsetting for me to see the learned helplessness that she had acquired through her academic experience. Though the students in Mrs. Popcorn’s class were supposed to be conducting the experiment, Lucia and I practiced writing her name. It was obvious to me that she not only had a language barrier, but other learning disabilities as well. Not only was she behind academically, but she did not fit in socially with her peers. My heart ached for Lucia as I watched her struggle. I wondered if she had an Individualized Education Plan (IEP). If she had an IEP, I wondered if Mrs. Popcorn was aware of what it stated because no action was being taken toward assisting Lucia in her difficulties.
The next time that I visited Simonton I was able to work with Lucia again on the computer for her regular third grade classroom block in the technology lab. She was in a third grade classroom. Once again Lucia fell behind her peers in the assignment that they were completeing. The students in Mrs. Popcorn’s class were assigned to research an ocean animal on the Internet, fill out a work sheet about the animal, and draw a picture of the animal in Paint once they were finished. Lucia did not even approach the assignment, for she was lost while logging into the computer. She became withdrawn and I realized that she was struggling, so I worked with Lucia individually. Though I enjoyed assisting Lucia, I was thrilled when a resource teacher arrived during this period, took Lucia out of the lab, and worked with her individually on her academic struggles.
The other students in Lucia’s third grade classroom, as well as many other classes throughout the day, were very fluent with the Internet and Paint. As I walked around the computer lab and answered individual questions, I was impressed by how quickly the children were able to find the information on an animal to study. A great contributor to the efficiency of this project was Mrs. Popcorn’s lesson planning. The children were given a variety of educational web sites to use from Mrs. Popcorn. She taught me an extremely effective manner of conducting Internet searches in my future classroom. Though it took greater planning by Mrs. Popcorn, having the students use specific web sites made the search less time consuming for her students. It also prevented the students from wandering to insignificant web sites. When I use the Internet in my future classroom, I will use this same method for web searches.
Once the students finished researching their animal on the web, I witnessed the creation of their extravagant Paint pictures. Embarrassingly, the students knew more unique functions in Paint than I did, and to my surprise, they rarely needed any assistance because they were so proficient. Though I did not reveal it to the students, they were teaching me more than I was teaching them.
Graphic: http://www.lyndhursthouse.co.uk/lhh-images/computer.jpg
My final visit to Simonton Elementary School was the most rewarding visit of all. I had the unique opportunity of presenting a WebQuest that I had created to a third grade class in the technology lab. My WebQuest was based on scuba diving and sharks. When approaching this task I was terrified beyond description because this was my first experience teaching to a classroom full of students. Despite my fears, however, the presentation was a success. The students grasped right onto the assignment and became engaged immediately.
Graphic: http://socrates.bmcc.cuny.edu/bfriedheim/Webquest.gif
There were some challenges, however, that occurred while teaching my WebQuest. First, Mrs. Popcorn had not created an effective method of classroom management in her classroom. The students often talked while she was talking and showed her little respect. I was worried about this same dilemma occurring during my presentation. As I suspected, the students did get noisy at one point, but I discovered an extremely successful classroom management technique. When it got too noisy, I told the students to first put their hands on their head, then on their knees, then on their shoulders, and then to clap twice. Unlike Mrs. Popcorn’s technique of raising her voice when students became disruptive, my technique worked. I gained the student’s attention through this simple exercise.
Another challenge that erupted involved the various academic levels of the students. When guiding the third grade classroom through my WebQuest, many students were often limited by those who had difficulty finding the WebQuest on the Internet. Once I let the students work individually, however, the more advanced and gifted students flourished. In addition, I was able to individually assist those who were struggling. Teaching my WebQuest was a challenging task, but I learned a great deal from the assignment.
Graphic: http://www.bobjude.co.uk/psptubes/people/women/f.gif
Through my experience at Simonton Elementary School, I have discovered many interesting facts about my future career as a teacher. Working in the technology lab was an extremely rewarding opportunity, but I would prefer to teach in a regular classroom setting when I am a teacher because the working in the technology lab became quite redundant. I will, however, incorporate technology into my curriculum where appropriate, for I know that the future is a technological world. Today’s children are extremely technologically proficient! Each time that I visited Simonton, the students continued to amaze me with their intelligence and technological skills. I was able to witness the mind of students twist and unwind through technology. After visiting Simonton, I am confident that our technological future is safe in our youth.
* Names have been changed.
Graphic: http://gallery.angelfire.com/clipart/People/Kids_at_Play/G0457788.GIF
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