November Entry
 I let the kids write the word problems.  They enjoyed doing the work.  Some wrote good problems.  Some did not.  I did not send them to the other schools.  I thought I would get time to type them, but of course that didn’t happen.  Jennifer and I did send pen pal letters back and forth.  The kids did love that !!  We will do better next time.  Maybe doing it on ICQ would really help. 

 Our lesson plan was on order of operation.  We are going to use a PowerPoint demonstration to introduce the rules and then let the kids practice problems.  After this practice the students will play a game using order of operation rules. 

December Entry

I started using the Brain Teasers Internet project.  I feel that the problems take a long time for the kids to solve.  We only have a small amount of time, and this project is hard to implement.  The problems need to be shorter.  I would be able to use them in the beginning of class.  As far as my web page is concerned, the kids just loved it.  They fought over who would be the next to use it.  My only problem with this part of the project is too many students and too few computers.  I am sure that this is a common problem.  My students made their very own math crossword puzzles using the math vocabulary that we had learned.  We then sent them to Joanne Hodgson’s class, and they had a ball working them.  My students also enjoyed hearing from the kids at Rush Strong on their progress.  Joanne and I stayed in contact throughout the day.  Every time the ICQ would go off, they would ask if it was she. 
 I found a great sight for math clipart!!! It is http://www.mathgoodies.com/math_image_library/
Please look at this sight!! It is wonderful! 

January  Entry
This month I used PowerPoint more than I ever have before.  I had the opportunity to take the laptop home over Christmas break.  This allowed me to use free time to develop PowerPoint presentations for my students.  I think the visual image is a powerful way to teach. The kids love the sounds and images.  I get so many complements from my kids when I use PowerPoint.  I have found a wealth of resources in PowerPoint.  I just love it!!!  The laptop is the greatest invention since sliced bread.  I don’t have a lot of time to sit at school and make presentations.  This laptop freed me up.  I could do something on the laptop when my husband was watching something I hate on television.  I took it with me when I took my father for his cancer treatment.  I usually just read a magazine, but I got so much done on PowerPoint.  I think every teacher should have one.  It would allow for so much freedom.  The Internet has been a point of frustration for me!!!!  I search for one particular subject in math and never find it.  BUT I find a hundred other things that I could have used in the past or can use in the future.  The things I find are great, but the frustration lies in not being able to find the present topic I am searching for. 

February Entry
 This has been a wild month.  I started my Technology Literacy Grant unit, and the snow finished it.  I will be starting again on Monday.  I would have had great success with it.  The weather just did not cooperate.  I have been using the Internet to download lots of ideas for fractions.  The kids have been searching for ideas for their projects.  The kids are also working on a project to do their own PowerPoint.  They are having a good time.  The laptop is wonderful.  I take it home and use it to get ready for the next day.  I just transfer anything I do over to my teacher station.  This has been a hard month.  It can only get better. 

March Entry
This month my kids have been working on a project.  They choose a partner and a math topic.  They must teach this to the class.  I instructed them on the use of PowerPoint and they made a lesson plan and a PowerPoint to go with the lesson.  They then have one class period to teach their lesson.  They have had a blast doing this.  I have decided to use this as my Internet project for Cyber Exchange.  I have already started to work on the projects with the kids.  I will be using my web page to post my project on.  I am very excited about my idea. The kids are also enjoying the work.  The learning grant has been a source of stress.  I have tried to fix something, but it doesn’t seem to be working.  I am going to have a private session today with Connie to see if we cannot reduce the stress.  PowerPoint is going wonderful.  My kids think that I am a PowerPoint wizard.  I have mastered the interactive versions.  I am working on making them for integers. 

April Entry
TLG experiences- I was approved for the first $500 dollars with a lot less pain than some of my fellow educators.  Time elapsed before I got my second one finished.  It was a great opportunity for teachers to get money for their technological needs.  The way it was presented was a little frustrating.  The site was the most frustrating of all.  It would take forever to process something- sometimes not even showing that you had completed a task.  It would have been ok if you could have taken a dose of Valium before starting.  I was a nervous wreck after completing the first one.  Next year please try to make it a little less complicated. 

Internet Resources- I have subscribed to wow.com which is a little frivolous site, BUT the clipart is great.  It is animated.  I have been using the web to review for TerraNova.  Not much searching has been going on.  In two weeks, our computer needs will speed up!! 

Integration of Technology- We will be making a second round of PowerPoint’s after the test.  I  have been doing so much review that it has slowed my integration process down and having only one computer doesn’t make it any easier. 

May Entry
I did not touch the computer in the 1998- 1999 school year.  I was still a teacher on a cart.  In 1999-2000 school year, I received a 21st Century classroom.  The Internet SLOWLY started to become part of my daily classroom life.  I started very slowly to ensure that my hair did not get pulled out.  I would just show the kids sites that I found and encourage them to go there in their free time.  I started to build a web page that I would put sites on that helped with the objectives that I was teaching in the classroom.  I started to learn how to relate the ideas I found to the objectives I was teaching.

I used the Geometry PowerPoint that Joanne Hodgson and I created in my classroom.  It gave the students a different perspective on what I was teaching instead of just the chalkboard view.  I let the kids circle the right answer on the television screen (they thought that was just great). 

I did not do any video conferencing.  The ICQ and the video conferencing saved my life.  I was able to talk with other math teachers the very minute I had a problem.  My instruction improved because I was able to get the help I needed immediately, instead of a week later.

Word has been such an asset to the students this year.  They have typed more things than I can count.  They have used Word to type lesson plans that they had to make for a project.  I think that PowerPoint is God’s gift to education.  The kids absolutely loved me using PowerPoint to instruct.  They were always disappointed to find out that I did not have one for them to see.  Then when I turned over PowerPoint to the students, they would make the most wonderful and creative presentations.  I cannot imagine having a classroom without PowerPoint.

I have put assignments on the web and links for things we are doing in class.  The parents could check the web site to see what we were doing.  I tried to keep it updated as much as possible.  

STAFF DEVELOPMENT HAS BEEN A BLESSING THIS YEAR. It was just like having a personal day.  I would go and get refreshed.  I LEARNED SO MUCH FROM MY FELLOW TEACHERS. The ideas I got from my fellow teachers were worth more that gold.  My classroom instruction improved 100% as a result of one day spent away from my kids. Everyone should be involved in some kind of idea sharing group because we all have so much to learn from each other!!  My curriculum has taken on a broader sense.  I have so many outside sources that I use for making my curriculum into real world applications.  The students are learning to think outside of the box.  I have developed a new sense of enthusiasm.  I feel that this project has been the best thing that has ever happened to me.  I feel that it helped shape me as a beginning teacher.  The sense of enthusiasm came from learning new things and from getting to be a sponge to experienced educators.  I hope everyone gets an opportunity like this.

I have become sort of the computer solver at the school. I have been called into classrooms to help with finding things on the net.  I have been asked to show my PowerPoint presentations to other classes and teachers who were interested in learning the program.

I would hope that there would be more professional devleopment opportunities in educational technology.  Teachers have VERY FEW OPPORTUNITIES to get together to brainstorm and share ideas.  I feel that the communication has been an integral part to my year and my sense of enthusiasm.  I have developed friendships and working relationships that will help me long into the future!!!!