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Portfolio Introduction: I have been working in the early childhood field for eight years. I began working in an Autistic Support Classroom as a paraprofessional. I was inspired to enter this field because of my youngest daughter who was diagnosed with Pervasive Developmental Disorder when she was three. The agency I work for now is the agency I brought her to for services. They worked miracles and taught me many strategies to use when working with my daughter. When she turned five, she left S.P.I.N. and entered Kindergarden. She is now graduating from eighth grade and doing well. I started as lead teacher in a pre-school reverse mainstream classroom four years ago with the same agency. I am now working towards my degree in early childhood education and I am on a behavioral support team learning and colaborating with professionals from around the city discussing cases and sharing strategies. I also belong to a parent's association committee working with the families at our school.
Philosophy of Education: Understanding each other's philosophies and cultural diversity is important when examining our own. We have to allow ourselves to explore other ways of thinking. Our educational system needs to be open to this also. If we are flexible enough to bend our ways of thinking to accommodate all the students and families that we serve, then we have begun to open up the doors for educational success across the country. As teachers, our philosophies have an impact on the way we manage our classroom and the affect we have on our students. It is important to always reflect on your practice of teaching. Students grow and change from minute to minute and we have to keep up with them. The flow or direction of lesson plans should depend on where the children are at at that moment. Flexibility is the key with young children. I believe in reflecting on everything I do during the day. Supervising the staff in my room, teaching the children, interacting with the parents, managing the classroom environment, and collaborating with management and fellow teachers are some of the ways I reflect. This helps me to repeat things that work, restructure things that do not, change my approach to guiding adults in the room and supporting strategies for behaviors. Reflection allows me to see what might have caused something to occur rather than just look at what happeded after. You could say I am influenced by non-western philosophies that remind us that introspection undertaken with the help of a teacher is an ongoing process that leads to a fulfilling life. I hope by stepping back to see the whole picture, I can be of the greatest service to our children. I also realize that as the world grows, we have to prepare the children for that growth. Technology is a big part of our world now and its use is only increasing so we have to educate ourselves in how to teach them the appropriate use of it.
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I learned how to connect the learning with theory. I also learned to extend the learning by collaborating with someone else sharing ideas and discovering new ones.
Artifact 2: Digital Story
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{http://www.wikispaces.com/i/edit.png} Edit This PageDonna Meehan - Digital Project Description
I chose a child in my classroom whose greatest interest lies in building objects. He can build objects using just about anything we give him. I followed him around one day to see the variety of materials he used in building and pretend play by himself and with peers. I was concerned at first with this child because I never saw him choose any other centers but math and blocks. I soon realized that he was moving material from one center to another and incorporating these things into whatever he found that would go along with the intent of his play. By doing this project it helped me to be a better observer in my own classroom and discover things about my children I never really focused in on.

Artifact #3- Online Resources
Educator Resources:
http://www.4teachers.org/
This site works to help you integrate technology into your classroom. It has online tools and resources.You can locate and create Web lessons. There are professional development resources available also.
http://www.teachervision.fen.com/educational-technology/teacher-resources/43743.html
This site has resources that can help you integrate technology across the curriculum. You can get help with using computer word processors, PowerPoint, understanding technological terms, research projects. and many other activities.
http://www.elearningeuropa.infor/
This site provides access to technology learning articles, projects, research, and event information. Descriptions of implementation in schools are provided, as well as online forums for sharing experiences, opinions, and questions.
http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberic/index.php
This site is a collection of Web-based talk, discussion and conference recordings providing resources for educators to reach a variety of curriculum areas, including poetry, literature, biography, history, the performing arts, and technology.
http://www.techlearning.com/
This site is from the Technology and Learning Magazine. It has a large amount of articles written by teachers, administrators, and other experts in education and technology. This give advice on how to effectively integrate technology into the classroom.
http://www.readingonline.org/electronic/elec_index.asp
This site is a forum highlighting the use of technology in the classroom. This provides teachers, teacher educators, and researchers with resources for integrating technology and literacy into the classroom.
http://www.actden.com/pp/index.htm
This site is a tutorial designed as a talk show with PowerPoint as the special guest, demonstrates basic and more advanced features of the presentation software. Quick tips, quizzes, screen shots, and a printable guide are provided.
Student Resources:
http://www.sesameworkshop.org/sesamestreet/
This site has games, stories, music, and more for young children. They are built around Sesame Street characters and help children learn numbers, shapes, letters and others. There are printable activities and a searchable activity planner for adults.
http://www.seussville.com/seussville/
Brightly animated and highly interactive, thissite entertains children as they complete word puzzles, matching games, and other activities based on the books of Dr. Seuss. Children can also write a story and bring it to life with fanciful characters, music, and scenery.
http://www.postdiluvian.org/~gilly/Schoolhouse_Rock/HTML/schoolhouse.html
This site provides all of the lyrics for songs that teach about government, history, grammer, science, and math.
http://www.storydog.com/
StoryDog offers a new story every day for children and parents to share at home. Children can read daily and the site offers short adventures that last for one week. There are also great games and activities on the site.
http://interactives.readwritethink.org/
On this site children can compose their own comic strips for a variety of contexts (pre-writing, pre-reading and postreading activities, response to literature, etc.) It focuses on the key elements of comic strips (sequencing) by allowing the choice of backgrounds, characters, and props, as well as composing related dialogue.
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Artifact 1
Donna Meehan
Lesson Plan Analysis - Reflection
Attempted to upload power point, but file too big message appeared.
Reflection of digital project:
gave me to pushthe confidence to explore
Learning environment/classroom application:
the children. I also need to have the IT department give us access to more programs or we will be limited in our endeavors.
Artifact 3
Learning Activity that Integrates Technology
This lesson was designed to familarize young children with the alphabet, the sounds that each letter makes, and familiar words or objects that they can relate to each letter. It also was meant to help the children become familiar wtih using a computer cooperatively with the supervision of an adult. The lesson is also on-going and many activities can be integrated into it.
I learned so much from this activity by doing the research and gathering information to help with the idea I had. I also came across great web sites that I can refer to for other activities. The only thing I would do differently is break it down further so that I could give the children who were taking longer to apply the lessons to feel comfortable enough to eventually become independent in doing some of the activities.
difficult when difficultiesconflicts arise in the classroom and takesthat take me away from working with them. I his/her level.
Artifact #3- Online Resources
Educator Resources:
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I already started implementing some course concepts. I also have begun to review more web sites for the children and introduced them to the ones I reviewed in class. I have found it contributes to compiling my anecdotal records in many areas of development. The children saw what I did with my digital story and they all want to do it. I hope in September I can start from the beginning of the school year and create a project that we can present to the parents at the end of the school term.
What challenges do you forsee in implementing some of your ideas?
my confidence. I faced plenty of challenges in this class, but it only made me more determined to find solutions if not now, as soon as possible. This gives me the determination to proceed and to share what I learned with my team.
What are your plans for implementing your lesson plan?
Not every on does.idea works out like that. I'm always

Donna Meehan
Reflection #1
What are my initial thoughts about young children using technology?
My initial thoughts were that I was concerned about how technology has taken over and young children have lost their inate talent of creating and using their imaginations on their own. I understand all that you can do with the advancements made in technology, but I have also seen the misuse of it. Children stare at a screen and block out all around them. Televison, video games, computers and cell phones. The art of conversation is lost. It is like giving a young child millions of dollars and saying, "here do what you want with it." I have very strong feelings about its use even though I realize we must move forward and with the right training, we can teach the children how to approach its use appropriately.
What challenges do I foresee in taking this course?
One of the challenges I see is finding the time and having the appropriate technology available in the classroom to implement and share what I learn. I recently limited computer time in my classroom because the children weren't able to tell me anything they did except sit at the computer and they couldn't explain what they did on the computer. Since I limited this time, the children have become more responsive and their minds are being challenged. With this course, I hope to re-teach the children how to use technology to collaborate and create together and present what they have learned to the group. I hope it will give meaning to its use instead of just being used to "zone out" as I see it limiting socialization between peers.
Final Course Reflection
What do YOU think are the top 2-3 significant benefits of integrating technology into early childhood education?
I think the most significant benefits of integrating technology are to help young children become comfortable with using various technology that they will need as they enter elementary grades and beyond. Most required work in school must be typed and as far as I know typewriters are obsolete. Some children don't live close to a library (especially with the city closing them) and they could gain access to literature and resources through the internet. Their creative skill would also be enhanced using other forms of technology like video and digital cameras and intergrating them with projects on the computer. We must face the fact that our world is changing and get our children ready for the future.
What's next for you?
I will continue to earn my degree so that I may provide the children I teach with the best I can give. I will also continue to work on improving my skills in the field of technology. I will have to catch up with my own children. They can teach me a thing or two.
What concrete plans do you have to implement some of the course concepts covered in class, into your specific professional or learning environment?
I already started implementing some course concepts. I also have begun to review more web sites for the children and introduced them to the ones I reviewed in class. I have found it contributes to compiling my anecdotal records in many areas of development. The children saw what I did with my digital story and they all want to do it. I hope in September I can start from the beginning of the school year and create a project that we can present to the parents at the end of the school term.
What challenges do you forsee in implementing some of your ideas?
I just have to go into sites and programs and explore them. One thing I learned from this class is not to let my fear of what might happen if I press a button stop me from trying things on my own. Trial and error will only help me to learn what not to do and increase my confidence.
What are your plans for implementing your lesson plan?
I actually can't wait to implement my lesson plan. I think I will start it in September since that's when I begin the alphabet with the children. As I was doing it, I realized how many directions I could go with it. It is very exciting when a plan comes together like that. Not every on does. I'm always looking for new ways to teach the same subject.