Professional and Digital Learning Department interns create tools for teachers

By Dallas ISD
Reprinted – by Texas Metro News
www.dallasisd.org

Being a teacher does not mean learning ends, and with technology constantly evolving, educators are looking for ways to incorporate it into their classrooms and professional lives.

This is where the Professional and Digital Learning Department comes in, and this summer, the department and their interns are training teachers on how to use technology in their classroom for the upcoming school year.

“This is my first year participating in the internship program,” said Dawayla Murray-Patterson, instructional specialist for the Professional and Digital Learning Department. “We went to a job fair and out of the many students we interviewed, we selected our two interns based on personality because in this line of work, you need a lot of personality.”

The two interns, Oscar M. and Jae’lynn O., both found their jobs at that same job fair.

“I had an interest in technology and they were the last department at the job fair that I visited,” said Jae’lynn, rising senior at Dr. L.G. Pinkston Sr. High School. “I spoke to Eric (Banks) and Mrs. Patterson and they were both nice and straightforward. I hoped that they would get back to me for this internship.”

“They were the only table that I visited,” said Oscar, rising senior at Skyline High School. “Speaking with them felt more like a conversation than an interview and I felt that it was either this opportunity, or nothing.”

During the summer, Jae’lynn and Oscar learned how to work with monitors, wire displays to specific configurations, and create and edit videos using their research. For their final project, they created a website displaying everything they learned.

In addition to these hard skills granted by their job, the pair also learned soft skills, such as communication, politeness, and respect via studying customer service books and having conversations with other adults in the office.

“We focus on soft skills in this internship because it is something that our interns are going to need in the workplace,” said Patterson. “They are going to have to deal with all sorts of different people and anyone can teach you a skill, but no one can teach you to have a sense of decorum.”

Patterson has nothing but pride about her interns and how much they’ve given to the department.

“They are both so excited, eager to learn, and willing to do whatever we ask of them. They also have been able to connect what they’ve been learning with their everyday life, especially with the customer service books and how they’ve learned how to research on the internet,” said Patterson. Jae’lynn’s advice for students considering being interns is to go for it.

“I was extremely nervous for this internship, as it was my first time working. I didn’t know what to expect, but now it’s been fun and I’ve been really enjoying working here,” Jae’lynn said.

Oscar echoes Jae’lynn’s advice.

“When you take on an internship, you get job experience and people skills that are beneficial beyond your time in school. You aren’t losing anything, you are only gaining,” he said.