Kayla SmithED ET 650, Fall 2012Reflection TwoOctober 8, 2012

Recent Accomplishments:Over the past two weeks, I have continued to work on several tasks within my internship assignment. One of the goals that I plan to accomplish during this internship is a blog site for my second grade students to interact and collaborate with each other as they discuss the reading story from each week. I have searched all over the internet and joined numerous blog sites in order to determine the type of site that I will use in the classroom (and outside of the classroom) to enhance student participation as well as reading fluency and comprehension. I decided to create two sites, one through Edmodo for student involvement, interaction, and collaboration and the other through a different blog site for parents to gather information about the concepts we are studying as well as to view certain events that may be happening in the classroom or around our school. I selected Edmodo for several reasons. First of all, I believe that this blog site is safe and secure which will hopefully gain positive support from the students, parents, and administrators. Secondly, Edmodo is very similar to the popular social networking site, Facebook. In this day and time, most people (both children and adults) are familiar with Facebook which will allow for easier access and navigation around our blog site. (Crazy to think about a second grader on Facebook!) Third, this site offers many great features that will assist the students as they learn about our reading story and associated skills each week. For instance, a discussion board, quizzing and polling tools, as well as a library feature to view more information on the topics we are discussing in class, will allow the students to become more involved in the curriculum and establish a stronger learning community, both inside and outside of the classroom. You may view my Edmodo blog site by going to www.edmodo.com, selecting I’m a Student, entering your information and the following code: tggqsx. I am a little behind the proposed calendar, and unfortunately, my students have not been given the opportunity to participate yet. We are required to cover SO much information in a very short amount of time. However, the students should be able to begin sometime this week – early next week at the latest. I apologize for the delay, but I have to prepare the students to the best of my ability in order to secure their safety and provide a strong foundation for proper online etiquette. I will also begin the design and development phases of the parent blog site as well as the Smartboard website. I have and will continue to gather resources for both of these – pictures for the blog site and information (Everyday Math Content and Games) for the Smartboard website. Ultimately, I feel as though I accomplish a small step towards my projected goal each day, and moreover, I think about how this internship will directly effect and benefit both the students and teachers at my school.