Journal 10 - I Have Something To Say

Runyan, Maria. "I have something to say." Learning & Leading 39.Aug (2011): n. pag. Web. 8 Aug 2011. <http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-august-2011.aspx>

 In the article 'I have something to say',  Runyan talks about a new application for the iPhone and iPad specifically developed to give a voice to those who do not have one. It is an alternative AAC tool for students. Most AAC digital tablets are expensive, this application is less than $200. Students whose speech had been effected by down syndrome and cerebral palsy can easily use Proloquo2. P2G had thousands of words, symbols, and pictures. The user can even upload and insert their own images to the library. Students then select the symbol or image they want heard and then click speak. The application is also capable of creating phrases through linking. This is achieved though selecting a number of images to create a sentence. The example they used was 'I want to play UNO'. They would select 'I want' then 'play' then 'UNO'. Or they could select a custom made button of an UNO card that has the programed sentence, 'I want to play UNO'. It is a tool for a student at any level of disability.

How could this tool be beneficial in the classroom?

I think this is a really great alternative to the expensive tablet. Schools may not have the equipment needed because they do not have the budget. Now with this new app, schools and students that already have a touch screen tablet can download and use it. The P2G gives a voice to those that may not have one because of a disability. Students could even communicate with each other by linking the tablets together.

What are the benifets of using the P2G?

This app can help with picture/word association and language skills. All the pictures, phrases, and symbols are interchangeable. It has a great deal of adaptability to all levels of students. If a students language skills begin to improve, the vocabulary difficulty can be increased.

Journal 9 - Adaptive Technology

NETS-T IV (c)
Addresses the needs of providing appropriate tools and resources for special needs and diverse learners. I included information about devices and how they are used in the classroom along with a image of what the device looks like.

What is AAC?

Augmentative and Alternative Communication also known as AAC. AAC are communication devices used by people with impairments to their speech or written communication. These tools are used to help people make communication with the outside world easier. There are many low tech and high tech devices that can be used. A low tech device can be pictures, ques, or anything that is not electronic. High tech devices are electronic.

Low Tech Communication Device:

I researched the Perkins Brailler. This is a device that allows blind students to type in braille. This small typing machine has six keys that can be used in different combination to create words. It is a fast and easy tool to use. This is a great tool for the classroom!

High Tech Communication Device:

The Comtek FM Assistance learning tool. A compact wireless, portable, battery operated radio transmitter. Used to help deaf and hard of hearing students hear the instructor better. Instructors wear a microphone that is connected to a transmitter. The device reduces unwanted noises and focuses only on what the person wants to hear. Students can connect this device to a hearing aid or cochlear implant.  

Low Tech Accessibility:

The Focus is a braille display keyboard that is specially designed to use with any laptop or PC that allows people without site to be able to read words that are on the screen on the keyboard. It simply plugs in through 2 USB ports. It also has internet navigation capabilities. This new function increased productivity of the users. This device is useful for blind students that have the desire to use the internet on the computer to do research or simply surf the web.

  

High Tech Accessibility:
Braille translator software is a tool used to take digital written words into braille for blind students. There is something called braille display which is a board with a series of pins that raise up and down to form the words on the screen.  These words can also be printed out on paper by using a braille embosser printer. This allows blind students to be able to read and or write on the computer.

Journal 8 - Find the Truth About the Pacific Tree Octopus

Ferrell, K. (2011). Find the truth about the pacific tree octopus. Learning &amp; Leading with Technology, 39(1), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/issues/Learning_Connections_Find_the_truth_about_the_Pacific_tree_octopus.aspx

This article is about a child's trust of information on the internet to be true. Children and young students need to be informed about how to find good and reliable resources on the internet. Children need to learn that not everything they read on the internet is accurate. An assignment was given to students for them to find out if the information presented to them was in deed accurate. A great part about the assignment was that there was choices. Choices for students about subject matter or how to complete a task is great. It is important that students learn how to find proper and reliable information early on and will be more beneficial in the long run.

Would this be a valuable lesson to teach in my classroom?
Yes, this would be a fabulous lesson. This lesson would be beneficial for students of any age and grade range. Especially for high school students because of the more complicated and longer writing assignments. This would improve the level of quality of research in student course work.

How do you make sure a site is credible or accurate?
Websites should be academic in nature, ending in EDU or have connections to other academic sites. Look for academic Journals or publications, those are usually good indications of a reliable resource. Always look at multiple sites about the same subject or question you may have to see if they are similar in nature or random. 

Journal 6 - Student Voices for Change

McClintock Miller, S. (2011). Student voices for change. Learning &amp;amp; Leading with Technology,38(8), Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/digital-edition-august-2011.aspx

'Students Voices for Change' stressed the importance of student influence in the classroom. The voices of the students are the most important influence in the educational arena. Students from the Van Meter school presented the influence of technology in the classroom in front of members of congress and educators. This was the first of many presentations given by these students about the effectiveness of technology on student understanding of classroom material. In the article, students said that their education was 'changed through creating'. Many different programs have been installed and used at Van Meter such as virtual reality, Prezi slideshow presentations, youtube videos, and blog pages. Students used technology to connect with other students and educators outside the classroom. Through creativity and technology, lines of communication were opened.

How could student voice be effective in California?

California legislatures have no problem cutting the budget for education. If students went in front of our legislation like in Iowa, maybe there would be more of an impact on decisions made about the school system. I don't feel as though there have been enough people standing up to politicians making their voices heard.

How did the new technology in the classroom effect student learning?

 Students became more creative in their projects because of the greater number of options available to them. Students became more passionate about their work. Students were able to connect and share with one another inside and outside the classroom. Their ability to connect and share their work and experiences allowed deeper understanding of the material.
 

NETS Are Inspiration

NETS -T II (a,b) & III (c)

I created a pictoral map of ideas using a program called Inspiration. I used pictures, symbols, and arrows to represent ideas and thoughts.

Journal 7: My Personal Learning Network

A PLN, also known as a Professional Learning Network, is where individuals around the world can build a online community through the sharing ideas and resources on websites and blogs.  My PLN is a work in progress at the moment. It is extraordinarily simple to connect myself with other educators on the web. My PLN currently consists of my blog on Blogger, Diigo, and Twitter.Through the connections I have made on my PLN, I am able to share my resources and thoughts with people all over the world. I use my PLN to find reliable resources and lesson plans that will help me make my classroom curriculum more interesting. The connections I have made on my PLN will help give me information and answers to any questions that I may have about being an educator.

I had never thought of using twitter as an educational tool before ED422. I used Hashtags with key words in order to find educational chats. After entering #EDCHAT, I found many educators chatting about many questions, conserns, and information about things going on at their school and around the world. It is easy to watch the stream of  'Tweets' coming in of helpful information and comments. I participated in two chats on Tues Aug 2nd. One on #EDCHAT about how administrators can show support for their teachers.  And the other on #SCICHAT about school labs and if they are effective. #EDCHAT moved so very quickly it was hard to keep up at times. Many people were tweeting about how they need support from their community, not only their fellow staff members. That they need to be allowed to be creative in their curriculum. One teacher referenced himself as Superman. I found that interesting and informative. On #SCICHAT, many teachers shared the same feeling that there is a lack of funding for labs in the younger grade levels. One person tweeted that 'there are no bad results', meaning that the most important part of the lab is that the student gets results. It doesn't matter if they are right or wrong. Another person suggested to use Google Docs to publish the students data and findings. I thought that was a great idea. There were at times disagreements while the discussion was going on but most just posted their opinion anyway. That was my favorite part. There is no need to be nervous about participating because thousands of other people are at the same time. I also added people to follow after the chats on Twitter. A select few were the creator of #EDCHAT and edutopia (inspiration and information provider for educators) to my list of people I am following along with a few of my peers from my ED 422 class.

Diigo is a website that keeps an online database of your bookmarks. It is a good idea to get into a habit of bookmarking so you can easily find the website at a later date. Bookmarking on Diigo allows you to access any bookmarks you have made on any computer, not just your own. When a bookmark is created, keywords are assigned. This helps with organization and makes searching though your library easier. You can also share the bookmarks that you have made with your network or anyone who is searching for keywords that you have used. These bookmarks on Diigo are connected to your PLN that you have created. People can follow you or you can follow them on Diigo. I chose to select a few people to follow that shared the same interests as I do. I first searched for people that had some of the same bookmarks as I did. I chose a few teachers from other states and educators. They had many interesting websites bookmarked on their network. Diigo users can search your library with specific key words or subject area in order to find information you have marked interesting or useful. Most of the people that I chose to follow are long time educators.

I joined both Educators PLN and Classroom 2.0. Both digital discussion forums were bursting with information. On Educators PLN, I searched the topic cyberbullying. I thought this would be an interesting subject since we as a class must create a website about how to protect students against cyberbullying. There was an interesting video staring Karen Cator from the US Department of Education. She said that young people must become more aware of proper online behavior on social networks. That things said and posted online can be just as damaging if not more than it would be 'on the playground' or in person. That not only is everything amplified, but is permanent. I fell as though this is very true. Most people believe that information can be deleted once it has been posted. That is simply not true. That parents, teachers, and students need to be more educated on the dangers of being online and especially the effects of cyberbullying. I also watched a video on Classroom 2.0 about the use of computer games in the classroom. One teacher only uses computer games to teach his high school students about history. The video example was about WWII and how his students retained more facts and information about the lesson from the video game than from the text book. That in the future, video games may replace text books almost entirely in social science. Being a future social science high school teacher, I was thrilled to see that there is a modern educational history game. Cause lets be honest, as much as I loved playing the Oregon Trail, it was not the most historically accurate or educational. I dont believe that video games will ever entirely replace text books, but it is nice to see different types of learning tools in the classroom. I hope I can get my hands on this game for my future classroom.

Visit The Educator's PLN
Visit Classroom 2.0

All about me survey