Leigh+Haslam

Hi, my name is Leigh Haslam and I am a senior Elementary Education major at Clemson University. I am from Knoxville, Tennessee and am the youngest of three children. I am so excited for this semester, as busy as it may be, and ready to get into the classroom and have an excellent student teaching experience.



I would say that though I am technology literate, I am not a technology expert. I am very interested in learning more about technology and I realize how important it is in education and in my future classroom. I hope that my EDF425 Course is informative and that I leave with many ideas of how to engage my students through the use of technology.

This semester I am working in a 5th grade classroom at Calhoun Academy of the Arts which is in Anderson District 5. My classroom this semester has a Smart Board, but they are only accessible for 5th grade classrooms. There are also four computers in my classroom available for student use. Their is a technology lab in the school, but it is not currently in use due to construction.

I had a great time looking at the Edutopia website. I particularly enjoyed the videos and the fact that you could search and find so many topics so easily. I am excited to look into and use this resource more!

1. I really enjoyed science and technology day and enjoyed learning about hands-on tools and technology that can be used in the classroom. I was slightly annoyed that I felt like most of these tools would not be assessable to my future classroom, but still it was exciting to see the technological oportunities that a well funded district could provide. This reinforced my belief that technology is an excellent tool that should be used as much as possible, but not abused. It also displayed how technology can a huge benefit when attempting to engage and interest students. The guest presenters were very knowledgeable, friendly and helpful. My field placement has been in a 5th grade science classroom and so it was fun to be able to go back and tell my corresponding teacher about my experience in class on Friday. She was thrilled to see the new innovations and exciting things happening at Clemson. Though it was a fun day and interesting presentation, I am not sure how applicable it will be to my teaching experience. I feel that I already knew most of these ideas that they presented, but am still thankful for their time and effort.
 * SCIENCE REFLECTIONS: **

2. website a= Brain Pop- http://www.brainpop.com/ This is one of my favorite website resources because it has so many different videos and interactive activities and for every subject. The classroom where I am currently interning uses BrainPop and the students love it and are very engaged whenever it is used. One problem is that only some things on the site are free and others your school must purchase a membership in order to access. I would use this in the classroom to introduce a new theme and then have students take a quiz after watching the video. For instance there is a cool video on forces of motion that my students have really enjoyed. It is also a great place for teachers to find activity ideas.

website b. Funology- www.funology.com/laboratory This website is really neat and would be especially exciting for younger learners. It has all sorts of activities and labs that you could use in your classroom or use to encourage a science loving kid to do at home. Everything from how to make silly putty, to making a tornado in a bowl, and even making a rainbow indoors. I know that I would have really loved this site at a younger age, and definitely could see myself using this with my students or simply to get ideas as I teach.