I had two “Aha!” moments this summer that helped me transition from a confused, not sure what to  do state…to more of a “Ok, I can do this” feeling.  The first was when I was trying to figure out how to write guidelines for teachers to hold a debate in their class.  I searched online for hours, but couldn’t find a debate format that would engage large classes of students…and I got frustrated.  That’s when I started contacting people on the UNC campus (where I’m working) who were familiar with debates.  After meeting with two different organizations, I found a format that is perfect for what I’m trying to do in my externship.  My take-away lesson from that is that technology is useful…but sometimes good old fashioned face-to-face discussions with more knowledgable people can be really helpful!!!  And it’s ok to ask for help from people who are experts.  They were very willing to share their resources with me!

My second “Aha!” moment was during NCCAT.  Part of my project involves creating a lesson for teachers that includes an online discussion board so that students can communicate with science experts.  I’ve never done an online discussion with an entire class, so I wasn’t sure how to go about figuring that out.  UNTIL – I heard a presenter say the words “padlet” and “online discussion” in the same sentence.  My ears immediately perked up!  I found that Padlet is extremely simple, user friendly, and perfect for my externship.  I shared it with my mentor and he tested it out with our colleagues.  He loved it and I was proud to have contributed something useful.  I’m so thankful we have been exposed to so many awesome technology tools this summer!