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IConn

While looking through IConn, I found it to be an extremely useful resource. My basic understanding is that IConn allows it users to see any title of a book, magazine, periodical, etc. and which libraries in Connecticut have them. Readers can see how many they have and what editions as well. This is a great way to help establish digital equality in the state. This website is free and accessible to anyone, allowing all citizens who have a free library card to have access to anything from the library that they could ever want. This is super helpful for anyone who may not have many resources, especially students because they have so much at their fingertips even if they may not have a computer or access to books at school or at home. IConn lifts the restraints off of every citizen and grants them access to learn.

The Computer Delusion

I found this article to be really interesting and it brings up some great points.  I personally work in an elementary school and cannot imagine giving up so many things for technology. Each classroom has 1 computer and students have a computer classroom where they meet twice a week for computer class. They all love it and are all pretty computer savvy. They also, however, absolutely love having gym, music, art and science lab. The idea of eliminating all of these wonderful programs for more computers seems ridiculous. Students are exposed to plenty of technology in the form of Smart Boards, library card catalogs, and their own computers at home. When you are in a school and you see the wonderful and enriching things that the students learn in their specials, like teamwork, self expression, independence, and creativity, it is hard to imagine them being stuck in their classroom on a computer all day long. I am all for bringing technology into our schools, but I think it can be done effectively without sacrificing the rest of the curriculum. 

Non-linear Powerpoints

The concept of non-linear powerpoints is something I can really see as an easy and useful resource in all classrooms. High School students can use this for presentations, and can jump around from page to page. It is a great solution for group projects because everyone can really have their own section and ownership of the powerpoint, but still only one project can be handed in. As far as my Special Ed students go, making games using non-linear powerpoint is an excellent resource. It teaches children facts as well as computer skills and it can be used individually or as a group. It can include pictures for visual learners and you can even have the computer read the text aloud for audio learners. I really support this type of powerpoint because of its simplicity and range. It has so many different uses and can be used by so many different types of students and teachers.




It was a really interesting experience creating one of these. I love the idea of making a game for students to play, but it definitely gets confusing figuring out what links to what on the slides. Overall it seems like such a better option for lessons because I would be able to jump all over my presentation.

Wiki

My group and I finished up our Wiki last week and it was definitely a fun experience getting to see the Web 2.0 resources. While selecting the Web 2.0 resource I wanted to share, I chose to focus on one that would be especially beneficial to Special Ed students, since this is my major. There are so many great ones to choose from, but I decided on ToonDoo. I like this site for many reasons. First, it can be used by students and teachers to create their own comic strips or comic books. I love that your comic can be one square or one hundred squares because it really makes the site usable by everyone. Comics are a great way to intrigue students, but it also helps them with writing, grammar, illustration, storytelling, dialogue, speech and language. Students can make the comics themselves or teachers can make the comics and use them as a teaching tool for their class. It is free to use and there are tons of different options for characters and things.

Midterm Reflections

The semester so far has been a lot different than I expected. It has really made me think about how much I do not know about technology. When we started this course, I thought I was fairly tech savvy, but it turns out this is not entirely the case. It is great to learn new little tricks while working on the computer, and it is even nicer to be using both the Mac and Windows version of things. I have really enjoyed every project we have done so far and I am especially excited to complete my digital story, because I feel like this will be such a wonderful thing for my Special Education students. It's such a great tool for visual learners and it can be tweaked and revised as often as needed. There is also tons of room for interaction between students and technology. Being a Special Ed major, I am always looking for great new tools that can help to accommodate my students and their special needs. I had really hoped to learn more about Smart Board as well as the IPad apps for students with autism. This is obviously beyond the realm of general education technology, but it is something I would find very helpful and useful for my students. Nonetheless, I look forward to having my webpage as a great resource full of all my technological achievements to show my students.

This is a very interesting video about what it feels like for a child with a learning disability who is in a mainstream classroom setting.

Inquiry Based Learning

In my experience in Special Ed classrooms, inquiry-based learning is a common practice. With so much one on one attention given to each student, there is such a great opportunity for the student to be involved in their own learning. Not to mention, many of the programs developed for Special Ed reading and math are inquiry based because it strengthens motor skills. For example, Edmark reading systems for LD students requires the students active participation in order for the program to succeed. Involving the students in their own learning forces their brains to process things in different ways and it creates an enriching environment where everyone gets used to and feels comfortable participating. Inquiry based learning also allows students to control how they absorb information. It helps students who learn visually, as well as auditory and active learners. It is definitely an excellent concept to introduce to all classrooms. 

Copyright Law and Teachers

After learning about copyright laws in class, I have to admit that it was a very overwhelming and somewhat frightening topic. Almost every single resource a teacher uses to help them teach is protected by some sort of copyright law, and each law greatly varies. One glimmer in all the confusion is that copyright laws seem to be on the side of education. For the most part, teachers are able to use whatever they need to in the classroom, as long as they do not copy or reproduce it. However, this should not serve as an incentive for teachers to use whatever materials they want. Each source is different and laws should still be checked and followed. I think that one of the most important things for teachers to remember is that is not just them who can be held accountable and lose their job for certain copyright violations, but their administrators, and whole school districts as well. Teachers should also do all they can to educate their students on the importance of copyright.

Photoshop

This is my beautiful photoshop creation! It has 7 different layers in it...each flower is a layer as well as the bird and the text. While this photo is far fetched, it was so much fun stretching my imagination and learning how to crop, edit and create brand new images. This would be a really fun teaching tool in making documents and worksheets more fun, creative, interactive and useful for students. Say I make up a test, I can put images on it for my visual learners to better understand the question. 

I found photoshop to be a very challenging program to use. It gets very confusing with all of the layers and there are so many different tools that it is often hard to keep track. Today's students are very technology savvy and could probably master photoshop, but I would probably feel more comfortable just using it myself to make things for my students, like handouts, or for my parents, like notices or newsletters or progress reports to send home.

Winston Stanley

This is a photo of my kitty cat Winston Stanley. He enjoys sleeping, playing with his cousins, Smudge and Arnold, and lounging in the fridge. I used Picnik to add a little something extra to his photo.

Tableau vivant

I really enjoyed the Tableau vivant exercise we did in class last week. My group did the story about the ant and the grasshopper...

I think this was a great tool for us to learn. When it comes to teaching, this would be a wonderful and interactive tool especially for visual learners. It makes any material more fun and hands on for any student and it is really a great way of simplifying material that may be complicated or confusing for students. I also think it will be great to have students take the photos and then talk the class through what they did. This helps them to verbalize what they have learned and to help everyone else understand what they have learned. I would definitely use this project as I think it greatly aids many different types of learners.

Blog Evaluation

For my blog evaluation I chose to look at the Cool Cat Teacher Blog by Vicki Davis. While I was reading through Vicki's posts, what I absolutely loved about this blog was its variety. She really incorporates every aspect of her life into her blog and it is both inspirational and informative. Topics vary from tips on how to eliminate small stresses in your life, to the qualities of a great leader, to informational articles about the latest teaching technologies. She combines all of her roles-mother, teacher, blogger, woman-and creates an extremely relatable and informative site. I just love the idea that it is so real. Vicki writes about her mistakes, her stresses and her failures and turns them into real life lessons for teachers or anyone really who strives to excel in their careers.

Learning Standard

For my standard of focus this semester I decided to use Special Education based on the Connecticut's  Common Core of Teaching. Special education encompasses a wide variety of students with a wide range of disabilities and needs. Each student has a different IEP and therefore there are many different ways that Special Education students learn. Some students are non-verbal and may learn best visually, others may be blind and learn best through listening to a lesson played on an Ipod. Others may not be able to write, but can type on an Ipad or word processor. In my opinion Special Education is the area where learning styles really need to be the biggest focus.

Teddy Bears Go Blogging.

The idea of "pen pals" has been around for so long and has been a really great tool for students. It is such an influential experience for young students to be able to learn about other cultures from students their own age, and it is nice to see this program develop with and benefit from the evolution of technology. I love the idea of students learning to blog their experiences. Not only does it familiarize them with safe use of the internet, but it hones their writing skills and allows them great interaction with many different students. I think that this idea could really take off as far as young students go. The possibilities are endless as far as the number of students participating, where these students are from and what they can blog about. With the language technology available on the internet today, this may not even be a barrier at this point, which can involve all students from every nation. The cultures and ideas that children could share with each other are absolutely endless and it would benefit everyone involved. This article really proves how much the internet can connect the world.

Reflection of MP-3 Article

There are many positive and negative aspects to this article. First, I really like and support the idea of advancing the ways in which children learn. It's important to realize that technology is such a large part of the younger generation, that we must almost mold the way schools teach to fit their lifestyles. It may seem a lot more interesting and fun to a student that they can use their Ipods or MP3's to learn instead of a book. I believe this may be an excellent options for auditory learners as well. As we know, every student learns differently and it is great for teachers to have the option to give their students another resource. It is also a method that works among all age groups since it requires no reading or language skills to listen. As far as the subjects being taught digitally, I feel at this point some are more beneficiary than others. Foreign languages for instance are a great subject to teach digitally since it really helps to be as immersed in the language as possible. It also helps students to really learn how to speak the language rather than just read and write it.


On the negative end, these devices are expensive, which can definitely isolate certain students from having the opportunity to learn this way. There is also the issue of students losing or weakening their study skills. Students are able to multi-task while using their MP-3 devices to the greatest extent of the word. This takes away from students sitting down and only focusing on their work. I personally learn best with a book. It keeps me in one place and it keeps me focused, because I am not going to walk around the house carrying a book I am reading. There are already so many distractions and reasons for students to multi-task today that this just perpetuates the problem.


While I definitely support education and technology moving forward, I think we should proceed with caution and make sure we are still taking the needs of each individual student into consideration.