I just wish I knew from where to start narrating this summer’s event’s , that I had the opportunity to be a part of.  Starting from the first week which was spend in getting to know the world of nano science, I could imagine going back to school and incorporating some of the experiments in my class when I teach my students the 8th grade curriculum.  One of the favorite activity that I will use is the clothes line investigation that involved scientific notation, scales and sizes of objects , gave me the idea of using the experiment when I had to start the school year teaching students number sense.  The second week led me to a wonderful experience in Cullowee,NC, where starting with ice-breaking activities to all the workshops and strategies that I was exposed to made me think of going back to school the next day and start using the activities.  ‘Kahoot’ became  an easy and quick feedback strategy that felt good, not to mention the lack of paper usage.  O yes! I found a great new hobby, ‘white water rafting’.   I was very impressed by array of workshops, lectures and lectures that were lined for us teachers. They have really empowered me to enter my class the coming fall with new ideas and exitement.  The following week took me to  NCSU university  to the College of Textiles. Here I was introduces to many aspects of Engineering starting from microscopy to engineering designs to sensors etc. I was forced to look  outside of the box and expand my horizons into the field of engineering and science.  As the fourth week approached to an end, I was working on the last phase of my work at the Kenan Fellowship. I am taking a lot with me, and while this sounds like a very weak and general statement, it holds a lot of promise for me and the students that I am going to teach and educate. Thank you KFP!

Ah, Technology! If you can manipulate it, understand it and use it to enhance learning in a classroom it becomes an important accomplishment. Some of the challenges that  we face in a classroom is the ever changing picture of new technologies coming at us , not having time to master them  before  another wave  of technology or certain program or app hits us. An important fact is the vernacular and the ways in which student learn nowadays.  This means we need to have more time to prepare and learn, an element that is missing since most of our planning time is consumed by meetings or coverage for absent teachers.  Another issue is that teachers are given the responsibility  for incorporating technology as means of effective learning, yet the public is less willing to pay for the technology needed. One of the challenges that teachers face is the monitoring of these technological devices, since students are forever tempted to stray from what is expected of them. This lays an added responsibility for the teacher, who just wants learning to take place but has to play ‘police’ thereby, not giving a hundred percent time to teaching. Another important issue to consider is the fact that while technology has been known to promote learning, it has a flip side  to it, which is the convenience of ready made answers that students can access without having to work hard at coming up with answers that require critical thinking. There are so many apps that provide quick and easy access to information. Most of the times I have noticed that when  using technology, something goes wrong and either the internet does not work or the program used malfunctions either before or during the lesson. As a result it is always necessary to have a back up lesson plan.  While technology helps in learning in different ways, sometimes it compromises basis math and language arts facts.  While these are challenges and issues need to be looked at but it would be better to learn to overcome these challenges rather than succumb to the pressures they  present.