Teacher Tools such as Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and Microsoft Publisher make the daily life of all
educators more efficient, polished, and professional. In the Teacher Tools Module we were to create two artifacts using the
programs specified above.
NEWSLETTER
Awareness: As a Literacy Coach, in a school with a very high Spanish speaking population,
I have needed to develop a Newsletter in both Spanish and English. I developed a simple Newsletter using Microsoft Word.
Exploration: I was able to locate a few very useful Websites that provide Literacy information
in both Spanish and English. Many Spanish speaking parents feel inadequate in helping their bilingual children learn to read.
My goal was to create a Bilingual Literacy Newsletter that would provide information parents need to help their child become
a good reader and successful student. I am not bilingual, so a large amount of my time in Module 6 was searching for resources
in both languages.
Learning: I have not been able to assist our Spanish speaking parents in an easily understood
method. The Spanish/English literacy resources have solved many of the communication problems that
have frustrated both parents and myself. I have learned to locate and transfer Spanish/English information to Microsoft Word.
Application: As I applied the lessons learned in Module 6, a very useful newsletter was
produced. The newsletter provides many simple things Spanish speaking parents can do at home to help their child read, learn,
and succeed. I learned a great deal and have become much more comfortable experimenting with clip-art, color, borders, and
margins.
Reflection:The Spanish/English newsletter will be an extremely valuable tool. What a powerful
gift for students, parents, and teachers.
Spreadsheet
Awareness: As a Literacy Coach I am responsible for the management of students test data.I
needed a method of keeping a running chart of test scores for each individual student (almost 600).I was able to develop a
very easy to read Microsoft Excel spreadsheet that meet the needs of the Principal, teachers, and parents.
Exploration: As I explored Excel, I discovered many resources that will make charting and
tracking test data less time consuming and more usable for the classroom teacher.
Learning: As I experimented with spreadsheet arrangement, I learned a great deal about
what does and does not work. I am sure with more use of Excel spreadsheets my knowledge will expand. In learning to transfer
an individual student's spreadsheet into a graph, the parent and student will more easily understand their decrease and increase
in performance.
Application: My goal with each Module through out this course has been to create something
that is truly useful. The test data received from testing companies is difficult to understand and gives an overload of information.
The individualised spreadsheet/graph will each child's test data more usable.
Reflection: As state and federal mandates for educators continues to require an overwhelming
amount of documentation, any resource that will make this task less time consuming and more usable will be a great benefit
to all involved. Using Excel to consolidate large amount of data frees up time for what is truly important in education, the
children.
