Patricia Hasse-Student Teacher (Language Arts NLC)
Kick-off Meeting
November 21, 2001
Before today I was extremely excited about being asked to be a part of the MiTTEN project.  Now I am both excited and confused about the expectations and goals that have been placed on me.  I thoroughly enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere of the meeting.  The food, speakers, and room were very well organized.  My confusion came when we broke off into the smaller groups.  Our individual meeting did not fully explain what was expected of us.  There were many documents handed out, but we never went over them fully.  We spent most of our time introducing ourselves and telling about our experience with technology.  I know that we are going to be creating lessons during our student teaching that use technology, but I am still unsure as to how we are going to do this.  I feel that the program needs to be explained in more detail, with more attention drawn to the step by step procedures that we will be following.

WORKSHOP ON WEB PAGE DESIGN—2 DAYS
I was very impressed with how organized these workshops were.  We were given an outline of everything we were expected to complete, and the order in which we would do it.  I have previously taken EDT 210, so this workshop was not helpful to me personally.  I already had sound, animation, and links before most of the class figured out how to make a simple background.  I only signed up to come to the workshops because my cooperating teacher wanted me to be there with her.  I spent most of my time over the two days of the workshop helping the people sitting next to me.  I was happy to help them out with anything they were confused about.  Even though I am capable of creating web pages, I feel that this workshop was very well organized for people who do not feel as comfortable with computers.

WORKSHOP ON SPREADSHEETS—1 DAY
As with the web page design workshop, I felt very comfortable working with the spreadsheet program.  I use spreadsheets on a regular basis in my day to day routine.  I use spreadsheets to average my grades throughout the semester.  I find that it is an easy way to keep track of exactly how I am performing in a certain class.  The workshop moved very smoothly, and was very well explained.  I enjoyed seeing examples on the large screen.  I felt that it helped people who may have been struggling with the spreadsheet program.  I enjoyed this workshop and felt that it was very well organized.
 
NLC MEETING #1
Today's meeting started off in a large lecture hall on campus.  There were four presenters that gave examples of ways to use technology in the classroom.  I was extremely excited to see the Inspiration 6.0 program used in the presentation because it has recently been installed in the school I am student teaching in.  This program immediately gave me ideas that I plan on using for my lesson plans.  After breaking off into groups, I had the chance to work with my learning circle for Language Arts.  During the meeting, Dr. Kettle gave a presentation on the ASK program.  I had the pleasure of being a part of this program 2 years ago, so I was glad to see the excitement that other teachers felt towards it.  I would love to use this program in my future classroom.  I was slightly disappointed with one member of my NLC.  I feel that this individual does not understand how technology can enhance learning in students.  This person had the impression that technology should be used simply in writing workshops or it would totally take over education.  I feel that anything you can give to students that will make a more meaningful impact on their learning is a good thing.  Technology will never take the place of good teachers, but if used properly, it can make great teachers better.  I am excited about getting started on my lesson plans.  I already have some ideas that I want to work on.  I am thinking about focusing my five lessons around a book that I am reading to the class.  I want to incorporate the Inspiration 6.0 program and PowerPoint.  I would love to use the Internet as another resource, but unfortunately we do not have access to it at our school.  Because of this, I was hoping to create a mock Internet scenario that is more like a database where students can click through and explore things at their own pace.  I want to create this using the PowerPoint program.  Overall, I feel that today’s meeting went very well.  I look forward to meeting again to express some ideas.

NLC #2
I was very discouraged when I arrived at this meeting.  I looked at the itinerary only to discover that each person was set to present for 45 minutes.  I personally did not feel prepared to present for so long.  I would have brought examples of student work, the program I am using, and a detailed plan of my entire unit from day to day.  Even though I had my plan thought up in my head, and written on scraps of paper, I wanted to share something more than just a brief explanation.  I wish I had known ahead of time what the format of the meeting was going to be.  Once again I feel that the project leaders have not clearly stated what is expected of the participants.  I feel like every meeting is a new surprise that catches me completely off guard.  Student teaching involves a lot of work and stress, so adding more stress seems completely unfair.  I don’t feel like I can plan ahead and save time when the parameters are so vague.
 At the meeting, despite my panic about a 45 minute presentation, I felt confident that the group liked my ideas.  I am trying to make sure that the focus of my unit is language arts, not technology.  The group did not have any complaints, so I am ready to move forward.

Seminar Meeting
I came down with the flu on Wednesday night and thus was unable to attend

Network Learning Circle #3
I felt confident that I was doing the right thing after this meeting.  We started the meeting talking about our individual projects and how they were doing.  After that was finished, we took the time to talk about our electronic portfolios.  There were many people in my group who were very anxious about creating a portfolio.  There is a lot of work involved, especially if they have never created a web page before.  Having created web pages for myself on numerous occasions, I feel very confident that I will be able to complete the portfolio by April 24, 2002.  I am glad that I am finally understanding the purpose of MITTEN.  For so long I have felt left in the dark about every aspect of this program.  I am glad that our journals are being answered and people are now starting to give us a better idea of what is expected for our final project.

MITTEN Showcase:
The final meeting was wonderful!  I enjoyed walking around and viewing all the different units.  I saw many ideas that I might want to use in my future classroom.  I can't wait until all the web sites are posted so we can begin to share our ideas with other MITTEN participants.  The best part about the evening was seeing the new participants carrying MITTEN binders around with them.  I am so happy that the organization is finally in place for them.  I can tell that the stress won't be nearly as bad.  Now that it is all over, I read all my journals again.  I complained a lot about not knowing what was going on, but I am so glad that I did.  I hope my comments helped give suggestions that will help the next group.  I love being a part of the MITTEN project.  It has been a wonderful experience that was truly fulfilling.  Seeing my final project displayed at the meeting showed all of my hard work and determination.  I am very proud of all that I accomplished with this project.

Staff Meeting:
After the MITTEN project was all over, I shared my portfolio with the principal of my school.  He was extremely impressed with all that I had done.  He asked me if I would present my work during a staff meeting on my last day of student teaching.  I agreed and everything went great.  The staff liked my ideas and asked me some good questions.  I was happy to share my unit because that is the whole purpose of MITTEN.  The project should be ongoing.  All the participants should share their ideas so more and more people start using technology to enhance their lessons.