Final Blog for now…

I have learned so much this semester in class that I am having trouble trying to write about it all. This whole semester I was looking forward to creating a website, but I now know that I can still create a website, just with different tools. I can create a website with a wiki or blog, and it would probably be much easier. I was always scared that I would not be “smart” enough to take a technology course, but now I wish I would have taken more classes. I am at the end of my graduate program, which I can say was not that challenging. If I would have taken a risk and chose a graduate program like technology, I would have learned much more. I guess I am saying that I learned more about myself and my abilities, which no other class has revealed.

          Before I took this class I wrote a blog about trying to figure out Inspiration, now I know how to use Inspiration as a way of visual learning. Inspiration is not just a way to create mind maps, but it has many graphic organizers to help clarify thoughts to allow students to discover patterns and relationships. Working on the collaborative wiki assignment, helped me realize that everyone has something valuable and unique to add to a topic. Everyone has their own experiences and knowledge that can help you learn more. I really learned a lot from my wiki topic, cyberbullying. Before this class I did not even know cyberbullying existed! When I finally have my own classroom, hopefully next year, cyberbullying would be a topic I would take the time to discuss and educate the youth because it is a very serious matter. The non-linear PowerPoint gave me a fresh new perspective on PowerPoint. I have been so burnt-out on the traditional boring PowerPoint that I rarely would use it. Having students participate with a non-linear PowerPoint is much more engaging and fun. Students can explore on their own or as a whole class. The research paper on assistive technology let me just touch the surface on what is out there and how I can allow a student to maximize their assistive technologies. I can’t wait for more research to come out on this topic, so I can learn more. I’m glad we took the time to learn a little about copyright and fair use because I had no idea it was so serious. Teachers copy books for us and so much more that break copyright, so I would have stayed in the dark if we never touched on this topic.

I could probably go on and on about what I learned. I know my family is tired of hearing about it, whenever I learn something that I think is fascinating, I have to share it! I really enjoyed this class and who knows maybe I’ll come back to school in the future to learn more technology as it gets more sophisticated. Or better yet I can listen to a podcast on the latest technology!

 

Podcasts

I don’t know about anyone else in class, but I had a little trouble creating my podcast. It all started Wednesday at 5:00 pmand five hours later, I had a huge headache. I had that booklet from Dr. Ransom and I knew where to put chapters and pictures, but editing the pictures was not in the packet. I found big pictures like we were supposed to but then they were fuzzy. I had about 20 recordings because I kept messing up and all the people in the room were intimidating me. Every time I tried to delete the messed up sections, it made more of an issue! Then when I had to add the jingle in the beginning, it messed up my whole recordings because it started to overlap. Well it is all over and I think I did the best I could. I think if I’m going to use podcasting in my classroom, it would start off as a getting to know them, and work its way for educational purposes. I think since we are college students we can dive into programs with little experience, but children should play and explore before given a task.

 

The end of the semester!

I am glad this semester is finally coming to an end. This class has been a challenge because of some of the new tools we learned, but I can say I learned a lot. I really enjoyed writing these blogs because I love to write and reflect on what I am learning. My undergraduate major was sociology, so I enjoy researching and analyzing. I am at the end of my graduate program and I can say that not too many teachers care about reflection. Besides all the wonderful technology tools we learned, I learned an important aspect about using your own voice. This type of writing allows you make an opinion without being penalized which makes writing more meaningful for all students. Some students are shy in class, so it could be hard to assess what they are learning, but having a blog or any type of journal writing is beneficial. The core curriculum is extremely important, but make sure you the time to let students reflect on their knowledge, which in the long run will help them understand more content.

New Plagiarism

More and more classrooms are requiring students to answer textbook questions to learn the content. Sometimes we have to teach with the textbook, but having students answer specific questions about what they read could be wasteful. When I was in school, we would answer questions from a textbook. The teacher would give us the questions and we would read to find the answers. I was always told to copy what is says in the book and I think many teachers expect students to use the exact words from a book. Teachers are not using enough open ended questions and requiring students to summarize in their own words. So when students are doing research papers they think it is ok to copy someone else’s words because it is what they do in class. Learning to summarize and write about what you read in your own words is less and less common in schools. Everything you read has a bias from the author and we should teach students that textbooks are not the end all be all. Textbooks are usually written in a language not suitable for all readers, so having the students answer “textbook” questions is just a bad idea all around. Teachers should ask higher order thinking questions that does not require looking up questions in the book. If you want students to not plagiarize, you need to set the example.

iPods in edu

I like the idea of using iPods in schools, especially for students with disabilities. The video that we watched about iPods for students with  special needs, allows students to listen to tests. The principal mentions that the teacher can focus more on how the students are processing with the iPods, and I don’t know how much I agree. I think it is a good way for the teacher to not spend as much time with the students because she does not have to do that job anymore. This device seems to be more beneficial for the teacher! In order to focus on the way students process, they need to be present. I do like the idea of using iPods in the classroom just for tests. They could use them for books, voice recording and so much more. Since the iPod is used to fulfill IEP modifications, does the school have to provide them? They can be costly and we all know schools are not willing to give up funds, unless absolutely necessary. I think some students may benefit from the iPod if they have a teacher that still teaches and does not let the iPod take over the educators role.

20/20

Updating Web sites

I am very eager to learn how to create a web site, where students and parents have access to the classroom. The benefits include increased motivation, communication, parent participation, digital portfolios, pre-selected web sites, and much more. What happens when the teacher starts up the web site in the beginning of the year and rarely updates it? I feel that many teachers and schools are not updating their web sites to include the most current information. When really they are a few months behind! What happens with a single mom, working two jobs, that used to look up daily information about her child? That connection with school and the classroom is now broken. If you are going to create a web site, in order to reap the benefits, you have to maintain it and keep updating it. Many of the articles we read about classroom web sites mentioned the importance, but not the essential element? If you do create a web site try to stick with it, show you can be consistent, because looking at a web site could reveal your true teaching style!

Assistive Technology

I ultimately would like to become a special education teacher when I graduate. I thought researching assistive technology (AT) would give me much more information on what is currently in the market, but I eventually found some issues concerning AT. If I never did this research paper,  I would have not learned that assistive technology and instructional technology are actually very similar. We learned in class that Inspiration is an instructional tool, but what I found from my research is that it is also considered assistive technology when concerning students with disabilities. I feel that I could benefit from much of the AT available, and I’m a college student! Having a talking spellchecker could allow me to look up long words and actually know how to say them. Teachers are not prepared to teach in inclusive settings and really many of them do not want to learn. The IEP team needs to put AT on a student’s IEP and if they are not familiar with them and the benefits, how can we promote optimal success? Teachers need to teach themselves how to use AT either by doing research, experiencing AT hands on, or from a social network. I found that user groups, blogs, or even wikis could help teachers find how to use and practice AT in the classroom. Teachers should be constantly assessing and monitoring how the AT is providing your student with support. I feel that general education teachers think its up to  the special education teacher to be taking care of “their” students. General education teachers are teaching in inclusive settings and should work with the special education teacher to learn AT and strategies.  

To my knowledge I thought AT was very effective, by hear say, it is the “new” technology, but actually little research shows proving that. I already have a bias about research and do not believe everything I read. I’m sure some students have had positive and negative experiences probably depending on many different factors like the teacher, learning environment and type of disability. I had a hard time finding really informative articles, so I’ve concluded that the  assistive technology field needs much more studies to validate the research. Many articles I read had websites available with information on  certain AT, but when I visited them I felt like they were trying to sell me something more than give me information! I realized from my paper that AT is sometimes under used and some students are not being taught how to use them. Students can have the AT, but if they do not have direct instruction when and how to use them, then they are basically useless. I read an article about using a calculator, as assistive technology, a key point was to teach students when exactly to use a calculator. You do not need a calculator when you can use mental math or a pencil and paper, the teaching piece seems to make all the difference, no matter the tool. Overall AT can benefit individual students differently, with or without “labeled” disabilities, so take the time to know your students because that is what will make all the difference.

Positive or Negative???

I really enjoyed reading Is PowerPoint Crippling our Students? It was interesting to read both sides of the debate. I believe the teacher against using PowerPoint was referring to using it as a teaching tool, and the teacher for PowerPoint was all for student use. The way you use PowerPoint in class really makes a difference. I have been in classes with the same routine, every class a PowerPoint that the teacher reads off  and the students are bored to death! Sometimes they may even attempt to put on a video clip, but it is usually too small for the students to see. PowerPoint slides should not have everything that the teacher is saying, it should only include the key ideas, to allow for explanation. I have also been in classes where the teacher goes through the slides so fast that the students are lost. If you are going to take the time to create a PowerPoint, take enough time to go through them. It is easy to rush through the slides to get all the material covered, but the students will not benefit. I liked the idea that PowerPoint does not provoke discussion, and it forces students to intake information instead of being part of creating information. This is so true and students should take part in engaging discussions and higher order thinking questions. I do think PowerPoint would work well for introducing a new topic and finding out what the students know already. PowerPoint is a great tool for students to use with projects. Teachers should provide guidelines for students because it should mainly be about content and not fancy animations. I have even seen college students go wild over the animations and lose track of the real purpose. Overall, I think PowerPoint could be a useful tool, depending how you use it.

Electronic class…

Today I was cleaning and organizing my bookshelves for five hours. I bought ten binders and decided to put all my folders and notebooks in binders. This process was long and tedious! I couldn’t help but think what if computers could hold all of our resources and papers electronically. I am sure it could be done, but I don’t know where to start. Maybe within a decade all college courses will have all electronic resources and a way for us to save them to our computers.

Over the past two days, I have been transferring all of my bookmarks to del.icio.us. This has been working out great because when I look to see who else is posting that website I  find even more sites that I forgot about. The list became overwhelming, when I was deciding which websites I wanted to add to my del.icio.us. Then I became sidetracked, and was totally into the new sites and forgot how I even got there!

One day I would like to have allof my resources on the computer and del.icio.us is just a start!