October Journal Entry

November Journal Entry
This month we have  been  learning how to create a class newspaper.  The children have really enjoyed researching news topics ,  and their interest in current events  has been  increased.  We have extended our newspaper some what to make a sort of flier about the effects of Hurricane Mitchell.  Students are geared up to do a fund raiser with these news fliers in order to earn money to donate to the American Red Cross Disaster Fund.  They are very eager to lend a helping hand to others in need. We hope to collaborate this project with other 4th grade teachers and involve cyber ambassadors  to help with the research and development of  our news flier about Hurricane Mitchell .

Our Class Pet Exchange Project will be started  this month.  We have purchased our pet, which is "Smoky" dog .  The children  are excited  about their project and ready to begin.
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December  Journal Entry

This month we have been busy  trying lesson plans found on the Internet and making newspapers with our computer equipment. We tried  several  language arts/reading plans, but one of the favorites was a lesson using idioms. We went to the Weekly Idiom Index on the web and found a wonderful list of idioms.  Students copied five of the idioms and then drew a picture to represent one of them.  This was a simple  exercise that took about twenty or twenty-five minutes, but it created excitement about idioms and students acquired a better understanding of them.

In a philanthropical endeavor, we sold a computer generated newspaper about the victims of Hurricane Mitch.  Students were very concerned about the conditions many people were forced to endure after the devastation of the hurricane, and they wanted to offer what help they could.  We decided to design a newspaper that would inform  others of the circumstances in countries hit by the storm and sell these newspapers, along with students' comments, to collect money to send to the American Red Cross Disaster Relief Fund.  All the fourth grades participated, and around five hundred dollars was raised. Cyber ambassador, Will W., was used to help with the production of the newspaper.  He was a great help, since this was time consuming process that required a lot of typing at the computer.
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January  Entry

After our last Cyber Exchange class, I returned to class with all of the  addresses I had  saved to place in my computer's address book.  Installing the updated information was effortless and proofed to be such a quick reference to use while e-mailing.  I also  bookmarked several useful sites for  the children to go to while working on the computer.

We have been using the computer and the Internet to enhance our Social Studies curriculum this month. The maps and information we have found have been most useful, and we have used these in our studies of the regions of the United States . Students have also continued to enjoy the reading lesson plans we have been trying as well as the keyboarding practice generated in Mavis Beacon.

We are anxious to begin our Cyber Pet Exchange Project. We will be sending Tennessee's favorite mascot - Smokie.
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February Entry
     In an effort to prepare students for their TCAP writing tests, we have been spending much time and effort on writing skills.  Students have been writing, writing, trying to use powerful verbs and adjectives.  The computer was naturally used for our final step, publishing, in the writing process.  We utilized cyber ambassadors to help expedite this process.  We now have published works, with creative text and clip art, all over our room.  Our new Publisher 98 was a wonderful tool  to use to publish students' work.  They were very proud of what they had accomplished, and I'm sure will keep them as a treasure for years to come.
     ICQ has been an exciting enrichment source in our classroom. We tried  several educationally challenging games with Mr. Collins's class , such as a capital  and state game.  Students were able to test their skills in recalling the  appropriate state and capital. This generated much excitement , and students gave 100% to earn points for their class.  Next, we tried  a similar game with simile, metaphors, and idioms.  This skill was pre-tested with an average score or 87.  After we played the ICQ game, a post-test average score of 93.7 was attained.  Students finally demonstrated a true interest in the skill of recognizing metaphors, similes, and idioms when they were challenged by Mr. Collins's class.   "How do you know it's a simile?" "What is in idiom again?" were questions that students couldn't hear enough answers for. I believe it "sunk in" at last.
     Our Internet project is underway with a Class Pet Exchange Project from Texas.  My class is anxious to learn about their exchange class and  Texas.  We have made Valentine's cards, with a description of each student enclosed , for our exchange class (which was another nice writing activity.) We are waiting for the arrival of our pet. This should be a rewarding experience for each student and the teacher!  We hope to develop an exchange with a school in Russia also. A parent from our school is currently working there and is trying to negotiate a connection for us.  His first attempts have sounded very promising, and their students were quite interested.
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March Entry
What an exciting time we have had with the start of our Class Pet Exchange Project!  A  Texas Cougar arrived along with Valentine cards and autobiographies written by each student in our  4th grade exchange class.  Students were quite interested in learning about our paired class and were eager to begin taking "Canyon"  home.  He has  certainly done some traveling including a Lady Vols game in Knoxville,  a trip to South Carolina, and a  trip to the hospital for a tonsillectomy.  Students have been  using their best writing skills to update Canyon's journal after each adventure.  This week he will be with our class as we have a celebration day (for the Southwestern States),  Science Fair presentations by each student, and a visit from our local meteorologist.  We will include pictures made with our nifty disposable camera.

Power Point has been a wonderful tool for reteaching and enrichment of various reading and language arts skills.  We have downloaded several presentations created by teachers in the county.  The download process was slow until I became more proficient (with Mr.Collins's help.) Before  long, though, we had a variety to work with and the students loved it! We will be anxious to try more. All of this technology has been a tremendous boost to our classroom. Thanks to the funding that has made all of it possible, students will be more enlightened as they move into the 21st century.

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April Entry
My class has been very excited about using and creating PowerPoint  presentations.  As a joint project with Mr. Collins' class, one student from my class teamed up with students from his to make a presentation on simile, metaphors, and idioms.  What a great learning 
experience!  My student is now  in the process of training other students in my class to use Power Point.  We are presently forming a presentation on each poet that our class is studying during our poetry unit.  Students are having a wonderful time finding biographies, pictures, and poems off the Internet to include in their presentations.Our Cyber Ambassador has been a tremendous help with the development of these  presentations. He has donated time , effort, and knowledge  to aide  in the technological education  of my students. 

We have updated our web page with  short  works by students telling something about themselves. The possibilities for this site are unlimited, from what I understand.  I hope to come up with  some useful  ideas for using this page (like  maybe a homework guide for parents who have internet access) .  I have found that just getting together with other teachers during our monthly classes has been a wonderful time to brainstorm together and to hear the neat ideas that other teachers are trying in their classrooms regarding technology.

We are continuing our Internet project and class newspapers.   Students are still enjoying both.  These activities, along with the other opportunities we have had because of  the technology that is new to our classroom, have made my classroom more innovative and exciting than ever.
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May Entry
Prior to my participation in this project,  I had absolutely no Internet experience.  At the very end of the 1997-98 school year,  I was connected to the Internet via a MacIntosh computer.  I was just beginning to learn how to open the Internet when the school year ended.  Beginning with day one of this project, Connie took us through the process of using the computer from ground level.  Without  her patience and guidance, I never would have been able to access the Internet at the level I can now.  My class is currently involved in an Internet exchange project with a class from Texas.  We have kept a journal and taken pictures of activities that "Canyon" has been part of.  E-mailing our paired class has been an eagerly awaited activity by my class, telling about themselves and  their community and learning about lifestyles in Texas.

We have also used the Internet for all kinds of research in language arts, social studies, and science.  For example, we researched poets when we were involved in a class poetry project.  We located information on the various regions of the United States that we were studying in social studies .  Students used this information to create posters and  present information on our " celebration days."  The Internet was a tremendous resource during our preparation of science fair projects.  Not only did students find information about the particular project, but they also were able to access a science fair guide  that happened to be our on county's  web page.

My class has tried several  activities generated by the participants in  the Cyber Exchange project.  They loved Contraction Action and we even played another version of it when we converted the game to fit our spelling words.   Their scores on post-tests were  greatly  improved  after playing the game. 

I have not had an opportunity to use video conferencing this year, although I  hope to integrate that  tool in my instruction next year.  E-mail and ICQ on the other hand,  have both been invaluable.   I have communicated with other educators  continuously throughout the year, and have exchanged ideas about lesson plans, web sites, internet projects, and even "Help!"  distress messages regarding computer bloopers. 

Word and PowerPoint have been most helpful in the classroom.  In fact, Idon't know how we could have done many of our projects without them.
We just completed a PowerPoint presentation  on poets and poetry. I had students train students , so our effort was a collaboration of many ideas.
The students , via the Internet, found biographies, pictures, and poems to use in their presentation. 

I hope to attend a summer workshop to learn  more about PowerPoint presentations.  Next year I plan to involve more students right at the beginning
of  the year and continue creating presentation throughout the year to enhance areas of study.

We have made several newspapers throughout the  year.  I guess one of most interesting projects was a fund raiser for Hurricane Mitch victims .  After reading about the vast devastation on the internet, students became concerned and wanted to help. We published and sold newspapers  about the Hurricane along with comments by the kids.  We raised over $500.00 that was sent to the American Red Cross.  Other newspapers have served as a wonderful tool to keep parents up to date on the goings on in our classroom.  Next year I am thinking about including assignments and units for the following week so parents can keep up with homework assignments and test schedules.  The web page, I think, could be used positively in the same way, but at this point I don't think  many of my parents have used it.  That is probably due to the fact I haven't  notified them well enough 
regarding its availability.  I hope to do more with this next year.

I can't explain the extent to which these training sessions have helped me.  I was afraid to even turn on a computer, and could do very little with it.  I have used a computer 100% more in the classroom than I would have without this project.  We  have learned and accomplished more than I thought I ever could have.  Sharing ideas with other 4th grade teachers has  helped to make my classroom more innovated and exciting for students.

I have used my Cyber Ambassador several times throughout the year. He has been great to help, especially during the times when I just didn't have enough of me to go around.  He has helped with class newspapers and PowerPoint.

Student achievement  has been increased because students have had access to an exciting and broad learning tool.  All I had to do was turn on the
computer, and their eyes would immediately light up as they sat up taller in their seats.  Their attention was caught and they eagerly listened to lessons
presented with the computer.  I did actually measure learning with pre and post-tests on skills that I had  previously taught without the computer.   Their scores were consistently higher after we integrated the computer.

Participation in this project has decreased my fear of the computer.  I am now confident enough  to make mistakes and learn from them.  Using the computer is now something I look forward to instead of something I dread.  Communicating with other educators, both during out training sessions  and
by e-mail and ICQ ,  has also empowered me to have the resolve to try new and fun ideas with my class.   We don't share ideas enough with our colleagues, I think due to time restraints that we normally have.  We have constantly shared with other teachers as we return to school each month  discussing our ideas and projects. Even on the playground, we find ourselves talking and comparing notes. My  Internet paired teacher and I have also been sharing what we've been doing.

This project was organized so well that it would be hard for me  to suggest ways to improve upon it.  Connie has been a wonderful teacher who can present goals in such a way that you don't even realize how much you are accomplishing until the end of the day because you have enjoyed it so.  I would hope to see others who were like me, intimidated by the computer, have an opportunity to  experience  technology through this project.  My hope is that this project is broadened to encompass more teachers from the county.

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