Participating in the MITTEN project has given me an opportunity to focus on integrating technology while facilitating the learning of young children.  Maintaining this focus allowed me to apply the skills that I learned in the EDT 210 course as well as aquire new techniques.  This project has also encouraged me to be creative and to "think outside the box" while imagining and implementing lessons within a Pre K/Kindergarten environment.
    Reflecting upon the semester, I've realized that I have used, and continue to use technology on a daily basis.  Whether it was to email the teachers I cooperated with or to create a developmental checklist using Microsoft Excel, my technological knowledge along with my increasing confidence in practicing my skills has enhanced both my productivity and my ability to enhance the learning of young children.
    I feel fortunate to have been paired with Jennifer Bauer for this internship experience.  Her technological know-how, her classroom expertise, and her willingness to share both, motivated me to use the available technology to support the children's construction of knowledge.  Ours was truly a collaborative effort from the start- a wonderful learning experience in and of itself.  I found that the old adage, "two heads are better than one," definitely held true in our situation and that our discussions and reflections generated new ideas as well as a continued enthusiasm for the project.
    As our enthusiasm increased, I found myself creating a wish list for our classroom, a list of equipment that would allow us to integrate even more technology into our curriculum and to lessen or perhaps eliminate behavior management issues. More than one computer in the classroom would help reduce the children's wait time and frustration.  Faster and consistent Internet connection would allow us to truly follow an emergent curriculum and to immediately follow-up on children's questions, curiosities, and misconceptions.  Finally, a projection device attached to the computer, as opposed to asking twenty- some children to crowd around one computer screen, would certainly help to eliminate that "I can't see" struggle that teachers of young children are all too familiar with.
     A feeling that I'm not familiar with is one of regret at the semesters end. It's unfortunate that my participation in the project has come to a close.  Jennifer and I continue to share new ideas on implementing technology in ways that  time did not allow us to explore.  I often find myself thinking, "We should have done this, or tried that."  The MITTEN project has sparked my interest and excitement, and I look forward to creating new ways of implementing technology in my own classroom.