Field classroom

For my field experience I was in a second grade classroom at Slippery Rock Elementary School. The first day I was there I made some observations about the students and about the classroom. I noticed right away that there was not a lot of technology in the classroom. Just by looking I noticed that the only computer in the classroom was the teachers, which was at her desk. However, there was an overhead projector, bulletin boards, textbooks, and other sources of non- projected media. I was not sure if that particular school had some sort of computer lab where the students could go as a class. If they have one, I was not there when the students went. Even though the classroom I was in did not have a lot of technology in it, our teacher did try as much as she could to use what she did have. Some days she would present material on the overhead projector. Also, during reading the students could borrow and use audio cassette players from a different classroom to listen to books on tape. They really enjoyed doing that since some of the second graders were not strong readers yet. Another interesting thing that i observed while I was in that classroom for field was the use of a braille machine. One of the girls in the class is totally blind and uses a braille machine to type into, with assistance from her aide. The keys of the machine are in braille so when you put your fingers on it you can feel the little dots that make up the braille letters. This way the student can write and read things in braille by using this machine. So, even though this classroom didn't have their own set of computers or laptops the teacher still tried to make sure to integrate technology into instruction. When you are in a school that does not have a lot of technology or resources you just have to use what is available.