Equipment/Technology Used
In the classroom, the most used piece of technology was the SMART board. It was used every class in order to fill in the blanks of notes and to explain problems visually on the board. It was also used as a timer for the student’s warm-up. I was familiar with this piece of technology before entering into my internship experience because I had the privilege to have one in my Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow classroom right across the hall. Through the demonstrations of Mrs. Hartless, the whole Virginia Teachers for Tomorrow class and I learned the different utilities that the SMART board provided. Even though we did not know every trick about the board, we had a good idea of how to use it in a classroom setting. Ms. Houchins also used the clickers that go along with a program designed by the SMART board manufacturers. Each student received a clicker in order to answer problems given to them as warm-up or just in class assignments. Although I did not know how to work the clickers as a teacher like putting questions into the system, I knew how to use them as a student. Whenever a student had a question about the clickers, I could usually come up with a solution for their problem. However, if Ms. Houchins had difficulties with the program, I could not be of assistance. The clickers were also used almost daily in order for the students to input their warm-up scores. The SMART board projected the clicker scores of the class in order for Ms. Houchins and me to judge what questions are necessary to explain with the SMART board and what questions should just be voiced because of a large amount of correct answers. I also barely learned how to use a copy machine on the last day of my internship, but I was ultimately unsuccessful.