Field Reflection

Shantel Fitzgerald
10/13/07
LAE 4860


Fairview Reflection

My experience at Fairview taught me a lot about how to react to the unexpected. Hectic and overwhelming best describe the first day. When the students arrived, they sat in their designated stations with their group members. However, the students did not have their notes or images from the last meeting in the computer lab. Fortunately, each group remembered their theme. I felt terrible when I had to ask the students to look for pictures, again. I did not want the students to get the impression that we were just giving them busy work. I know that behavior problems tend to arise when students think that their instructors do not value their work. The students actually responded positively, much to my surprise, to the news about looking for new pictures.
Moreover, two other colleagues accompanied me at Fairview. We decided that it would be best if we float around the room and help various groups. I believe that we could not give each group the attention that they needed. For example, some students missed the last lab meeting due to ISS, and they had difficulty catching up with their classmates. Needless to say, these students needed extra instructions and more time to complete the assignment. In the future, I will give my students who have a legitimate reason for missing class more time to complete assignments. However, if they miss class due to behavior problems, I will expect them to do what they can outside of class. Then, the students will have to make arrangements with me to complete the rest. All things considered, I believe that this would have gone better if my colleagues and I were individually paired up with students.
Much to my surprise, day two went really well. I was nervous that the students did not properly save their projects, and everything they achieved would have been lost. Fortunately, just about all the groups saved their work on the class’s flash drives. Since it was the last day, and we were running out of time, I only had the groups find three quotes. Also, I do not think that all the groups understood the concept of quotes: some groups paraphrased or wrote a few words. If I had more time with the groups, I would have explained how to write direct quotes and how to cite those quotes.
In addition, I regret the fact that students did not get the opportunity to fully experience Movie Maker. Unfortunately, students could not add narration, music, or video to their digital story. Some students found some incredible video clips, but they were not compatible with the program. I wanted the students to see that the program is capable of being more than a “glorified” slide show.
On the other hand, I was glad that most of the students maintained a positive attitude throughout the majority of the experience. A few students got a little frustrated along the way, but I could totally understand why they were perturbed.
All in all, I like the idea of incorporating digital stories in my classroom. Digital stories will make an excellent assessment for the end of a unit. For instance, students in my class will read To Kill a Mockingbird. The students will design a digital story that depicts a major event in one of the characters lives. One student may create a story that portrays the trial of Tom Robinson. Digital stories possess the potential to really enhance the learning experience for students.