Anna+Raulerson



Hi! My name is Anna Raulerson and I am a senior at Clemson majoring in Elementary Education. I am from Marietta, GA which is right outside of Atlanta, GA. I have 2 brothers, one who is 5 years older and one who is 5 years younger. I am the middle child and the only girl. This semester I have my block internship at McLees Elementary in Anderson district 5. I have been placed in Mrs. William's 5th grade class. I am looking forward to spending time in her classroom and hopefully learning a lot!

Overall I consider myself technologically literate. I spend a sufficient amount of time on my computer, cell phone, and ipod for various reasons. I feel knowledgeable enough to use and maintain them.

Unfortunately there is no interactive whiteboard in my classroom or any of the other 5th grade classes. I talked with my teacher about it found out they have a few smartboards in some of the third grade classrooms and there is one in a fourth grade classroom. There is also one that is for the entire school and any classroom is allowed to use it.

One thing that I thought was really cool and unique on the edutopia website was all of the videos. I especially liked how you could search for any topic video. There was even a way to specify terms, topics, and grade level. I can see that being a really useful tool, especially if you are someone who would much rather watch and listen than read an article on a topic.

__Math Extension__ My 5th graders are struggling with learning how to add and subtract fractions. I think a really good extension for them to do would be problems on the smartboard. My classroom does not have a smartboard (neither do any of the classrooms at my school) but they do have one that travels from room to room. I have spoken to my teacher about signing up to use it in the near future. My students are struggling with finding least common multiples and getting like denominators when they are adding and subtracting fractions. I think it would be much clearer to them after using visuals on the smartboard. The shape tool on the smartboard would be helpful. It could easily show them that 1/2 2/4 and 4/8 are all equal to the same thing.

__Science and Technology__ http://www.smithsonianeducation.org/students/explore_by_topic/science_nature.html

This website I found particularly interesting because of the great graphics on it. It includes several games and animations that are very engaging for students. I can see students of all ages being interested in playing all of these games. They also do a great job explaining the concepts brought up in each game. I can see this being very useful in the classroom. If you are in a classroom that has computers in it, it can be the perfect activity for early finishers. The students can be given the link and asked to complete certain activities on their own.

__ELA and Technology__ http://www.spellingcity.com/

This website puts a twist on how students typically study for spelling tests. This site allows students to type in all their spelling words into a box. Then, they can decide whether they want the site to test them, teach them, or play a game. Students can spend time doing all three of these activities to better understand their spelling words. It is much more fun and engaging than copying and memorizing how to spell each word. Students can do this in their free time in the classroom. They can also work on their spelling words at home if they have access to a computer.