Park View Elementary School has an enrollment of 551 students. Demographic information includes: 10% American Indian, Asian/Pacific Islander, and Black. The remaining 90% is White. Almost 40% of the students qualify for free lunch. In Mrs. Ewell’s (our cooperating teacher) 4th grade classroom, there were 30 students. The classroom setup had five hexagonal-shaped tables with six students at each table.
Mrs. Ewell was pleasant and welcoming from the very beginning. She was flexible and allowed for adjusting her schedule so we could be observed when Susan Stone, the UVU University Supervisor came two different times. She included us in discussions about the student’s progress and helped us to feel we were part of the classroom. We were also allowed freedoms while teaching to utilize classroom management as we saw fit.I don’t know exactly how Mrs. Ewell feels about the technology piece we (Jessica G. and I) created because there was a lot going on during the time we showed our digital story and she was taking care of other matters (in another classroom). The digital story was about Mountain Men and Tall Tales. This was our “hook” for a writers workshop lesson where the students would be writing their own tall tale during the last part of the lesson time.
The lesson we created was integrating social studies into the writing time scheduled for the students. Mrs. Ewell would always comment how prepared we were and that she appreciated that from us. I feel she was happy with how this lesson went and the children were very good about staying on task. The creative tall tales which were read in front of the class were fantastic! One of my favorites was about a man who could blow cheese out of his nose. This character helped out a small community from starving. What great creative minds!
The training session had to be brief due to time constraints. The day before the training session, I was permitted to install Photo Story 3 (free version) to her computer desktop. During recess break the next day, we had her sit down at the computer and actually create a digital story together with us. She selected many class pictures taken during the field trip to the Utah State Capital just days earlier. As we walked her through each step, Mrs. Ewell could see first hand how user-friendly and intuitive this software is. We had her explore in the music section and she created a fun, exciting song and attached it to her Digital Story. Later, I sent her an email with a link to the USOE folk music website. This is where we selected the songs we used on our own Digital Story. Within a few minutes she played her digital story and it looked very impressive. Her smile told us she enjoyed it too.
Being a part of this service-learning project has been a good experience. I am a believer in improving anywhere you are. Helping the teaching community utilize and understand how much more technology can enrich everyone’s life can always be a positive endeavor.
I feel my cooperating teacher gained new knowledge of this PhotoStory Program, it’s capabilities, and her ability to create one without taking up too much of her time. She was already somewhat savvy with uploading pictures from her camera to the computer. So, learning this program was naturally the next step. It was great timing for her.
I always gain enjoyment when I have been able to share some of my knowledge with someone who wants to do something easier or better. It’s even better when they realize it was beneficial to welcome change and learn something new. When you try to help others, it is important that you teach in a helpful and not condescending way. That way the person will accept the new knowledge and not feel pressured.
I feel that this assignment was definitely worth it because I don’t think any student teacher would feel confident enough to present a digital story the first time they taught in an authentic learning environment. I appreciate the opportunity and because I feel it was a success, I plan to incorporate more technology all throughout my teaching career.
