she gets drowsy. Melissa suggested going back to the doctor and talking about her issues to get her doses corrected. Jane also ever never disclosed her condition wth her instructor because she "didnt want to be looked at funny." Ms. Cox tried to convience Jane to take a letter of accommodation to her instructor but Jane remained hesitant. The rest of my week was used primarily researching information to be used for the projects I had coming up.

 

Week 3 (Sept 21 - Sept 24)

This week was relatively slow for me. On Monday I walked a student to the testing center to take her test. For the most part I continued to gather materials on the various disabilities that many of the students at GTCC deal with. I continued to colaborate with my site supervisor Melissa on ways to lay out the moodle site and what information she wanted in the new employee training. On Thursday I had my initail site meeting with my practicum instructor Dr. Wallace. Unfortunately although me and my site supervisor had discussed in detail what I would be doing durring my time at GTCC, I forgot my learning contract. I was very disapointed in myself and felt as though I let Dr. Wallace down. My first site supervision was a failure.

 

Week 4 (Sept 28 - Oct 2)

On Monday Kent Cowan (the assistive technology specialist at GTCC) and I went to the applied technology center on campus to meet with Amy Brown the Director of eLearning to disuss the creation of this new employee orientation that the DAS office wanted me to develop. Amy agreed that a training on using the school's DAS' services would be benificial for the faculty, but because the trainging would have to be developed through "Learner Web" it would be more complicated for me to develop (ie writing code). So what Amy asked me to do was to create a power point with the information that DAS wanted me to include in the training along with a brief quiz at the conclusion for her to send to the IT department to begin the development process. We also spoke about the moodle resource page and she informed Kent and I that she would open a course on moodle with me as the instructor. Amy told me that once the page became active she would email and I would be able to begin creating my reource page. Because of heavy rain my football game was cancled so I was able to squeeze in a few more hours developing my power point for Amy. Friday was a half day of work for me at my job, and I didnt have to watch my client so I came in early to Melissa's surprise. By the time I was ready to leave that afternoon I was finished with the power point presentation and was ready for Melissa to review it.

 

Week 5 (Oct 5 - Oct 9)

On Monday, I met with Melissa to discuss the power point, she informed me that she was pleased and that I could email it to Amy to be sent to the IT department. Amy Brown the school's director of eLearning emailed me also that Monday ad informed me that the moodle course was up and I could begin adding information to the site. Because of rain delays last week we had a make-up game Tuesday and I wasnt able to make it on Wednesday either. On Thusday and Friday I spent my time gathering and adding information to my moodle resource page. 

 

Week 6 (Oct 14 - Oct 16)

This week was a little akward, because of football obligations I wasnt able to make it into practicum until Wednesday. That Wednesday was a half day for me at work though so I was able to come in early that day. Strangely enough I ran into Jane while walking through another building on campus. She remembered me and to informed me that the techniques that were discussed a few weeks ago has been helpful. Im not sure is he ever disclosed her problems with her profesor or turned in a letter of accommodation but she seemed to have been doing much better this day. Melissa and I later discussed the significance of letting the students "vent" when meeting with them. She explained how important it was to build good communication between the students and faculty. That Thursday and Friday I continued work on my moodle site.

 

Week 7 (Oct 19 - Oct 23)

This Monday I sat in on a meeting between Melissa and some members of Greensboro's Transit Authority (GTA). In this meeting Melissa was concerned with detailing the exact procedurees that students would need to follow in order to have transportation to and from campus. Apparently some of the students were having an issue with making it to class on time. Further complicating the issue is the fact that one student who suffers from anxiety begins to panic once he feels as though he is late. Melissa did a great job of effectively communicating with the people of GTA to get the information that she needed for the students. She also gave the reps of GTA a suggestion that they could put on their website that may make the whole process more simple. The rest of the week I continued to work on my moodle site.

 

Week 8 (Oct 26 - Oct 30)

Monday since I didnt have to work I came in early and left late working on my moodle site. When I came in Tuesday a professor was on the phone consulting with Melissa on how to work with a student named Calvin in class. The professor stated the student was very talkative and would ask the same question repetitively. It had gotten to the point that the professor had to ask Calvin to leave so she could finish the lesson. When Calvin walked in the office, he continued to emphasize that he did not need to see anyone and that his professor was a good teacher. Melissa began to explain to Calvin that he was only asked to come down to discuss techniques to get his questions answered in class. Calvin began to calm down once he realized that he was not in any trouble.  Calvin seemed very receptive to the techniques Melissa outlined. Melissa also discussed the consequences of talking too much and how that causes not only Calvin but other students to miss information in class. Wednesday I had a football game and wasnt able to make it in. Thursday and Friday I worked on the moodle site.

 

Week 9 (Nov 2 - Nov 6)

On Monday Melissa met with three students individually about the classes they would like to take next semester. Since the semester is begining to wind down the traffic is starting to pick up in terms of students coming in and out of the office to register for classes and have accommodations in place for next semester. I sat in on many of these meetings Ms. Cox had wth students and was very impressed by the pateince and concern that she showed each and every student. Durring this time at GTCC one of the bigest take aways I got from Melissa was the importance of the human element when it comes to decision making. Melissa really takes the time to identify with each student she sees, she looks at the student as a person and not just a number, she has really taken the time develop genuine relationships with almost all of her students. On Thursday my practicum instructor Dr. Wallace came to the DAS office for my second site visit. Melissa was able to secure a nearby classroom for me to present the information on everything I had done so far durring my time at GTCC. I presented information detailing the new employee orientation I was developing, as well as my moodle resouce pages. Dr Wallace seemed impressed by my work, I think its safe to say my site visit went alot better than my initial site visit.

 

Week 10 (Nov 10 - Nov 13)

This week was very interesting, because of various school responsibilities I took some time off work which allowed me an opportunity to come in and get some extra hours. Tuesday I came in around 10:45am and began to work on my moodle site. Around 1pm or so office staff became scarce and I was the only one working in the room at the time when a man came in and asked if I was an intern, I replied yes and he asked if I could come with him. As we began walking he explained to me that he was the schools safety coordinator and that yound man by the name of Johnathan was having a nervous breakdown in one of the teachers suites of another building on campus. Once we got on the scene Johnathan was still trying to talk to his teacher upset with tears in his eyes. Mr. Jones asked Johnathan to step inside of an empty room so we could talk. Johnathan explained that he was failing the class and was very upset because he was a "failure." The instructor explained to Johnathan that she would allow him an opportunity to make up some of the assignments that he missed but he couldnt seem to understand that concept. He kept asking to see his teacher and Mr. Jones explained to him Johnathan that he was starting to harrass his teacher. This didnt seem to register with Johnathan either as he continued to try to see her. Eventually Chris Chafin the director of DAS came to talk with Johnathan as well. This lasted about 2 hours and Johnathan was still quite upset.

 

Week 11 (Nov 16 - Nov 20)

This was my last full week at GTCC. I met with Melissa and we discussed the progress I had made on my moodle page. Melissa gave me a few suggestions and corrections to mke on the site. I continued to mork on the site and make the corrections she asked me to make. On Thursday Ms. Cox asked me to speak with a student who was having an issue. She filled me on the students problem introduced us and said "ok take it from here." At first I was very nervous as she had put me on the spot and it was the first time I would have to talk to a student without her being there. The Students name was Rayshawn and he was upset because he wasnt doing to well in one of his classes. I could tell he was very anxious and upset so my main concern was trying to relax him. I told him that we all struggle sometimes and even told him how I failed classes before and that he would be fine. He also to me that he never disclosed to his instructor that he had autism. I explained to him that letting his instructor know this could help the instructor to better help him in class. I printed of a letter of accommodation and encouraged him to give it to his teacher. He seemed ver receptive to my advice and left the meeting in a much better mood than when he entered it.

 

Week 12 (Nov 23 - Nov 24)

My final week at GTCC I completed the final edits for my moodle page and presented the final product to my site supervisor Melissa, GTCC's Assistive Technology Specialist Kent Cowan, and the DAS director Chris Chafin. We discussed the moodle page as I took them on a virtual tour of the website and showed them the different functions of the site. Both Kent and Chris were very impressed with the final outcome and gave me positive feedback.We all four then spoke about the moodle page and how it will help the faculty at GTCC and how it will grow throughout the years. We wrapped up the final meeting and said my final good byes to both Kent and Chris. I then spoke with Melissa about the entire experience and thanked her for all of her help and guidance. Melissa asked me about my plans for the future and informed me of some openings at GTCC and printed me off a few job descriptions. I again thanked Melissa for everything and we said our final farewells. My entire practicum experience was priceless and gave me valuable information that I will be able to carry with myself throughout life.