Child+Case+Study+Project

= Gracejoy Hauser's Child Case Study for EEX 4763 Tech for ESE Students =



**Interview Questions for Andrew (10/08/09)**
1. **Age:** 10 yrs old **Grade:** 5th **Fave Subject:** Science **Race:** Half Jamaican and Half Spanish

2. What do you think of your reading and writing skills?
 * Andrew says he is better at reading than writing. He says he is good at spelling tests when he studies.**

3. What do you think of our technology skills?
 * He thinks he doesnt have very good technology skills. When asked what he knows, he says he knows how to delete, use the backspace button, use the space bar and how to type.**

4. Do you enjoy when Mr. Marty & I visit? What do you like the most? Yes! He says it's fun when we come to his class for our Tech Club. He says it's fun because he learns new stuff.

5. Tell me a couple of things you’ve learned so far. (internet database, ppt, clipart, music) design, choosing a slideshow format, how to add/insert pictures in your pppt, and how to add sound clips to your presentation** **and how to find programs like Word and Powerpoint.**
 * How to do an image search, how to create a presentation in powerpoint by adding new slides, choosing a slide

6. Do you like working with a group or by yourself? **Andrew said that he likes working with a group vs. by himself because with a group, you have someone 'smarter' to ask questions for help.**

7. What bores you?
 * Andrew says Math is boring. However, he loves Science because there is a lot of action! (ie. experiments, etc.)**

8. What do you want to accomplish or learn (technology-wise) this year?
 * Andrew says that he wants to type faster and learn computer animation!**

**Continuing Reflection/Observation on Drew as of 10/13/09**
Drew is a 5th grader boy in Ms. Setright's Reading Remedial Class at **Cypress Springs Elementary (10401 Cypress Springs Pkwy Orlando, FL 32825-8802 (407) 249-6950**. Marty Rohleder is my teammate in the Tech Club we created in Ms. Setright's class. We go to her classroom once a week on Wednesdays from 10:30 to 11:30am (aside from our 2nd Tech Club in Mr. Quarles' class 11:30-12:15). She has 9 kids who come to her class daily to work on their Reading (8 boys and 1 girl).

Our goal (Marty & I) from the very beginning was to **adapt to the needs** in Ms. Setright's class. We also wanted to serve as a **'compliment' or an 'extension' to enchance** whatever they are learning for the week. We started our Tech Club with the basics. We **assessed** the classroom to find out what technologies they were already using. We found out that their computers are old. We went to the schools' official Computer Lab and all they had were really old Mac computers. They were so old and out-dated that none of us were familiar with any of the setup. We went back to Ms. Setright's classroom and eventhough her computers were also old, they were better than the ones in their Computer Lab. She has 5 computers in her classroom (including teacher's computer) and only 3 seem to be working so we break up the class in groups of 3. //We also found out that Ms. Setright does not use technology in her classroom in a regular basis//. In fact, she seems scared of it but she is very open to having us show her kids some new stuff. She doesn't use any Overhead Projector, Doc Cam, or anything like that. The school is very limited as far as their technology resources and their wireless connection is very hard to connect to. (We haven't been able to connect to it!)

Marty and I feel limited as to what we can in the classroom since their resources are also limited. However, //we do not let this get us down//. //Each week, we think of some other way to present a lesson or different ways to overcome the challenges we face.// The kids can get really rowdy and it is a challenge to get and keep their attention. It really helps to have a partnership with someone that you can depend on and someone who takes this project as seriously as you do.

After we assessed the equipment and technology available to us, we **//assessed the level of student knowledge with computers//**. Our first session included the very basics from opening a file, saving a file, and basic World Wide Web awareness (how to search for images and for topics). The week after, we asked Ms. Setright what she will be teaching the next week. When she told us they are learning about Garbage and Recycling, we **decided to teach and introduce kids to Powerpoint by creating a presentation on Where Does Garbage Go and Recycling Tips (see our Student Work Sample under my Lesson Plans page)**. As a hook/anticipatory set, Marty and I brought 'trash bags' and we had the kids 'sort' the trash whether they were plastic, paper, metal, glass, etc. using gloves that Marty provided. The kids really enjoyed that activity as it provided them with 'hands on' experience especially for kinesthetic learners. We then wrote up plans on how we will make our presentation. My group made a table on a piece of paper and classified each piece of trash they found according to its category. **The students had fun creating the powerpoint while learning the essentials in making a great presentation (appropriate amount of text, add sound clips, continuity, etc.)**

Last week, when I told Ms. Setright about the Child Case Study Project and that I am thinking of doing it on Drew, she chuckled and said, "Goodluck with that!" Drew is one, if not, her most challenging student. She's always calling out his name. He is very hyper active. Sometimes he does not like to participate. //There was one time that he did not want to participate in our small group activity on Powerpoint//. He just sat back and watched while his group mates worked on the presentation, although he put in his thoughts and ideas. He just did not want to physically 'handle' the computer. I thought perhaps, he did not feel comfortable with his computer skills. I was happy to find out that the week after, he was up to participating! I noticed that //he knew less than his other groupmates when it came to navigating around the computer.// His teammates would get impatient because it takes him a longer to perform basic functions like deleting a word. When I was coaching him to double-click, he did it very slowly and his teammates and I told him that he has to double-click fast, like click! click! This showed me that he does not use the computer very often at all. But I was just glad to see him try and participate! I hope that he keeps participating in our activities! I know Ms. Setright has a hard time keeping him focused on one thing because he acts up and will quarrel and argue with his peers over things that does need to worry about (ie. borrowing a pencil when the activity does not involve writing).

Although observing Drew is challenging with his deviant behavior (that's why I picked him), I will keep working with him to know more of his needs and to find out what technology he likes to use if in fact, he has access to any (ie. mp3 player, game consoles, cellphone, etc.) As well as working to find out what will keep him motivated throughout our time with him and his learning time in general.

** Observation from Thurs. 10/15/09 **
Marty & I are excited that our class today turned out very productive and successful! //Always look for different ways to overcome challenges!// Starting today in Ms. Setright's class, Marty & I tried something different. We took a break from breaking the class into small groups. We borrowed the school's Doc Cam and Projector (more use of the school's technology!) from our other Tech Club and took it to Mr. Setright's. While I conducted a whole class discussion with the kids to supplement their learning of Sunken Treasures, we decided we are going to make a brochure. Marty was behind the laptop that projected onto the board. The kids were very excited to see the desktop projected on the board! //We conducted a discussion with the class while simultaneously doing it on the computer that Marty operated//. We brainstormed differend titles for the front of our brochures and also **//explored Mel Fisher's website//** (man who initiated the quest to find Atocha's treasures). The kids were ecstatic to see a real photo of Mel Fisher, his divers, and the artifacts he discovered. **They were really hooked when they find out that he has an actual museum in the Florida Keys! Very powerful real-life connection!** We started our plans on how to layout the rest of our brochures and our plans to include their actual drawings that we will **scan and paste into our brochure!**

Drew participated in our whole class discussion today and though I noticed that he was playing with erasers and pencils intermittently, (we need to set aside anything infront of him that can distract him from focusing!) I know he was listening because he raised his hand to answer questions, and gave his input/opinions during our brainstorming.

Observation from Thurs. 10/22/09
Last week I noticed that Drew was distracted playing with the erasers and pencils infront of him (making bridges out of them) during our tech lesson. Today, before we started, I told Ms. Setright about it and asked her to help me set aside the pencils, erasers, books, and anything else infront of Drew to help him concentrate more on the lesson. Ms. Setright understood and gladly helped. Drew was a bit more focused than last week having 'less' things to play with but still was off task a few times during our time. He also seems to be in confrontation a lot with a classmate about something whether it's to be quiet, or insisting that something belongs to him, etc. I also noticed him kind of day dreaming and singing/speaking to himself during our discussion. His attention seems to be in and out of the lesson. Although, I remember him giving specific input on the brochure we are working on saying he doesn't particularly like our 'title page.'

Tomorrow, Friday, I will get some one on one time with Drew to get to know him and his preference on technology tools so I look forward to that. *See the results in my Technology Screening Project link.