I eagerly awaited the first official day of Tech Club, but I was a bit apprehensive of using the computers because of the failure I had with the schools technology during a presentation last year. Last year I volunteered to do a 4 week lesson with the kids that focused on Riparian Habitats. I prepared a very nice presentation that included power point slides with food webs, water webs, insects, plants, animals and other influences of a Riparian Ecosystem. I also had a very nice Video explaining Riparian habitats, the video was produced by an MSU professor for a kids science show. I choose the video because it was about the Smith River in Montana, which the kids could relate to since it was a river near Bozeman. I was excited about the video, but later found out that the schools technology prevented me from playing it for the kids. This failure of technology was a great learning experience and prepared me to have a back up plan, just in case I had problems with the technology.
I arrived early to make sure I had a handle on getting the technology for the day ready, prior to the class. The library staff was very helpful when it came time to setup the projector that was connected to the laptop. I used the projector to help the kids navigate to the website we would be using for the day. I also got the instructions on how to best distribute the lap tops to the students, along with any special instructions for their use.
The lesson that we had planned for the day was focused on looking up information about one of the 50 United States. In my conversations with Mrs. Hatfield, the schools librarian, she had mentioned that in the schools tech club she was introducing the children to the use of a subscription service called World Book. She gave me the schools password and I formed a lesson using a website that the kids were just starting to use during their regular school day. I found it very beneficial that the kids had some familiarity with the website, prior to us using it in of After School Tech Club. We had the kid navigate to pages that provided detailed information about each state in the union. We then gave each child a note card along with a fact sheet for the state they would be researching. The World Book Program had a very nice detailed sheet about each state and the children had a great time finding out the facts that we provided on the worksheet for them.
Most of the kids worked diligently on the sheets and once they were finished they were instructed to stay on the world book site to either play one of the related games or find more facts about their state than we wanted on the worksheet. One of the kids figured out how to use the google maps satellite view to find his house. The other kids thought it was very cool and so most of them shifted their focus to trying to find their own house. We worked to help the kids with the mapping program, but the child who initially found his home had mastered the program and eventually worked with his peers to help them find their homes. It was very rewarding because he is not as out going as most of the other children and he really opened up while helping his peers.
The lesson went very well and I learned that the use of the computers really inspires the kids to work hard, even after they have spent an entire day at school. I look forward to using the computers more during the tech club. So far the most helpful aspect of the class has been communicating with the Library staff. They have eased my apprehension of using the schools technology and have been a very useful resource for the tech club.
Thursday, September 27, 2012
Wednesday, September 26, 2012
ASP Tech Club Visit # 1
ASP Program Reflection
Describe the setting: I was assigned to Hyalite Elementary School. This is Bozeman's newest elementary school, it opened it's doors for the first time 4 years ago. The program host between 60-80 kids each day. The program director is Beth Kennedy, who has been with the program prior to the opening of Hyalite Elementary. The children descend on the school stage after the final bell rings. The afternoon starts off with some play time outside followed with a snack. Once the snack is finished the kids break up into respective age groups. The younger children usually have story time followed with an activity or art project. The older kids move to the library to work on homework, reading or math activities. The main study and activity time for the children is between 4:05 and 5:00 pm. Typically things start to wrap up around 5pm and if there is extra time the children that still have not been picked up get a chance to go outside again.
The staff at the after school program are very organized and have many different hooks that they employ to organize the children between activities. Knowing these hooks is very helpful when teaching lessons, because the children know to stop talking and give you their undivided attention. The library is where most of the lesson's will be taking place, because of the access to technology in the school. I learned very quickly that establishing a relationship with the library staff will be essential to a successful tech club. Getting to know the staff of the After School Program will also be very advantageous, because they will be able to help with the disciplinary issues as well as the lesson.
What Challenged You? I am very familiar with the program from my previous volunteer work. The biggest challenge is getting comfortable effectively using the technology that is provided by the school.
What Surprised You? There were not to many surprises because of my familiarity of working with the director and the children during previous visits to the school.
What Interest You? I am interested in becoming more familiar with methods that will help keep the children engaged in the lesson.
What Scared You? The one thing that scares me is that the children have already spent a full day at school. More instruction is the last thing that they are interested in and coming up with projects that teach as well as entertain is my biggest concern.
Describe the setting: I was assigned to Hyalite Elementary School. This is Bozeman's newest elementary school, it opened it's doors for the first time 4 years ago. The program host between 60-80 kids each day. The program director is Beth Kennedy, who has been with the program prior to the opening of Hyalite Elementary. The children descend on the school stage after the final bell rings. The afternoon starts off with some play time outside followed with a snack. Once the snack is finished the kids break up into respective age groups. The younger children usually have story time followed with an activity or art project. The older kids move to the library to work on homework, reading or math activities. The main study and activity time for the children is between 4:05 and 5:00 pm. Typically things start to wrap up around 5pm and if there is extra time the children that still have not been picked up get a chance to go outside again.
The staff at the after school program are very organized and have many different hooks that they employ to organize the children between activities. Knowing these hooks is very helpful when teaching lessons, because the children know to stop talking and give you their undivided attention. The library is where most of the lesson's will be taking place, because of the access to technology in the school. I learned very quickly that establishing a relationship with the library staff will be essential to a successful tech club. Getting to know the staff of the After School Program will also be very advantageous, because they will be able to help with the disciplinary issues as well as the lesson.
What Challenged You? I am very familiar with the program from my previous volunteer work. The biggest challenge is getting comfortable effectively using the technology that is provided by the school.
What Surprised You? There were not to many surprises because of my familiarity of working with the director and the children during previous visits to the school.
What Interest You? I am interested in becoming more familiar with methods that will help keep the children engaged in the lesson.
What Scared You? The one thing that scares me is that the children have already spent a full day at school. More instruction is the last thing that they are interested in and coming up with projects that teach as well as entertain is my biggest concern.
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