Brittany+Poore



//My name is Brittany Poore, I am currently a second semester senior at Clemson University majoring in Elementary Education. This fall semester I will be completing my Internship I at Forest Acres Elementary School in Mrs. Brooke Gravett's second grade class. I am from Sandy Springs, South Carolina; where I graduated from Pendleton High School in 2006 and Tri-County Technical College in 2008 with an Associate’s Degree in Arts. I then transferred here to Clemson Fall of 2008, and plan on graduating in May of 2011.//

//Over the years I have had numerous computer and technology classes that has boosted my knowledge and capabilities of working with newer technology. I feel like I am advance in programs like Microsoft Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and Publisher. If I had the option I would rather work on a computer than with pen in paper, because technology has made things more efficient. In high school, my school actually had some interactive smart boards that our teachers would allow students to use; this was my first experience working and using the smart board. After the presentation from the representative from Promethean, I prefer to use a Promethean interactive whiteboard because I feel like I have more understanding and knowledge about what it can do. I think it would be better to become familiar with the Promethean board because my cooperating teacher has a Promethean board within her classroom; therefore I will have access to use during my time there. I also noticed that the entire school has adopted the Promethean Board as their interactive whiteboard of choice; which will be beneficial when I switch classes next semester to student teach.//

//Edutopia is a great educational website for educators to use that will help to improve assessments, strategies, classroom management and lessons; while having support from fellow teachers to discuss, blog, and communicate with. This is an interactive website that can help teachers improve lessons and strategies that are being covered; implement videos, pictures, and information that pertains to that particular lesson. As a future educator, I believe that this website will be beneficial to use within my classroom to incorporate different views and strategies for teaching.//

__Math Extension Idea__

My second grade students are studying skip counting using the hundreds chart. They are having some problems starting from numbers other than one, two, three, four, and five. The extension idea that I would like to incorporate within my classroom would be the activity from Apples 4 The Teachers website. This is a an interactive hundreds chart that allows you to show on the Promethean or the SmartBoard. This chart has the numbers listed ranging from 1-100; and a variety of different colors to shade with when skip counting. I actually used this today in my second grade classroom to go over skip counting. We started by counting by twos, fives, six, eight, and tens; this allowed me to shade in the numbers that came next. I think that this would also be good for student practice with skip counting, because they could use the Promethean Board to actually practice circling or shading the numbers that need to be shaded. This also helps show different patterns within skip counting. For example, I did count by five and tens; the students then saw that counting by fives lands on a tens. After showing this site to my cooperating teacher we actually decided to use it as a class activity. The students are to skip count by a number of ways to show that they understand skip counting. I think this tool really furthered student understanding of this topic by allowing them to practice and see a number of ways to skip count.

The website for this activity is []

Science and Technology 1. After thoughtful consideration, compose a brief reflection on what you gained from the hands-on science/technology workshop conducted by our guest presenters. How did these experience support/extend/connect with what you have been taught in your technology and science methods classes? Did you gain any new insights or perspectives? How do you think this will affect instruction in your student teaching experience and in your future classroom? (One or two substantive paragraphs will suffice.) I thought that the science and technology workshop was very useful because it introduced a number of strategies and tools that can be used within the classroom environment. I think that it is important to future educators to be exposed to different kinds of technologies and tools, so that they can one day use within the field. I think that the workshop connected to what we are using within our block courses and our technology course; although there were more tools and interactive resources shown during the workshop. I thought that it might be helpful to use some of the games and tools that they used with our class in the workshop; like using a cell phone, having class email, or having students create their own review study guide games. I believe that some of the strategies and tools that were used in the workshop; I will use within my classroom to enhance student engagement and understanding.

2. Using the links posted on our Wiki (http://educationfirecrackers.wikispaces.com/), explore 2 Websites (one from **Science Resources** and one from an area other than Science -- i.e., ELA, Social Studies, Classroom Life, or Digital Citizenship). After spending 15 minutes on each site, write a brief review of the sites. Include the title of the site, the url and 3-4 sentences that summarizes the site and indicates how (or if) you might use it in the classroom. (There are some product/hardware sites listed in the Wiki. Don't review these. Stick to sites that are activity or information based.) In addition to submitting your reviews along with your reflection through blackboard, add your reviews to the bottom of your personal Wiki page. Title: Smithsonian Education URL:[] Summary of Site: The Smithsonian Education website is a teacher and student website that can be used in and outside of the classroom for exploration. This is a science website that enhances students learning and understanding of a particular content area. Teachers can use this website to use games and activities within their lesson to enhance student’s engagement and participation. The website also includes videos, games, activities, and articles on science content material. Title: Cool Math URL: [] Summary of Site: Cool Math is a mathematics website that can be used by both students and teachers. This website has a number of features that students can interact and explore; videos, games, activities, and demonstrations. Teachers can use this website within the classroom to enhance a lesson by providing interactive games and activities for students to do within a group or individually setting. The website covers all of the areas of mathematics and covers different grade levels, so that all teachers and students can use.