For the observation requirement in Education Technology, I have observed two different

teachers and the principle in the Wynnewood Public Middle School district. The first
observation of two hours was with a 7th grade math teacher, Mrs. Whitefield who has been
teaching for thirty years. The math lesson was learning about calculating integers. She used
the Smartboard coordinated with the textbook software and provided the students with a hands
on manipulate. After the lesson, I visited with the teacher about the technology used in the
classroom. Currently, the Smartboard is the only technology she had besides the computer on
her desk. She stated, that she had requested a couple of classroom iPads, but instead the
school had ordered Chrome notebooks which have not arrived yet.
The second observation of three hours was with Mrs. MaGaha in the Special Education Lab for
7th and 8th graders. Mrs. MaGaha is a relatively new teacher who graduated from ECU and is in
her second year of teaching. The technology available in her classroom would be two student
computers, a Smartboard, and the computer on her desk. The two student computers are
designed with software geared to assist students with their daily work in the general education
class for reading and math. The students perform their work using the software on an
appropriate level of learning for them. This is tricky, because the software is a set of
assessments designed to promote advancement to the next level if the student passes each
task. Often these students need assistance during their work on the computer. This can
provide a problem in the way the software works. If assistance is provided to the student and
they are able to pass the task, they will level up to a more difficult assessment even though they
may not have a complete understanding of the last level. Mrs. MaGaha stated it is very
important to monitor students when they are using the computers. This helps to prevent
leveling up from happening by pulling the student away from the computer and working with
them individually for comprehension and then allowing them to complete the assessment.
My interview with the principal Mr. Lynch, gave me an opportunity to ask questions regarding the
technology in the middle school building. Currently, they have a computer lab, Smartboards in
each classroom, and this is the first year they have Wi-Fi available for the building. The
Smartboards are a wonderful resource for the classrooms, but even he is aware that not all
teachers have the training they need to effectively use them in the classroom. The school has
not provided a profession training day to train all teachers in the usage of the Smartboard. This
seems to be related more to a generation gap. I asked if students were allowed to use their
personal devices in the classroom. He stated, that was at the teachers discretion if they
wanted to allow students to use their devices to complement their assignments. He did state
optimistically that the school has ordered some Chrome notebooks to be distribute to various
classrooms to assist with technology for learning. Unfortunately, while technology is very
important to him and he feels that they are making progress, it is difficult to implement due to
the financial impact and effectively training teachers in the ability to utilize it in the classroom.
This is mostly due to the fact that funds just are not available.