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INTRODUCTION

About The School

I was fortunate to do my internship at Moorsbridge Elementary in Portage, Michigan. Approximately 555 students attend Moorsbridge, a school which serves grades K through 5. Moorsbridge is known for its abundance of technology resources for students and teachers. Each classroom is equipped with one IBM student computer, a television and VCR. My classroom also had its own laptop and projector that my mentor teacher received through a grant. A cart of approximately thirty AlphaSmarts are also available for each grade level and is shared between classrooms.

Moorsbridge Elementary has a computer lab which houses thirty computers, two printers and a scanner. The students are able to use programs in Microsoft Office, which includes Word and Power Point, as well as software such as Math Blaster, KidPix, Inspiration, and much more. Additionally, the media center has many resources for teachers including video cameras, digital cameras, a video library, laser disc player, and video projectors. Moorsbridge's Cafeteria/Auditorium is equipped with a mixer board and professional sound amplification. Lastly, Moorsbridge is focused on keeping their teachers up-to-date with technology. Courses in technology are offered to teachers, which are also taught by the teachers. I was fortunate to attend a few of these classes myself.

I interned in a fourth grade classroom of twenty-four students. 87% of these students had computer access at home, however only 83% had Internet access. We were able to utilize the AlphaSmarts program on an average of three times a week. The classroom also reserved the computer lab for one hour, with additional opportunities for more time. Through my unit about The United States I was able to utilize many of the technology resources available for Moorsbridge Elementary.

My students in front of Moorsbridge Elementary
AlphaSmarts

About Me



My name is Tara Coker and I graduated from Western Michigan University in April 2002. I received a Bachelors of Science in Education majoring in Elementary Group Minors and minoring in Elementary Education, Science & Math, and Integrated Creative Arts. In addition to using technology in the classroom, I also enjoy using it on a day-to-day basis. Having always been interested in Computer Science, I taught myself HTML (Hypertext Markup Language) code and write my own code for my websites, including all the codes for this website. I am also a web-designer and manager of ET's Lawn Service's Website, which is a lawn care company in South Haven, Michigan as well as KBL - The Official Website, an official website for an NBC Actor.


email: taracoker2002@hotmail.com
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