Helen Webb

SED 420 Field Journal

Spring, 2014
Friday February 28, 2014
Today I went in to meet with Billy. When I met him in the office, I recognized him; I could not
figure out why. On our way down the hall to the classroom he explained that in addition to
teaching kindergarten, he is also the computer instructor for the school. That was it! Last
semester I had a placement in another classroom and we had done significant work in the lab.
This classroom has two teachers. Barb has the kids in the morning, and Billy works in the lab.
Billy then takes over in the classroom for the afternoon.
Something else I learned was that in this classroom, every student has use of an IPad which is
used in many areas of study throughout the day. This is a pilot program which Billy hopes will be
school wide in the next four years. He describes the class as a paperless classroom and
believes that it is important for them to become fluent in the use of tablets because by the time
they enter the workforce, current education practices and materials will be outdated. Things like
handwriting and reading will be prominently done with the use of technological devices. I was
surprised to learn that all of the parents of these students were on board and excited about this
program. I look forward to finding out more.
When the students returned from lunch, Billy and I filmed them reading using their iPad. The
videos were then posted to the class YouTube page, and parents could access them by scanning
the students individual QR code! I can tell that this experience is going to be different than
placements I have had before simply because of the amount of technology that is implemented.
Friday, March 7 1:10-2:30 (1.3 hours)
The students have earned enough dojo points for a class celebration. In a math lesson, they were
introduced to tally marks and used them to count up their points. The names and points were
displayed on the screen. I was shocked. I hoped that the students would not compare themselves
to others in their class. Some students had dozens of points while others only had a few. To make
it worse, these differences were incorporated into their lesson. The teacher would say Sammy
has 20 points and Suzie has 16. Which number is bigger? I understand that the students were
learning greater than, less than, and that the points made the lesson meaningful, but this stirred
up a lot of competition among students, and some got upset because their friends had more
points than they did.
Today the class had their Minecraft party. Initially I did not really know what I was doing there,
because the afternoon was devoted to playing video games. I took it as an opportunity to get to
know the students better. There were students who were new to the game and others who were
more experienced. I found it fascinating how these students were sought out for help. They

assisted each other in problem solving, building and other parts of the game. At one point I was
passing two boys who were sitting at a table. They were each on their own iPad, but their
characters were interacting. I am helping him build a house one of the boys announced to me.
That is very nice of you I replied. We are building a patterned house the other student
chimed in. as I walked away they turned to each other and one of the boys said to the other isnt
it great we dont have to learn anything today! I smiled to myself. They were learning problem
solving, patterns, and even basic geometry!!! These were all things they have been learning
about, but they do not realize that they are using these same skills in the game!!
Monday, March 10 12:30-2:30 (2 hours)
Today I taught my procedure lesson. I feel that I was well prepared to teach this procedure. I had
gone over the steps and my lesson plan in great detail with both classroom teachers. How well
prepared were you? With the exception of some confusion, most students responded really well
and were eager to participate. The confusion came up because I was teaching how to put IPads
away at the end of the day, in the middle of the afternoon. They did not understand why I was
asking them to get their iPads out without actually using them. I had expected to teach at the end
of the day, but was prompted by the classroom teacher earlier in the afternoon. In hindsight, this
plan change was not a bad thing. The end of the day during the winter in a kindergarten
classroom is hectic enough, so having the chance to practice the procedure without the chaos
ended up making it easier for the students to go through the procedure, ask and answer questions
and practice without distraction. Students were actively engaged and excited to demonstrate the
procedure not only during the lesson, but again at the end of the day.
Friday, March 14 1:10-2:30 (1.3 hours)
Over the past couple of weeks, I have noticed that the students are spending up to 30 minutes of
class time watching cartoons. They come back from lunch, sit on the floor and watch their
favorite shows on the smart board. These sessions last between 15 to 30 minutes. I understand
that it is good for kindergarteners to have a quiet transition time after recess. I have observed that
most students respond well and are able to then begin math workshop calm and refreshed.
However, I wonder how these qualities of this time could be maintained while showing students
something that has a bit more substance than The Fairly Odd Parents. It seems to me that
students could relax and have quiet time while still learning or reviewing what they are working
on in the classroom instead of adding to their screen time with something that they might choose
to watch at home on a Saturday morning.
Friday, March 21 1:10-2:30 (1.3 hours)
Today during math, students were introduced to the idea of word problems. They were given a
problem, and then used their iPad to illustrate the answer. I was assigned two students to work
with who were still struggling with writing numbers and placing them on a number line. Billy
would post and read the problem then students would use clip art to demonstrate the answer then
write out the involved equation. For example, one of the problems was about lady bugs. The
students used a picture of a ladybug on the screen to represent the number. When more lady bugs
were added in the story, they stamped the additional lady bugs. They then had to use a stylus to
write out the equation. Students seemed to catch on quickly. They did each problem until each

student had the answer before proceeding to the next problem. To be sure that students were on
task and to check for understanding, the students were to hold up their iPad after each problem so
that the teacher could check their work.
Monday, March 24 12:30-2-30 (2 hours)
It still amazes me the numbers of apps the students use throughout the day. Most everything I
have observed has been with the use of the iPad. Students use apps for everything from reading,
to math, to basic programing skills! The students are part of a pilot program which is expected to
be school-wide in the next four years. Most of the students are motivated by the use of
technology in the classroom. They are excited to learn new things they can do with them and
demonstrate their knowledge and abilities. At the same time, since they are in Kindergarten, they
do not know much different. Many of them have taught me how to use some of the apps that they
use on a daily basis. They are even learning early program code, programing characters to
perform tasks and move from one side of the screen to another. I am writing my capstone paper
for the English department on the paperless classroom.
Thursday, April 3 11:30-2:30 (3 hours)
Today, even though USM is on break, I went into the classroom for a few hours. Right away, I
was told that I would be taking the students to lunch, and then monitoring them on the
playground during recess. Billy gave me the opportunity to have the students get ready, line them
up and escort them to the lunch room. I was told to stay there a while until the students were
settled. While I was there, I heard my name from across the room. Ms. Webb! someone called
out. For a minute, I was confused. My name in this classroom is Ms. Helen. I turned toward the
voice. It was the class I worked with last semester! This recognition made me smile. Right away
I stood up a bit straighter! Once everyone was settled I returned to the classroom. I did some
work until it was time to take the students outside. Suddenly I realized how difficult it was to
identify students when they were bundled in snow pants, coats and hats. There were 4 other
classes out at the same time. After a short while I got the hang of things. I wandered around
keeping an eye on things and interacting with the students. Billy had said that he wanted me to
have a chance to get to know the students outside the classroom. I think it also helped them get to
know me as well. I would say that it was a successful recess duty!!!
When we got back inside, they had their usual quiet time, and then began to continue
work on word problems. This time they were to use an app called toontastic and create and
animate their own word problems working in pairs. Students selected scenes and characters, and
recorded their own voices to illustrate their designed problem. I was assigned to work with two
students who did not really understand how to work in pairs. I tried to explain to them how a
partnership worked, but they refused to listen to each other. I did a role play with each of them,
explained the benefits, and also assured them that they would not have to work together forever.
One student seemed to understand, but the other outright refused, throwing a tantrum and
banging his head on the table. With that I went to get Billy. I observed him speaking with the
students. I noticed that he was speaking to them as equals, not down playing what he was saying.
They finally seemed to get it, but by the time the students were willing to even look at one
another, the session was over.
Monday, April 7 12:30-2-30 (2 hours)

Today, students learned a new app called TinkerBox. The app features a number of simple
machines, and the goal is to get a ball from one side of the screen to another by moving different
components around and creating a path for the ball to follow. Each level, the obstacles, and the
placement of the target increase in complexity. I worked at a table with a few students who Billy
believed would have a tougher time with this activity. While some students sped through each
level, others struggled to figure out how to achieve the goal. What was most interesting to see
was not the activity itself, but how the students helped each other to progress through the levels.
We had to explain to students that helping did not mean doing the task for them. In a sense we
were not only helping students with the activity, but we were teaching students how to help and
teach other students. I explained that if a student wanted help, they needed to stay with the
person who was helping them, listen to them closely, then practice their suggestions. Conversely,
the person who was helping was to use their words to explain instead of performing the task
themselves. This was a learning experience for both parties.
Friday, April 11 1:10-2:30 (1.3 hours)
Today I introduced the student to the positive notes project. I pulled him aside during the postlunch film. Before I said anything, he saw the tickets in my hand and asked to see one. He was
excited because they had his name on them. I explained that they would be like getting his own
dojo points and that he could earn iPad time. He was sold! Then he saw the stickers in my hand.
Angry Birds! He exclaimed. He told me his favorite characters and we agreed that I would put
them on the notes. We are both excited about this project! The student is very enthusiastic about
his cards. He points out his name and the characters on the stickers. Today he got 2. After he had
earned both of them, he held one in each hand for the rest of the day. When he dropped one in the
hallway on his way to recess. Once on the playground, he got very upset until a teacher let him
back in and helped him find it.
Monday, April 15 12:30-2-30 (2 hours)
Today, the students counted their dojo points again, to see if they were eligible for
another class celebration before break. Their goal number was 150 points for the class. This time,
the students names and accumulated points were not displayed on the smart board. I was
relieved. Instead, Mr. C read off each number, and the students recorded the tally marks on their
iPad. The students did not know which number was connected to which student. At first, I
thought this was a better method. After observation however, the students still knew how many
points they had, so some were able to figure out where they fell in the ranking. There was still
a sense of completion which was in reality irrelevant to both the math lesson, and the total
accumulated points. The students ended up exceeding their target and decide to have an outdoor
party with planned games and activities to celebrate their class wide success.
Monday, April 28 12:30-2-30 (2 hours)
Today was the first day back after the students had their spring break. As a result, things were a
bit chaotic. Billy was sensitive to this and kept telling the students that they were easing back
into things. They had longer rest time than usual, as well as extra play time. During math
workshop they continued their study on word problems. This time, they could choose an app to
illustrate their work. They were to come up with their own word problem based on an event from
their vacation. I was told to work with a couple of students who the teacher believed may need
extra help. It was clear that they were having trouble getting back into routine. Once the students

sat in their seats and started the project, they were fine. But it was the transitions which they
found unusually difficult. I also did the last observations for my positive notes. I was surprised
that the work that the student and I had done before the break still showed progress since the
start. Also, today was the first time he had is bag packed with absolutely no help. In fact, he told
me to go away and that he could do it himself.
Friday, May 2 1:10-2:30 (1.3 hours)
Today was my last day at Jameson. After a short lesson, students were given extra recess because
it was so nice out and they had a good week back. The student I have been monitoring also got to
celebrate his accomplishments with free iPad time. We even arranged for a friend from another
class to come in and play with him. He was so excited!!! I wanted to make sure that he
understands why he was getting this privilege. Because I got tickets! he replied. I followed up
with yes and why did you get the tickets? Because I followed procedures and I sat during
math! Yes!! I replied proudly. This is the best day ever!!! he exclaimed. This was a teaching
moment I will never forget.