1/7/15 Workshop Casa Latina Sarah White

On 1/7, Esteban presented on antivirus software and file-sharing/backup software (Dropbox) to the adult literacy group. Freddy and I were available to offer help and support.

I also found out that our order of tablets arrived! I'm wondering if we will be able to use any of the tablets on 1-14? I'm also wondering if I could borrow one next week to play around with and get used to the interface?

Each student had their particular interests and challenges related to the topic. Making the second half of the class productive seemed to require 1-to-1 support or 1-to-2 support. The difficulty I had in the MSF lesson was also that students required a great deal of individualized support. When thinking about writing the lesson plans for Capstone to be used by future volunteers, I'm wondering about ways to write them such that one volunteer could work more easily with up to 10 students (this is sort of an arbitrary goal, but it seems reasonable). I'm still playing around with different ideas. I'm thinking of the possibility of a model that looks a bit like fearless cards - step-by-step instructions for different tasks that students could pull out and use with the help of a friend? And perhaps trying to "formalize" pair work a bit? This actually seems "weirder" in a small, friendly class. In a slightly larger class it doesn't feel awkward to assign pairs.

A lot is happening in other classes that is related. Next week I'll be working on an outline of my deliverables for Capstone. The first draft will be due the 18th, and the final due the 25th. At some point between the 18th and the 25th, it'd be good to run the document past Ivette. I admit that I kind of feel about Capstone documents the way that I used to feel about grant reporting: we run around like crazy to make it work in the real world, and then make it look on paper however it needs to look on paper to appease the Masters of Bureaucracy. That being said, I don't want to completely brush off the process because I would like a minimum of headaches come Spring.

I am also participating in a TASCHA research seminar for the Myanmar Information Laboratory. I've been tasked with a "Lit Review" of sorts: finding digital & info literacy curricula from similar contexts with a focus on smart phones and making a series of recommendations for librarian-training workshops. I think some of what I learn will inform the lesson plans I write up for my Capstone.

1/7/2015 Casa Latina Workshop Klarissa

Location: Casa Latina

Date: 1/7/2015

Time: 5pm 

I was with the children today. I was nervous before hand because Jen and Xochitl were not here, and I realized I would have to take over the children’s program the night before. I have never done professional childcare or storytime, and was unsure of how to go about planning activities. As usual however, worry turned out to be unnecessary. Following Ivette’s advice after our trial runs last month, I picked a VIEWS2 focus (phonetic awareness). I found a few songs that pay attention to vowel sounds or rhyming, and thought about how we can ask questions while playing that focus on phonetics.

 Ivette and Willa were with me in the children’s room. We had quite a few kids this week! With this experience and the last one, it seems we will have a few under 18 months, who require more one on one attention. I realized that the older kids are happy to entertain themselves, but also willing to help with the small ones. Like last time, we did not really get a structure established, there was a lot of free play, and no storytime. But rather than feeling failed because we didn’t get to the planned activities, I felt okay with that. Instead we focused, even in play, on asking about spelling and sounds, or even just asking probing questions about what they’re playing with.

I’m excited to be back this quarter and to see these workshops take off after our planning last quarter!

1/7/2015 Casa Latina Workshop Willa

Casa Latina

January 7^th, 2015

4:15 PM – 7:00 PM

            Ivette, Stephen, Klarissa, and I left for Casa Latina after our class. We discussed the class plan for the day about Dropboxes and backing up information. We also discussed the activities for the children. The theme for the day with the children was playing with the alphabet.

            After we got to Casa, Ivette, Klarissa, and I worked with the children. There were too many children for a truly organized activity. I worked with one girl on her math homework – division. We worked out a lot of the math equations on the white board. I could tell that she had a hard time focusing on her homework, especially with all of the other things that were going on. However, once she started working out the board, she was able to focus more. By the end, she was solving the questions faster.

I also tried to play some word games with another girl. We spelled out the names of our family members on the white board.

I also noticed that with the babies, their older siblings were ready to take care of them and make sure they were happy. The responsibility the older children assumed helped s and also showed one of the ways the babies will learn in the future. They will follow their brothers and sisters.