November Entry
For the previous month of October, three local 5th grade teachers worked together to exchange story problems in Math. The students in one classroom created problems based on the Saxon skill of “Some Went Away” stories, which teach subtraction. The other classes brainstormed problems using the Saxon skill of “Equal Groups” stories, which teach multiplication. The stories were faxed to each teacher involved and she gave them out to her class to solve. 

 The students reinforced their knowledge of the two skills covered by actually writing word problems that focus on these skills and also working out problems sent to them from the two other schools. The students had fun reading what the other students had written and working out the problems. 

 Another project worked on during the month of November was the lesson plan involving Time Tests in Multiplication and Graphing. This activity was very exciting as my Math classes compete against each other. Every day they check the graph to see which group won the day before and they clap and cheer when their group moves up the chart. 

December Entry
 During the month of November, one 5th grade class worked on the Saxon Publishers Math Enrichment Problem. I put the problem on the T.V. screen and each student would go to the screen and work on the problem as they finished their class work. Some of them would work in pairs while others preferred going solo. They each turned their answers in to me and the correct answer was announced the following day. Each student who correctly answered the problem was rewarded with candy. 
 I felt the problem was a fun, enriching activity for the class. The drawback to using this enrichment problem is that it is only changed once per month. After talking with one of the other 5th grade teachers, I think I will try the Brain Teasers problem of the week. 
 My classes also enjoy using the software programs Gold Medal Math and NFL Math. I use Gold Medal Math especially with my lower ability groups as I can set the level of difficulty for multiplication 

January  Entry
 I chose the skill of finding a fraction of a whole number as my Power Point presentation for the month of December/January.  This seems to be a skill that is harder for the 5th graders to master and I wanted to find a way to explain the basic parts of the skill in an easy to understand manner. My presentation incorporates the basic parts of the skill in the beginning and then gives practice facts. I feel very good about my experience creating this presentation and can see other benefits for using it besides as a review. Students who miss the class this skill is taught in can watch the presentation during their free time and not have to wait until I can teach it to them individually. 

The only drawback I found to creating the Power Point presentation was the amount of time I spent searching the Internet for artwork to use with the slides. It was hard to find appropriate clip art or icons that were “.wav” files. 

 During the month, I also contacted by email the Saxon Publishing Company to request more frequent brain teasers on their website. The brain teasers are currently only changed once per month. 

February Entry
I spent the month of February working on the Technology Literacy Grant Unit for the topic of Adding and Subtracting Fractions with Unlike Decimals. In addition to this topic, I also worked on approval for the topic of Learning More About Thomas Jefferson. Both of these topics were approved and I spent classroom time teaching the first Math topic. 

I have found that I really enjoy the search and application process of applying for these grants and feel ready to work on two more. It has been enjoyable (as time allows) to find the variety of websites available for math and social studies (the two subjects I teach) and to review these sites for projects to use in class. 

As I taught one part of the topic that utilizes a web site with question and answer pages, I noticed how attentive the students were to watch the questions and call out answers. With only one computer, the connected television is a big help in allowing the students to all feel a part of the lesson. I would love to find or create more presentations that slowly introduce and build on math skills while also providing actual practice. 
 

March Entry
 During the month of February, I spent several hours working on the TLG grant process. As of this time, I have two grants approved and will be working on two more. This process has been very educational for me personally as I have worked with a variety of websites that will be beneficial to me, and my class, in the future. 

 When I taught the Trackstar program on Thomas Jefferson, the students were very interested in the different hobbies and interests of Jefferson. The scavenger hunt from the Monticello website was a great activity and we used it as a whole group project. 

 I am still very interested in creating more PowerPoint presentations that coordinate with the skills being taught in Math. This would be so beneficial for the students who struggle with certain concepts or who have been absent during the actual teaching of the skill. I would like to pinpoint the skills that cause the most difficulty and create a PowerPoint presentation 

April Entry
 Participating in the TLG 2000 has been a very interesting experience as it has involved working with Internet sites and creating tracks that will benefit my students and myself. It has involved a great deal of work at home in order to access and research my tracks as my school computer and access to the state web site were limited due to server problems. My evaluator was a big help and I enjoyed the actual process of researching the grants, but did not enjoy the many and varied technical problems I experienced trying to access the site to do the work. I think this will be of benefit to the students in the long run and appreciate the chance to earn extra money to use for technology in the classroom. 

 I have used a variety of Internet sites recently as we are working on creating and training a Scholars Bowl team from my school. We have used the county web page to access different sites to use for review and trivia questions. We also used the Internet to research buzzer systems. 

 Integration of technology was used in the Social Studies area of my class as we looked into the life of Thomas Jefferson and his interests and hobbies. We used a track to look into Monticello, Revolutionary War soldiers, and causes of the war. We have also used the Internet to practice math skills, such as fractions and multiplication facts. 

May Entry
My experience with this class has been so beneficial as it has opened up my classroom to new computer and Internet experiences that we would have otherwise missed. Just having the opportunity to learn how to use the variety of resources available through the computer and the Internet and being able to show my classes these resources was a very popular addition this past year. We used several Trackstar web quests, search engines, math and social studies projects and games, and the students were able to research topics related to our studies. I know that without this class, I would not have had the time or knowledge to investigate the sheer number of educational sites or be able to pass this knowledge on to my students.

I enjoyed creating the lesson plans and also using other plans created by teachers. In the classroom, we used a Trackstar program that explained how to add and subtract fractions with unlike denominators; participated in a virtual tour and scavenger hunt of Monticello (home of President Thomas Jefferson); solved monthly and weekly math brain stumper problems; played multiplication games and reviewed facts; watched PowerPoint presentations on math topics; and am currently using several sites for the students to investigate Civil War topics.

We have used email and ICQ mainly to communicate in-house and countywide. It has been of great benefit to copy and send web addresses that I have found to other teachers in my subject area. 

I have used Word and PowerPoint throughout the year, especially Word as a tool for creating lesson plans and word processing projects for the students. The PowerPoint program is one I have enjoyed learning about and I am anxious to spend time creating presentations related to objectives I teach as a review tool for the students next year. It would also be a wonderful help for the students who are absent when the skill is taught.

The classroom web site is used primarily for the math stumper questions, which are placed on the T.V. monitor in the classroom and students use free time to try and work out the answer. The web page also has games the students are encouraged to play to enhance math skills. With only one computer in the classroom, it is difficult to schedule computer time for each child in a fair manner. We try to have group presentations around the monitor so that each child can participate.

Having the time to actually sit down and spend several hours exploring and learning these skills has been invaluable to me. Even though I try to find time at home to research the Internet for educational sites, it is very hard to work at home with family and school responsibilities. Our instructor was so very knowledgeable and informative that the class went by very quickly and I felt empowered to go back home or to school and try out my new skills.

The laptop is a wonderful tool, but I preferred using my home computer to work on the projects. The laptop was shared between two teachers and it was hard to get to a comfort level with it in the limited time I had with the laptop.

It has greatly enhanced my curriculum as it added another dimension to the student’s learning. They were able to actually look at places and things from our country’s history, such as pictures taken after Civil War battles. They were able to review math skills and learn new skills by participating in Trackstar programs that utilized Internet sites to teach skills. I feel strongly that the students received great benefit from these activities.

I feel that having the time each month to sit at a computer participating in directed activities was the most beneficial. I felt very free to learn about new methods and programs that would fit right in with what I was teaching instead of trying to work research in during planning periods or at home. I cannot say enough about how helpful this class has been to me and to my students. 

I have worked with several teachers in my school relaying the information I received during the monthly classes. I also assisted other teachers in looking up new searches, PowerPoint presentations, and lesson plans off the Internet. 

I would love to have further training in Internet and computer uses in the classroom, especially in the area of Social Studies. I would also enjoy learning more about grant funding to assist in adding more technology to my classroom.