Journal Entry Starts Here July 6, 2004

     I have just began the Star W program. My journal entries will reflect t   he new skills that I have

have learned. We learned about the Big 6 problems solving strategies. The Big 6 problem solving technique was very interesting.  I feel that the  Star program will teach me skills that I can use to help my students.

July 7, 2004 

     Today I spent time learning how to work on my new laptop computer. It is really easy to learn! The rest of the day we spent time learning about Web sites. The learning about web sites and how to link them to my pages has been extremely interesting. I developed a student page with an activity link. On the student page is a reading activity and writing prompt.

July 8, 2004

     It was a very productive day.  I learned to use Web and Flow.  It is really nice to have any questions answered while navigating the learning experience. I did learn about web sources and it has been very interesting.  All the information has been very interesting.

July 9,2004

     Today we worked on our Bullies to Buddies project.  We reviewed the research and discussed articles

that can be appropriate for project development. Today was really the beginning of my understanding of the scope of this project.

July 12,2004

     We began our workshop by divided the  group into three subgroups. The group I was in worked on our b2b survey. We worked on developing questions that would identify the following: What is a bully? How does the bully effect you? What types of bullies are there in school? Etc. Then all three groups shared and discussed their results. The three topics were: tracking referrals etc, survey for students and video lessons. Each group did a video of a bulling event.  All three groups created and filmed a bulling video.

July 13,2004

     Today I worked  Kelly and Janine to develop a power point presentation for our schools open house.  We wrote an introduction to the b2b presentation. We included major facts about bullying and added pictures. We need to finish this project at a later date. I learned a lot about power point presentation with their help.

     Another project we addressed was a b2b skit. We developed a nice introduction. We included pictures and various settings. Our group wrote a script and then acted out our roll play. Art taped our production and later we will edit in imo vie. This is an ideal tool for children to view and comment about.  They write an ending and even develop their own skit. 

     Today was another productive and educational experience.

July 14, 2004

     Today we gad a guest presenter from Dana.  It was a very good presentation.  I learned how to use the machines, how to beam between computers, and the uses of this technology with our students.

     We did begin to work on hyperstudio.  The plan is to continue this activity on Thursday. The remainder of the day was spent working on various projects that were started earlier in the week.

July 15. 2004

     Today we were introduced to hyperstudio.  We were taught to move and create files.  This will be very helpful for future reference. The next thing we did was to take the tutorial for hyperstudio. The tutorial was a very helpful experience and very informative.  I still feel I need to review parts of the  program in order to enhance certain skills.

    During the afternoon session, I worked on my student page and practiced power point skills. Art showed us how to edit a video the groups had made on Wednesday.

July 16, 2004

    Today we reviewed some of the selected bullying stories. Each group read and reviewed the books which included Chrysanthemum, A Weekend with Wendel, and Googgles.  We developed a series of writing prompts that would stimulate students to think critically. Additionally, I created some new activities for my student page. These activities were writing prompts and I tested the responses with my email. The day was very productive.

It was very helpful to have my colleagues review linking etc.with me.

July 19,2004

     It is very hard to believe that this is our last day.  I have really learned a lot.  Art was an excellent and patient instructor.  I plan to incorporate some of the newly acquired knowledge in many ways. The students should make excellent progress in writing and technology through the skills I've learned. I am taking home some of the reading series my students use during the year and plan develop writing activities for them. The past ten sessions have been an excellent professional experience Many thanks to Art, Marilyn, and my Starw colleagues.