Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Twitter Reflection


For the Twitter assignment we were required to post to or interact with Twitter at least once a week. I followed at least five people. I posted the name of a person I followed on my blog each week (once I got the hang of it!) and added the link or video I found helpful. This was my first experience with Twitter so tweets and hashtags were like a foreign language to me!


The five people I initially followed did not always tweet about the blog topics, so I would end up doing a search most weeks. I was impressed how quickly I was able to locate the information I needed each time. I am following @kellyhines. She is my favorite. She posts resources to use in the classroom such as Smilebox, Photopin, bubbl.us, links to virtual field trips, and useful apps to name a few. @aclewett shared an extensive and user-friendly list of technology resources for teachers. For example, you click “Create Presentations” and a list of resources for creating presentations such as Prezi, Keynote and Google Docs are displayed. I will definitely refer to this list in the classroom. Even though I do not find @jshe the most helpful for ideas relating to education, she posts numerous articles on technology in general. A few articles about Apple products caught my eye and were interesting.     

I could definitely use Twitter as an educator. Twitter provides a variety of educational ideas and resources. Once I get the hang of following multiple people and organizations, I think it will be much more beneficial since there are so many educators and organizations utilizing Twitter these days. One of the things I like most about Twitter is that if you find an interesting tweet or someone to follow, you can check out their Facebook page, blog, or website for even more resources.  

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Assistive Technology


According to our textbook, assistive technology has been a part of education since 1879 when Braille materials were purchased by Congress for educational use (Roblyer and Doering, 2013, p. 399). As teachers, we use assistive technology more than we probably realize. Assistive technology provides physical access and sensory access, but also meets special teaching and learning needs (Roblyer and Doering, 2013, p. 400). It is technology used to help students perform tasks that would otherwise be difficult or impossible. The continuum involves no-technology, low-technology and high technology. No-tech does not require technology but instead allows students to use their bodies differently to enhance learning capabilities (i.e. one-handed typing). Low-tech are nonelectrical and include for example, word lists and highlighters. High-tech are electrical or hydraulic systems such as electrical wheel chairs and stair lifts (Roblyer and Doering, 2013, p. 405). Roblyer and Doering mention research that suggests that, “technology-supported curriculum in special needs classrooms may lead to increased student involvement and enhanced self-determination (Roblyer and Doering, 2013, p. 406).” I agree that technology enhances teaching and learning  and motivates students. This is true for students with or without disabilities!   

Mild disabilities: For writing, I would use Dragon Talk. I have used this in the past with a student who could not write. The voice recognition software allows you to create text from speech. For reading, I would have as much text as possible in digital format so that I could use apps and other speech-to-text software. This way, students who have difficulty reading can listen to the information as well. For math, I will use the many apps I have come across during this class. I also like Math (fishdog.net) like or textbook suggests. The 3-minute math drill is great, and it is very user-friendly.

Moderate and severe disabilities: I would use apps geared towards functional skills such as money and time management apps. Alternative keyboards such as Intellitools’IntelliKeys and joysticks instead of keyboards are a must for students with limited manual dexterity.

Physical disabilities: Again, DragonTalk is one of my favorites for students who cannot write or who have major difficulty writing.  

Sensory disabilities: I had a student who was legally blind. I wish I had the optical character recognition (OCR) software I just learned about! A program that scans/coverts everything to text/reads aloud would have made teaching and learning much more accessible.  

At-risk behaviors/situations: I like the idea of using a reminder service such as iping.com to help students who have trouble remembering things to do. For difficulty with organization, I like using task charts with rewards attached to them.  

Gifts and talents: Wikis, Glogster, Animoto - basically all of the resources we have covered in this class - would work with most students but could be specifically catered towards gifted and talented students. My favorite is creating a wiki in groups. This covers content but also provides gifted students opportunities to work on socialization skills.





Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Web 2.0 Resources

I would definitely use all three resources in my classroom! Glogster was my favorite because it can be geared toward any subject matter. However, Animoto is great especially for reading/language arts teachers (book reviews, etc.). Really enjoyed this week's assignment!

Glogster


Animoto


Free Choice 1


Free Choice 2






Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Mobile Technologies and Apps


Using iPads in the classroom makes learning fun and meaningful! Students spend a great deal of time on their mobile devices as it is, so why not incorporate their interests into teaching and learning to increase motivation? I would have students use the iPad to practice academic skills during Study Skills. Unless multiple iPads were available, students would take turns practicing skills on the iPad using various apps such as apps for flashcards and educational games with an emphasis on math. Most teachers are excited about using technology. However, selecting the best apps for the classroom can seem overwhelming. At the time our textbook was being written, there were “over 425,000 apps with over 14 billion downloads” (Roblyer and Doering, 2013, p. 229). Teachers have spent valuable time searching for apps only to be disappointed or not get what they expected. Roblyer and Doering suggest checking out educational sites that find and rate the best apps such as “Apps in Education” (p. 229). Apps for the classroom can also get expensive for teachers. Roblyer and Doering mention a program for educational institutions that buys apps in high volume (p. 229). I hope our school system is heading in that direction. Until then, there are tons of free apps out there! I agree that teachers need to be able to “locate, download, and integrate apps for mobile devices” (Roblyer and Doering, 2013, p. 230). There is so much incorporating mobile technologies and apps in the classroom can offer that is exciting and beneficial for students! 

Here are some great apps I plan to use for iPads.  

DragonBox

DragonBox makes learning Algebra fun! DragonBox 5+ is an introduction to Algebra while DragonBox 12+ is geared towards middle and high school students.
Flashcards by NKO Ventures lets you create your own cards or download flashcards made by other users from Flashcards Exchange and Quizlet. Your cards can be stored in folders. You can share your decks using shared folders, email or iTunes. You can track your progress. Text-To-Speech is available along with several other user-friendly features.

WolframAlpha

WolframAlpha is a computational search engine. It can be used for math to graph and solve any math equation. Students can check their work and compare their solution to Wolfram’s. You can also enter math specific problems.

BrainPOP
BrainPOP features a new educational animated movie everyday along with an interactive quiz. Topics include Math, Science, Social Studies, English, Engineering, Technology, Arts & Music, and Health.

Flashcards App
Flashcards by NKO Ventures lets you create your own cards or download flashcards made by other users from Flashcards Exchange and Quizlet. Your cards can be stored in folders. You can share your decks using shared folders, email or iTunes. You can track your progress. Text-To-Speech is available along with several other user-friendly features
  
Check out this video on using iPads in the classroom.




This is an awesome resource for apps!



Friday, June 21, 2013

Instructional Software


Our textbook explains several types of instructional software used in the classroom. 

Drill and practice: I would use drill and practice activities to have students work example items to replace or supplement worksheets and homework and prepare for tests.
allows students to make flash cards and would work for all grade levels. They even have an app!!! I also love the site our textbook suggests http://www.brainpopesl.com. Check out the video tutorial. I would use the flashcards for vocabulary as well as the writing sections the most. The short videos and teacher lesson plans are a definite plus.

Tutorial: I would use tutorial to supplement and/or replace instruction on a topic. Having taught social studies and loved it, I decided to check out http://www.congressforkids.net
as mentioned in our textbook. I would use this site to teach a lesson on how government operates and then have students complete the short quizzes to assess learning. There are also pre and post assessments!

Simulation: I would use simulation as a model of a real or imagined situation to teach how something works. I plan to use the Smithsonian Museum’s website for virtual field trips. http://www.mnh.si.edu I didn’t know you could tour the entire museum room-by-room!


Instructional games: I would use instructional games to increase motivation making learning activities exciting while also reinforcing skills. My daughter loves http://pbskids.org since she is a huge Elmo fan! This is a great site for instructional games as the games are based on cartoon characters from PBS. Kids can choose their favorite character and play games, watch videos and print worksheets based on the character. There is also an option to make ecards for birthdays and other special occasions!       


Problem solving: I would use problem solving to strengthen skills and encourage independent as well as group problem solving. I like http://www.ixl.com. The site has tons of practice math activities for all grade levels. Teachers and students can set goals and track progress. Students earn awards and prizes on a game board once they achieve a goal. The only negative is that there is a free trial but you have to pay monthly after that.


Integrated learning systems: I would use integrated learning systems to provide instruction as well as track and report student progress. I plan to use software such as E2020 where students can work at their own pace. Students listen and watch instruction, work example items, and even take tests or quizzes. Feedback is available for students and teachers. http://e2020virtualacademy.com/index.php