Creating newsletters, designing Web sites, to delivering training – the DOT USA TeachUp! Interns have been busy with a number of projects to help teachers integrate technology in the classroom. Every two weeks, here in the Intern Pulse, DOT USA will be highlighting their accomplishments in the schools.

And for more in-depth information about our interns’ work, be sure to check out the Success Stories area of our Web site.

Lamar County

Angel Addison, TeachUp! Intern at Sumrall Elementary, has been working with the gifted class students, helping them research information on the Web about ancient Egyptian artifacts. The students will be presenting an interactive museum/showcase to their parents of their findings from 5-6 p.m. on October 25.

Joey Campbell, intern at Oak Grove Upper Elementary has helped Mary McCoy create a Web site for her fourth grade class. The Web site provides information to parents about upcoming assignments and tests.

Hattiesburg

Kim Brown is working with the staff and students at Rowan Elementary to create a school newsletter. Articles for the newsletter will be written by students, and Kim has created an application and interview process to find the best student reporters. She’s now working with student reporters to help them strengthen their interview skills before they start contributing articles.

Forrest County

James Gray, intern at North Forrest Elementary, helped teachers and staff learn how to use a Scantron machine that has sat unused for months at the school. He researched how to use the machine and has held training sessions with the staff to teach them how to use the machine, which teachers are now using. The machine is set up to send score reports to the teachers’ e-mails and the school district’s central office.

Danny Harmon trained himself on the use of the Promethean boards, and has taught several teachers at Rawls Springs Elementary how to use the equipment. One teacher was so thrilled that she sent an e-mail to his ISM, Deanna Stewart, praising Danny for his efforts at the school.

Sean Williams at South Forrest Attendance Center has trained himself on the use of the Promethean boards, and he is now teaching several teachers at the school how to use them. Also, he has helped the principal create a PowerPoint presentation that was used during a school meeting.

Petal

TeachUp! Interns in Petal schools are holding ongoing Interwrite training sessions for teachers at the four schools in the district. The Petal interns are also holding regular group meetings, where the interns get together to exchange ideas and discuss areas where they can work together to develop innovative ways to help teachers.

Gabe Smith, TeachUp! Intern at Petal High, has volunteered his time to help mentor a student at the school who is working on a senior project on web development. The senior project at Petal High is a year-long assignment that seniors must complete for graduation. 

Harrison County

Richard Waite at Harrison High has completed the setup of about 75 IP phones at the school. He picked up the phones from the school’s district office, assigned one to each teacher, and configured them. In the coming weeks, he plans to hold a training session for the teachers on how to use them.

Moss Point

Doyle Reid, Moss Point High intern, installed new Apple computers and a server in the school’s video lab. He plans on attending a training session during the Christmas break to learn more about the software that needs to be installed on the computers. He also has helped teachers transfer software and files from the old computers to the new computers. Since being at Moss Point, Doyle has visited every teacher at the school at least once and has created a spreadsheet detailing the technology and software each individual teacher is using in the classroom.

Jefferson Parish

David Thiberville organized a Technology Week beginning October 1 at Riverdale Middle School, where each day, teachers were encouraged to submit projects that required them to utilize technology. Some of the example projects included: teachers posting their favorite restaurant on an e-board, e-mailing David an image of their hometown, and downloading videos from United Streaming. At the end of the week, all the teachers who submitted projects for each of the five days were put in drawing for a $25 restaurant gift card, which was donated by the school’s principal.

At Riverdale High, Montae Richardson set up a day-long Promethean training, where teachers came by on their off-period to be trained on the boards use. He plans to offer a similar training in the future, as well as a session of advanced training for teachers at the school.

Jessica Galliano has helped install all the Promethean boards at Rudolph Matas Elementary. She has helped train the teachers, getting them comfortable with their use. Each week, she creates a schedule with dates to meet with the schools’ teachers on their planning periods.

Last week, Lisa Chatelain at Bridgedale Elementary organized e-board training for teachers at the school. Earlier in the school year, Lisa provided training on e-boards to other interns, and she adapted the materials from that training to be used in the training for the teachers.