Reflection 
Reflection
My participation in the MITTEN program has been a most rewarding experience for me, my Mitten student teacher and my students! I feel so empowered and confident about my technology skills! After 14 years of teaching, I feel as if my batteries have been recharged again, with many fresh and exciting ideas to use with my students! I am more motivated than ever to implement technology into my curriculum. It has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life! I’m so proud of the work that we created in this project.
There
were a few challenges, as in everything, but…somehow, someway we were
resilient and worked our way around them. We had to take a few detours
here and there, but I feel like we’re on our way!
We had to work with Mac and PC platforms and we had to work with
different versions of software…including Windows 95 through Windows XP!
That was my biggest challenge! I
had to use mostly Macs at Salina school and some were very old!
Also, there were some issues that we had no control over. Some of these issues included the accessibility of the computer labs. The computer labs were not available until a month and a half into the school year. Once we were finally in the labs, some of my students could not log-in or the computers were not working! In addition, some of the computers were missing software that we needed, including MS Office!
One more thing, I was surprised to find out how complicated the process of acquiring permission to post a few video clips into our PowerPoint seasons presentation. I have embedded several video clips into my PowerPoint from the United Learning Company. I thought that it would not be an issue using the videos since most districts in Michigan already subscribe, including my district! Anyway, to make a long story short, I had the opportunity to experience the business side of this process!
Also, the video clips I embedded into our PowerPoint Presentation did not work! After everything I went through to get permission to use the movie clips from United Learning, the clips were not working in the ppt. presentation. I had to make separate links in my exhibits page so that we can view the seasons movie clips...oh well, still worked fine!
Overall,
the
technology/science lessons went very well, with the exception of a few
things! When
I do the Mitten project again in the winter, I will plan better for the unit.
The planning did not always correspond with the implementation!
We were behind most of the time because the actual implementation
of the lessons took much longer than we anticipated! I would also do less
explaining and have the students explore and experiment more on the computers!
I learned so much while working on this project! Among the things
that I have learned, is how to convert documents into different formats.
I learned how to change the extensions of documents so that I can
open in other software programs, that was kind of cool!
I also learned a lot about photos/ images; how to save them in
different formats (
The MITTEN program has forced me to sit down, analyze and really take note of all of the technology tools available at our school. I had to be like an investigator who is constantly seeking and asking “Techies” in our building about technology equipment available and help in using the software.
This
program has definitely helped me become more creative and more
knowledgeable of our technology world at our school and home environment! We
had a lot of equipment that I wasn’t even aware of! Now...it seems
as if I am always pushing to get more technology equipment into our
building and into my classroom!
My
students have embraced the “technology time” with open arms!
They are so excited and motivated to use any kind of technology
equipment! They really
enjoyed Kidspiration and making the movie! S
Finally, I would like to thank my Mitten student teacher, Jenan Abuzahria, for all her help, dedication to the students and her endless support! She's been an inspiration and a joy to work with!
Miss Abuzahria with class!
Aidah
Ali Hammoud