It’s been almost a month since the launch of the bi-monthly Intern Pulse. But we’re back, and below, you’ll find a double dose of what the TeachUp! Interns have been up to in the past month.

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

Forrest County

James Gray, TeachUp! Intern at North Forrest Elementary, attended the school’s Fall Showcase on October 25, which gave parents the opportunity to meet with teachers and administrators. James worked in the school’s technology lab, showing parents the software and Web sites the teachers and students use, in addition to giving them tips on some of the resources that can be used at home. Elizabeth Sims, principal at the school, told James’ Intern Support Manager that the school’s staff does not think of James as just “an intern, but as part of the faculty family.” Check out the photo gallery from the Fall Showcase event by clicking here.

A number of teachers at South Forrest Attendance Center requested that the Quicktime media player be installed on their laptops. TeachUp! Intern Sean Williams took the initiative to go to the Tech Coordinator at the Forrest County School District, and requested permission to download and install the software on all the teachers’ computers.

Summer Niolet, Intern at North Forrest High School, helped the Spanish teacher at the school acquire a new computer for his classroom. The teacher had never used a computer, and the one she had in her classroom was outdated, using the Windows 95 operating system. Summer took the initiative to go to the Tech Coordinator at the school district to request a new computer for the teacher. She installed new software on the computer and showed the teacher how to use it.

As well, Summer has developed a strong relationship with her mentor, Lindsey Iosty. Summer is majoring in Instructional Technology, the same major as her mentor, and Ms. Iosty has requested that Summer return to North Forrest to do her student teaching assignment under her, which will be Ms. Iosty’s first student/teacher assignment.

On November 8, Summer held training on Digital Storytelling for teachers. She did an excellent job training the teachers who attended the session. Check out the photo gallery of her training by clicking here.

Loreko Terry, TeachUp! Intern at Dixie Attendance Center, helped Lisa Bickford, his mentor teacher, embed several digital storytelling projects into the Forrest County School District’s Web page. The project is prominently featured on the district's home page at forrest.k12.ms.us.

John Clemmons at Earl Travillion Attendance Center is planning a training session for teachers on Promethean Boards. The school just received a software upgrade for the boards, and John has familiarized himself with the new manual. As well, he is currently researching ideas to help the school tutors become more engaged in using technology in their tutoring sessions.

Danny Harmon, TeachUp! Intern at Rawls Springs Attendance Center, held a staff-wide training on Microsoft Excel for teachers at the school. The presentation is part of Danny's ongoing efforts to make the teachers more technology literate. Just a few weeks earlier, he held training on PowerPoint for teachers at the school. You can view the handouts for the PowerPoint and Excel tutorials in the Communities of Practice area of our Web site.

Forrest County Agricultural High School

Josh Reid, Intern at Forrest County Agricultural High School, taught Ms. Jones and her business/computer class how to place HTML into sub-domains on the school’s Web site. Now student organizations such as FBLA, DECA, and the Band have the knowledge to create mini-sites on the school’s Web domain.

Jefferson Parish

Andrew Simmons at Ella Dolhonde is continuing to send out technology tip sheets and newsletters to teachers on how to integrate technology into the classroom. His latest are on Discovery Learning Streaming, formerly known as United Streaming, and eBoards.

Jessica Galliano at Rudolph Matas Elementary is helping second grade teachers and students create a PowerPoint presentation highlighting a recent field trip. The children were equipped with digital cameras to capture what they saw on the Native Lands field trip, and they are now working to write a short summary of their visit. Jessica is going to help the teachers gather all the students’ information to make a presentation showcasing what the students learned.

Also, Jessica is helping 4th and 5th grade students with their Social Studies Project. In addition to writing a report, students are given the option to either create a model or PowerPoint presentation on their topics. Jessica is working with the integration specialists at the school to teach the students how to create a PowerPoint and how to use reliable and safe online resources for the project.

Angela Baldwin is involved in the Schlechty Working on the Work initiative at her school, Vic Pitre Elementary. She is incorporating WOW strategies to assist teachers in integrating technology into their daily lesson plans to engage learners.

Hattiesburg

In advance of Hattiesburg High receiving a huge shipment of InterWrite Boards, Intern Antoine Powell has been studying how to use them. He attended a tutorial given by fellow Interns Gabe Smith and Kim Brown on the use of Promethean and InterWrite Boards. Antoine has been conducting classroom observations to learn how teachers are using technology in the classroom. In one of his visits, he found that a ninth grade teacher was using the SMART Board as a chalkboard, and Antoine showed her how to use it and how the kids could interact with the board.

Brittany Payton, TeachUp! Intern at Grace Christian Elementary, is working on the creation of a school newsletter. She is currently creating a template, and she (and the school staff) hope to have the first issue out very soon.

Speaking of newsletters, Kim Brown has done an exceptional job in helping teachers and students create a school newsletter at Rowan Elementary. Kim helped in the designing of an interview process to find student reporters and gave the students tips on how to be journalists. After nearly two months of production, the newsletter launched this week.

Lamar County

Jason Reed is researching the development of an electronic and hard copy based newsletter for Purvis Upper Elementary. He is working with the school's principal in the creation of the project.

Dane Alexander, Intern at Baxterville Attendance Center, is training teachers on new software that will be used for the school's Web site. The SchoolNotes' software will allow teachers to post classroom information and announcements on the school's Web site.

Sumrall Middle School administrators wanted to develop an Accelerated Reader program but could not find funding for the program. DeDee Fewell searched the Internet and found a free Web site called Book Adventure that is similar to the AR program, and she has worked with teachers to register the entire sixth grade for the program.

Patrice Winfrey at Oak Grove High School is going to start Promethean Board training with Sonya Gates, technology coordinator for Lamar County. Sonya is going to work one-on-one with Patrice to give her tips on how to train educators on the use of the boards.

Jason Reed helped third-grade teachers at Purvis Upper Elementary convert their transparencies into a digital format, so the teachers can share the information with other school teachers in the district. Jason was helping the teachers to prepare for a statewide pre-math test.

Petal

Kal Sanford at Petal Middle School conducted both basic and advanced training sessions for teachers at the school on InterWrite Boards.