Final thoughts

I thought I'd write about the class as a whole, but while watching the video I just kept thinking how much more I know about my classmates because of these videos.  I would love to do this with my students. I would hope it would be the same affect.  Students that may never talk outside of class would have a different perspective of their classmates.  I think the videos tell a lot about each person just from the idea that they chose.  Most of us told a story that we were passionate about.  Digital stories are great for any classroom, they can be as detailed or simple as you'd wish.

I just wanted to say that this class really helped me grow as a teacher.  I didn't think I could learn so much in 2 weeks.  I know I will keep the wiki page on my toolbar for a long time in the future!  Sharing all the different web2.0 pages was very helpful and just proved how many are actually out there. When she asked us, I first thought, but I'm sure she has them all on the wiki.  I was proven wrong, I will share this with my students to show them, how many free sites are available.

I think I will continue to do a short of blog either inside or outside the classroom.  I've found it easy to organize my thoughts, now I just need people to want to read what I have to say :)

Day 8: Social Networking

I think of social networking sites in a whole new way after today's discussion.  I was just amazed at all the things that can be done with social networks.  When I think of social networks, I think of Facebook.  But Denise showed us it can be successfully done.  I was surprised what results Denise got the children. At the beginning of the presentation, I was leery of what the children could actually do.  I really liked the results she got from the student who had difficulty reading and writing. I would never thing blogging or instant messager would make a difference. Again, thinking back on my sped student teaching I would be interested to see if social networking would have made a difference with a few students.  I think often feel students do not express themselves fully in the classroom, especially the older we get.  This is the same with this class, I know, doing this blog has made me really think of compelling/thoughtful ideas to share with each other.  Denise L. also showed examples of how 5th graders expressed their thoughts on global warming.  This was very interesting to me.  The biggest downfall, and we discussed this in class, was the time it took. I honestly don't care about the time.  Once it gets set up, I don't know if the social network would take more time than prepping for any other lesson.  I think with time and practice, it can be very successful.  We have an advantage because we have been introduced to this and I feel we are flexible and quick learners. 

I really enjoyed TodaysMeet.  I found it difficult to concentrate on the presentation and follow the conversation.  But I did like it when I liked a point Denise made or had a quick question, I quickly added a comment.  I know in many presentations, questions will come up and by the end of it, I've forgotten.  I would really enjoy to do this on a presentation I gave to see feedback from my audience.  The one concern I have is stopping the kids from searching the web.  I didn't have the problem because I was interested in what Denise had to say, but I do know if the presentation was boring, I would be tempted to explore the web.  How could we prevent our students from doing this?  

The one point I really enjoyed from Denise was all the parent involvement.  I really believe that is key.  The pot luck was a great way to answer any questions parents may have.  It was great that no parent had said no to letting their child use the network.  I think that just proves the community believe in what they're doing and supports them.  

I am exciting to try to implement social networking into my future classroom!

Day 7: Writer's workshop

I really enjoyed today's discussion on writer's workshop.  I thought I had a good understanding of the program, but today's discussion really helped me feel more confident in implementing it into classroom.  I plan to take a bit from my experience in New Zealand and from this class to help my students the most.  I really like how in New Zealand, the student first self corrected their writing.  Then I would have the peers edit and revise each other.  In New Zealand, I saw a teacher had 'conference' times on the board, whenever the student was ready for a conference they would write their name down and when the teacher was ready, she would call the next student's name.  The conferences also allowed the teacher to group students with similar ability levels for small group instruction.

I enjoyed writer's workshop because you are able to keep the student's work and able to show the progress.  As a student, I think it's important that they are working towards something. I know I would have enjoyed publishing a book like the one Dr. Schmidt and her 2nd grade class did.  I loved all the ideas that we discussed in class, writing a book review on your own story, advertising for your story, or creating a digital story.  After 5-6 weeks, I would like to allow the writing time to 'publish' the students work.  This is a great way to motivate some students.  I really believe writer's workshop is great for all ability levels!

Day 6: Keyboarding

Today in class made me think of keyboarding in education in a way I never had.  I honestly just thought, well, if I learned it, so will my students.  I never thought of the time and all the 'behind the scenes' thinking that goes into it.  I agreed with both the pros and cons today in class. I walked out of class thinking, "well, should I or should I not introduce keyboarding at a young age?"  I would be interested in talking to be previous teacher to see exactly how often we did keyboarding and if she felt like it was taking away from more direct instruction. My few memories of keyboarding were always positive experiences. I remember trying to be competitive with my friends.  Today, I consider myself a pretty fast typer, not always accurate, but fairly fast.
It's time's like this, that I wish more schools were year round.  We would be able to slowly introduce typing instead of trying to fit it all in in one semester.  As a special education teacher, part of me, feels that it is more important to focus on typing in certain situations.  Some students handwriting will never be legible, but if they're able to get their thoughts through typing, I would be willing to focus more time on keyboarding skills.  I also really like the idea of dictation.  I have seen it on my cell phone when texting, but didn't think about it in the classroom.  I feel I would use if more for a time saver, but it could still be beneficial for students with special needs.
Overall, I feel keyboarding should be introduced, at minimum in 3rd grade.  Even if students are doing it during free time, I think students need as much exposer as possible. A comment was said that keyboarding was not motivating. I think I would try to do a little competition of some sort to get my students motivated to learn to type correctly.   I plan to continue to read about keyboarding in elementary classrooms to help make my decision.

Day 5: Exploring the iPads

Before this weekend, I hadn't explored the iPads much, I just knew I would enjoy one.I  had never really thought of all the possibilities I could do. The possibilities are endless.  I was reading on apple.com a bit of how iPads are used in education.  I first thought about assistive technology and how much you can zoom in and it's still clear and easy to read.  There was a long list of all the apps available for education.  I explored a bit and couldn't believe it.  The apps looked engaging to me, I know it would motivate my students to learn.  If there was a possibility that each student got an iPad, apple has apple that allow students to track their assignments, take notes and study.  iPads allow the teachers to give assignments, monitor progress and stay organized.  I noticed an app our ipads had an apple tittled, teacherpal.  It allowed the user to build a schedule of all her classes and the students in each class.  It really was an electronic great book.  I thought, "How cool!"  I didn't realize that the ipads were capable of word processing or presentations, but iWorks is available on ipads, this would be great for taking notes if the students also had the keyboard.

I really enjoyed the chance to play around with the ipads but not too happy, now it's stuck in my head that I need one! I better start saving!

Research Article: Assistive Technology for Young Children in Special Education

Access to actual article


I choose to find an article on technology and special education because of my area of specialization.  I found a very interesting article about assistive technology in the classroom.  Assistive technology is "any item, piece of equipment, or product system whether acquired commercially off the shelf, modified, or customized, that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities"  


The article discusses how much technology has opened the doors to accommodating those with physical, sensory or cognitive impairments.  It talked about technology as  an equalizer.  I really liked that phrase.  Many times those with disabilities are thought of as different, but with the help of the changing technology, those individuals can participate with everyone else.  With the help of technology, those unable to speak can now use voice synthesizers to communicate.  Those in wheel chairs can easily get around the school with the help of automatic doors. Text and graphic enhancements assist those with visual impairments.  Technology as simple as word processing, editing and spell-checking found in many software often helps those with disabilities keep up with much work.  With the help of FM signals, teacher's can wear a microphone to transmit their voice to a child with hearing impairments.  The help of the assistive technology allo the students to feel better about themselves as active learners. New technology tools enable teachers to offer new and motivating tools for students with special needs.  Computers allow teachers to facilitate learning beyond drill and practice.  


The article discusses the implications of the effects on children with disabilities in the school.  It described the feeling of seeing a young child speak or hear for the first time.  


It is pointed out that virtually all applications of technology can be defined as assistive technology.  Many may think assistive technology is only for those with physical disabilities but something as low-tech as a pencil grip to help a child hold a pencil is considered assistive technology. As educators we strive to increase or add new academic, social or living skills.  In some cases it's simply important to help students maintain their capability.  Assistive technology can do this.  


Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA) requires an "appropriate" education in the least restrictive environment for students with disabilities.  With the help of assistive technology, many students can work in a regular education classroom.  This is beneficial because some child may not benefit appropriately from a full inclusion program.  


This article shows how important technology is in our classroom.  It doesn't need to be 1:1 or simply a computer.  Technology has improved everyones life no matter if born with a disability or not.  


Reference:
Behrmann, M. (2004). Assistive technology for young children in special education . Association for   Supervision and Curriculum Development, Retrieved from http://www.lcsd150.ab.ca/ICT/ATL/Child_or_SpecEd_Assist_Tech.pdf 

Day Two: TPACK and Blogging in the Classroom

Today I really enjoyed learning about TPACK,Technology, pedagogy, content and knowledge.  The activity we did in class, listing different content areas, pedagogy, how we will teach it, and different types of technology, helped me realize how easy it potentially could be to integrate technology into each lesson.  I think because we as first year teachers are at an advantage because we are in this class.  After 2 days of class I am already thinking of how to repurpose technology.  I understand that not all technology is made for the classroom, and a lesson will not just be handed to me.  I'm hoping these next two weeks will help me become successful at this area.

Today Dr. Schmidt introduced kidblog quickly to the class.  I started thinking about how I could incorporate blogging into my classroom.  I thought it would be a great way for an older classroom to continue to write during the summer or even holiday breaks.  I am hoping to continue discussing and reading about how to use blogging in the classroom.  I can see many possibilities for older children, but I feel it could be more difficult to use with younger classrooms.

I really enjoyed exploring bookflix, I wish it was a free program, but if we can continue to use the username and password, I can think of many different ways to use it in my classroom.  I really liked how each book set had a nonfiction and fiction set.  As I explored a bit more, I realized each set had a lesson plan that went with it.  The lesson included objective, pre-video activities, after-video activities, comparing the texts, further research and assessment.  It doesn't mean you have to use it, but this website is a great resource for teachers.

I can honestly say I'm looking forward to waking up tomorrow morning, I'm interested to see what activities we will be doing with the pictures that we took today.  

Day One

After one day of CI 556, I'm really looking forward to learning what more I can do to enhance technology in my classroom.  Today we were introduced to quite a few Web 2.0 tools.  I wasn't familiar with any of these free resources available to me.  There are so many opportunities that teachers and myself are not aware of.  Students today are surrounded by technology.  If used correctly, technology can do nothing but enhance students learning.  Thinking back on my experiences in many different classrooms, I don't feel technology was used as much as it could have been.  For the past 8 weeks I have been student teaching in New Zealand.  The students wasn't any more advanced in technology than any school in the U.S.A.  The one difference I did see was how much they encouraged technology.  Each classroom had 3 or more new iMacs.  Each day the students had a computer schedule, if it was the student's time for the computer, they knew their expectations and were allowed about 30 minutes to explore.  I was amazed how the students worked independently because they knew they would loose their privileges.   Many programs my teacher allowed them to use were programs that she was able to monitor their progress and see what exactly they were doing.  It was interesting to see that the computers weren't just used as a time filler or for those that finished first like we had discussed in class.

Today I was introduced to Wordle.  In New Zealand, I saw several projects that was used with Wordle but wasn't aware of the program.  I really enjoyed playing around with this program and began thinking of many different ways to incorporate it into my special education classroom.  I found myself coming home from class and messing around with the program.  On our classes wiki page, Ms. Schmidt shared a powerpoint of different ways to use Wordle in the classroom, from there I started searching and found another site with 50+ ways to use Wordle.
Here is the link that I found, http://www.ideastoinspire.co.uk/wordle.htm.  I know I will use this resource when hoping to use this program in the future.

I am looking forward to exploring more Web 2.0 tools over the next 2 weeks!