Networkingn and Telecommunication in Education – Week 3
This week we explored a variety of different technologies and technology tools that can be use to enhance our classrooms. Each student in the class then created a prezi presentation (through prezi.com) with information about the technologies we explored. Watching each person’s presentation was a great way to learn a little bit about technologies that I didn’t choose to research myself, as well as a way to familiarize myself a bit more with the capabilities of the prezi site. The creation of my own presentation was slow going and a bit of a challenge for me. At times the site seemed less than user-friendly and in the end I posted my presentation with a couple of formatting issues that I just could not figure out how to fix. My unclear window for this week is how can I best use prezi as an effective and valuable tool in my classroom? At this point, with my limited experience, the process was a little time consuming and difficult to get the end results I was looking for for me to see myself using it.
Of the technologies I explored this week, the one I find most interesting are PLEs or personalized learning environments. These are actually systems of technologies created by the students to cater to their own personal learning styles and interests. (Johnson, Adams & Haywood, 2011, p. 30) The tools necessary for creating a PLE are already available, easy to access, free to use and do not require any special skills. Other benefits of PLEs include the fact that they give students control of their own education, catering to how students learn, and they can be merged with digital portfolios as a record of the students learning and meeting standards. This technology would also be particularly valuable for adapting the classroom to accommodate learners with special needs through the use of assistive technologies. ( Smaldino, Lowther & Russell, 2008, p. 338) I am pretty much sold on the benefits of PLEs, so the only question I have is how can I most effectively start the implement process for PLEs in my classroom?
References:
Johnson, L., Adams, S., and Haywood, K., (2011). The NMC Horizon Report:
2011 K-12 Edition. Austin, Texas: The New Media Consortium.
Smaldino, S. E., Lowther, D. L., & Russell, J. D. (2008). Instructional technology and media for learning. Prentice Hall.
Animoto “Intro to Astronomy” Presentation
This link it to the Animoto presentation I created as an example of an introduction to an astronomy unit. I found the technology very easy to use, and would definitely utilize it in my classroom.
All photo images use are from:
http://pics4learning.com/
http://www.freedigitalphotos.net/images/Science_and_Technolo_g288.html
Networking and Telecommunication in Education – Week 2
Module 2 was full of very interesting material this week. There were several videos and readings that circled around the main ideas of moving past our fears to allow students the freedom to utilize technology for deep and meaningful learning. Technology not only increases student interest and participation, it is also an avenue we can use to help students discover and explore what they are passionate about (Piontek, 2010, 13:31 & Robinson, 2010, 6:34). I believe that we are moving away from a time when most people are encouraged to take a job just because it pays well or has a certain status attached to it. Instead we are moving toward the idea that everyone is unique and has special gifts to share with the world, and are adapting our classrooms to embrace this view as evidenced by the ever growing popularity of constructivist learning theories, individualized education and differentiated instruction. Used consciously, technology can be a very powerful tool for helping students learn a great deal about themselves and the world that they live in. If teachers can move beyond our fear of new technologies – our fear of no longer being the experts because students are learning new technologies faster than we are (Barseghian, 2011), we can open up to a vast world of possibilities. What is unclear to me is just how we can make the leap firmly into the ever evolving world of technology with the rapid pace it seems to be advancing and the apparent lack of resources and time holding us back. My classroom was what I would consider fairly advanced in technology, especially with the equipment I had at my disposal and the professional development and district support available for me, but even then I was far behind the times in terms of actual implementation and utilization of technology to create authentic learning experiences for my students.
References:
Barseghian, T. (2011). The 7 golden rules of using technology in schools. Retrieved from http://mindshift.kqed.org/2011/07/the-seven-golden-rules-of-using-technology-in-schools/
Piontek, J. (Performer). (2010). Tedxubc – jeffrey piontek – teaching jetson children in flinstone schools. [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kvqy0CAMdCM&feature=player_embedded
Robinson, K. (2010). RSA Animate – Changing the Educational Paradigms [Web Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U
Networking and Telecommunication in Education
We kicked off the quarter with an examination of the current state and national technology standards as well as a discussion of the Washington State Three Tiers of Technology Integration. What was very clear to me through my own reflection is that I have a lot of technology experience and exposure – placing me firmly in the second tier. Specifically, I have conducted one-computer lessons, utilized graphics and sound in my lectures, used visuals to present information visually, required technology use for student reports and projects, used online and computerized assessment tools, and communicated interactively with students and parents via email and through websites. (OSPI, 2011) I feel very fortunate in that the districts I have worked in, most particularly the district I was teaching in, placed a great deal of importance on technology integration and offered the funding and support necessary for me to be comfortable in that second tier. The question I would have would then be how do I increase my knowledge and experience beyond the second tier and into the third, especially given the already tight resources of time and money. I look forward to exploring resources and getting some experience in grant proposal writing through this course so that I can break down those time and money barriers.
Reference:
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. (2011). Tiers of technology integration into the classroom indicators. Retrieved from http://www.k12.wa.us/EdTech/TechLiteracy/TechIntTiers.aspx
Educating Exceptional Students – Week 8
Throughout my teaching career I have had many opportunities to work with English language learners but sadly I have had very little training in cultural diversity or how to best approach the challenges faced by and for these students. One main idea from this week’s reading that intrigued me is the importance of including and encouraging students to learn literacy in their native language as well as in English. “Teaching students to read in their first language promotes higher levels of reading achievement in English” (Lewis and Doorlag, 2011, p. 344) I have always thought that students could benefit from education in both English as well as their native language, but I very much wish I knew enough or had access to better training to help me provide instruction or materials to support this type of education. Thus far my experience working with students who are not fluent in English has been positive, but not nearly as productive as I wish it could have been. I have enjoyed getting to know these students, learning about their cultural differences and similarities and broadening my own awareness of the diversity in our country and around the world. But on the other hand I have always wished I could do more for these students, help them achieve a level of academic success that is closer to what students who speak English fluently do. It would be very interesting for me to begin compiling study materials and other academic aides and technologies in student’s native language to help them better understand the academic aspect of my lessons. The tricky part with this, of course, would be to utilize supplemental materials to help these students achieve greater success while still working toward the goal of having these students become fluent and adept at utilizing the English language.
Reference:
Lewis, R. B. & Doorlag, D. H. (2011). Teaching students with special needs in general education classrooms (8th eds.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Educating Exceptional Students – Week 5
The discussion and reading for this week focused on two topics in special education that I am especially interested in, autism and assistive technology. I am interested in autism in particular because it is something I have heard so much about and yet I still know so little. In order to increase my expertise around what autism is, and to learn how I can best serve those students with autism who are placed in my general education classes, I have elected to use it as the starting point for the focus of my peer review and literature review papers. Combine with that, I am also interested in the wide array of assistive technologies that exists in order to help me create the most successful environment for my special needs students. This week’s class work has provided me with an excellent springboard into increasing that knowledge and I am fascinated by what I have found through my own research thus far.
What I have discovered is that students will autism are generally “wired” differently from other students and often times have difficulties with skills such as critical thinking, executive management which includes attention, planning and memory, as well as perspective-taking. (Notbohm, 2006, p. 25) These are all skills that I would normally assume my middle school students arrive in my classroom equipped with, which indicated to me that my thinking about students with autism needs to be adjusted first and foremost. Interestingly, the difficulties students with autism have with perspective-taking, or the understanding that people view and experience things differently (p. 33) is what I need to keep in mind for myself as I endeavor to see my classroom from their point of view. I was also struck by the idea that these students are predominantly visual learners or that they might “think in pictures” (p. 29) which indicates the need for visual based modifications. There are many assistive technologies available for students with autism; in particular I am researching video modeling because of the significant propensity toward visual learning in these students. As I continue my research I am hoping to discover practical and useful ways to incorporate this technology into my classroom.
Reference:
Notbohm, L., & Zysk, V. (2006). Ten things your student with autism wishes you knew. Arlington, TX: Future Horizons Inc.
Educating Exceptional Students – Week 4
This week’s discussion topic of whether inclusion was rich with a variety of thoughts and ideas. As I reflect now I realize that the question doesn’t actually state “full inclusion” though many of us, myself included, where answering the question as if it did. Including students, regardless of ability, as much and as often as possible in general education is definitely very important. We should strive to work with each student as an individual, finding the right balance for his or her needs so that he or she can receive the best education. That may look different for different students, but what is fair is not always equal and what is equal is not always fair.
Though there were several main points from the readings this week that struck me as relevant, I particularly enjoyed the focus on ensuring that student’s needs are being met in the process of helping the students become more independent as Causton-Theoharis (2009) pointed out. I can agree that there are times when the adult support can be overly present or overbearing and that it must be structured to “fade appropriately” so that students do not become dependent upon that support. (p. 38) Though I was a paraeducator while I was earning my teaching certification, and later worked with paraeducators in my own classrooms, I never really gave much thought to the big picture of that support. Now I realize that it is important for everyone involved to have a specific focus as well as a goal for the student. Moving forward I can now use this knowledge to work in a more proactive manner with the aides in my classroom, helping to better hone our goals for each student who needs that assistance. I am sure that this will provide opportunities for me to work toward and become more successful at inclusion in my classroom.
References:
Caustion-Theoharis, J. N. (2009). The golden rule of providing support in inclusive classrooms: support others as you would wish to be supported . Teachign exceptional children , 22(2), 36-43.
Lewis, R. B. & Doorlag, D. H. (2011). Teaching students with special needs in general education classrooms (8th eds.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
Educating Exceptional Studetns – Week 2
As we moved into week two, we took the idea of a multi-tiered, school wide support program to the next level with Response to Intervention (RtI). RtI is a great approach to identifying and ensuring that students who need extra support get exactly what they need to succeed. Another similarity between SWPBS and RtI is that it is an individualized program that focuses on what each student needs to be successful in general education. The process is certainly time consuming and effort intensive for the teachers and other staff members involved in each students team, but the benefits are so well worth every minute spent in collecting data, having discussions and making decisions collaboratively with general and special education teachers, parents, students and other pertinent staff.
I have personally had great experiences working in teams just like that described above. The one aspect that was missing from my experiences was the lack of follow up, which I believe is so important that, though I already brought it up in the discussion I feel the need to reiterate it here. It is in this follow-up that “helps school staff uses progress monitoring data and explicit decision rules to determine interventions’ effectiveness and necessary modifications” (Bradley, Danielson, & Doolittle, 2007). Taking the time to re-evaluate the student’s progress and needs is a vital aspect of making sure that the student’s needs are truly met – and thus far fewer students will slip through the cracks or be placed in classes or programs that are not a truly good fit. Moving forward, I can’t say for certain whether I would have any support from my colleagues on creating a follow up program, but I can say that I will be much more inclined to follow up personally for my students and will encourage other teachers, parents and staff members to do the same.
References:
Bradley, R., Danielson, L., & Doolittle, J. (2007). Responsiveness to intervention: 1997 to 2007. Council for Exceptional Studetns, 8-12.
Educating Exceptional Students – Week 1
Kicking off the quarter, we jumped into special education with a discussion about school wide positive behavior support (SWPBS). Lewis and Doorlag state that “The goal in positive behavior support and management is to establish a learning environment in which students are accepted as individuals but in which there are definite guidelines for acceptable classroom conduct.” (2011, p. 120) I find this concept to be absolutely ideal as the mission statement for a school. Although I have some experience with aspects of a SWPBS, I have never had the pleasure of working under a truly structured, multi tiered system specifically designed to support positive behavior. I particularly appreciate the proactive approach of SWPBS, especially the focus on modifying inappropriate behavior and reinforcing positive behavior and not focusing on the student personally. I also greatly appreciate the idea of involving the students and their peers as a part of the behavior management process (Lewis & Doorlag, pp. 126-127).
The best part about this week’s material for me was the reminder that behaviors are learned and can be unlearned. I work hard to ensure that every student feels like a valuable and respected member of our classroom community and this week helped me to cement that philosophy even more. I look forward to working with a school at some point in the future on working toward implementation of this type system. I could easily see myself working with a team to fill out current school wide discipline procedures to create a true SWPBS.
Lewis, R. B. & Doorlag, D. H. (2011). Teaching students with special needs in general education classrooms (8th eds.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education.
