Preparing for the Gallery Walk

Stress, stress, stress! I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one who feels this way as the deadline for all STEP requirements draws nearer and preparation for the Gallery Walk is underway. I’m sure after all of these is over and done with, it will be worth all the sleepless nights, all the frustrations (i.e. when you can’t embed your voice thread J) and the time we spent making this STEP program succeed. “Children come first” – and this STEP training is actually for them since they are the primary beneficiaries of enhanced lessons, visually-stimulating classroom instructions and more importantly, as they hopefully become life-long learners with the lessons they have learned from all of these.

Working with My STEP partners

We stayed after school until 8pm trying to work on our projects, and it was a learning experience. We all had something to say that helped the rest of us. We all agree that this program was difficult to do because of the heavy workload we all have already. But, we feel that we have more tools to work with and in some ways, after the initial learning process, the technology will make our jobs easier (well actually, this is my personal opinion, but I think that my work partners would agree with me.......somewhat.....LOL).

I Did It!!

I have such a sense of accomplishment!! I created 2 Photo Stories both of which exceeded minimum requirements! I used several pictures/slides, I used several transitions between slides, and I incorporated lots of narration by both the children and myself! That's a big deal for this Technology Immigrant!!!

Work Session

I’m glad Ms. Ronlyn found a way to be with us for the last and final STEP training we will be getting for this year.

Podcasting

I think Podcasting via Voicethread was my least favorite of the 3 new technology skills we learned. I guess it's because I didn't see as much excitement and interest from my students. For the narrations, the students did not engage in any more spontaneous language than usual. Even though they liked hearing their voices when the voicethread was played back, podcasting held their interest and their attention the least.

Growing and Changing Project

The class did a project on the growth cycle of frogs. We used all the technology that I got from the STEP program. The students even had opportunities to speak about the project. They stated in the mic the stages that frogs grow from eggs to a full grown frog. They used in addition to the document camera and the digital camera, puppet props, audio sounds of frogs, and creating a story book on the growth process of frogs.

May 8, 2009
In our weekly administrator meeting today, we have decided to take pictures and videos for professional development purposes next school year. Many of the teachers are doing such wonderful things in the classroom. This would be an excellent vehicle to share the expectations!!