In the beginning of this summer session, I must admit that I was a bit apprehensive about and intimidated by technology. I barely knew what a Smartboard is, and I never thought I'd be blogging. As we have learned the benefit of collaboration in the school setting, it has corresponded well to the technology that allows for this (Web 2.0). I feel that the overview we received was comprehensive and easily applicable to the direction in which education is moving. As we move forward as future teachers and think about how education is changing in terms of globalization and collaboration, we can utilize technology to the fullest extent as long as we remain comfortable and knowledgable.
It is hard to predict what we, as special educators, will be utilizing in our work as teachers, but the class has given me a good foundation with which to work. I may not be able to use my Smartboard presentation in student teaching, but I am not going to be intimidated by it if/when I am presented with the opportunity.
I feel more inclined to incorporate technology in my teaching as I feel that it goes hand in hand with the type of education I would like my students to receive. I want my students to have a well-rounded experience, learn to think for themselves and to problem-solve, be able to cooperate and work well with their peers, and take initiative to develop and answer questions.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Blogs of my colleagues: My reflection
I have reviewed many of my colleague's blogs on Google Reader to reflect on our experience throughout this summer session. Google Reader uses an RSS feed to allow my viewing of colleague's blogs in one easy window.
I find that although we all had the same assignments, each blog incorporates their own specific point of view in the assignments and the diversity of thought is quite interesting. Anna finds passion to be an essential ingredient in teaching, which I think most people will agree is important, but not everyone included it in their "good teacher" post. To Ashley, differentiation was key throughout her posts. Kaitlyn's posts really focused on positivity and openness, which are extremely important in special education.
Barb's posts were really centered on teachers supporting their students and believing in them. I appreciate her saying in her blog post:
I just had a "debate" with a couple family members about how applicable math is and my uncle argued that a football player does pushups in training not because he will do pushups on the field but it "builds muscle," a foundation, for the player. It is important for teachers to give all work a meaning and a purpose so the students feel more connected to the material and more motivated to learn. Barb's quote reminds me that even though some kids feel like they may never use math, we can show them how it is applied in the world outside of the classroom.
I also really enjoyed a comment from TJ in her blog:
That quote speaks to the idea that we as teachers need to find an emotional component of our teaching and really connect it to student's emotions, which is defined as hot cognition. We learn better when our hearts are open and when we feel relatedness to the material.
As I reflect on our different ideas, I know that all of us would agree with passion, differentiating instruction, positivity, real world application, and hot cognition as ingredients in teaching. Though these are all important to teaching, we all have a different top three, and this is what will make us good teachers: because we all bring something to the table (sometimes depending on our certification area) and can enrich our students in different ways just by being ourselves.
I find that although we all had the same assignments, each blog incorporates their own specific point of view in the assignments and the diversity of thought is quite interesting. Anna finds passion to be an essential ingredient in teaching, which I think most people will agree is important, but not everyone included it in their "good teacher" post. To Ashley, differentiation was key throughout her posts. Kaitlyn's posts really focused on positivity and openness, which are extremely important in special education.
Barb's posts were really centered on teachers supporting their students and believing in them. I appreciate her saying in her blog post:
I intend to try to maintain a connection to the “real world”, showing how the algebra or trig or geometry that we are learning has applications to problems and professions in the world outside the classroom.
I just had a "debate" with a couple family members about how applicable math is and my uncle argued that a football player does pushups in training not because he will do pushups on the field but it "builds muscle," a foundation, for the player. It is important for teachers to give all work a meaning and a purpose so the students feel more connected to the material and more motivated to learn. Barb's quote reminds me that even though some kids feel like they may never use math, we can show them how it is applied in the world outside of the classroom.
I also really enjoyed a comment from TJ in her blog:
I am now aware I am not just educating their mind but also their heart.
That quote speaks to the idea that we as teachers need to find an emotional component of our teaching and really connect it to student's emotions, which is defined as hot cognition. We learn better when our hearts are open and when we feel relatedness to the material.
As I reflect on our different ideas, I know that all of us would agree with passion, differentiating instruction, positivity, real world application, and hot cognition as ingredients in teaching. Though these are all important to teaching, we all have a different top three, and this is what will make us good teachers: because we all bring something to the table (sometimes depending on our certification area) and can enrich our students in different ways just by being ourselves.
Monday, June 27, 2011
Web Resources in Special Education
Two of the websites that I would use as a future special educator (but am not limited to) are Read Write Think and the National Library of Virtual Manipulatives (NLVM). These both use visual manipulatives to help understand and organize information. Manipulatives aid with concrete learning in order to get to more abstract, higher order thinking.
Both internet resources have different grade level materials which is important in special education as the students may not be on grade level. We must determine their instructional level and teach appropriately to that level with materials that will enhance their learning experience, such as visual aids and manipulatives.
Some of the features that I explored and enjoyed: for the NLVM I liked that there were games available to help with deduction skills and reasoning skills for older students (Utah State University, 2010). I tried out the counterfeit coin game in which you had to only use the scale 2x to test 8 coins. I used the scale 6 times, than 3, then finally understood a method to only use the scale twice.
For the Read Write Think website, I liked the use of graphic organizers to display information from novels (National Council of Teachers of English, 2011). I also enjoyed the idea of "character trading cards" used to get kids involved in delving into what is essential to each character while making it into a fun game.
In deciding what resources to use, we must understand the legal ramifications of information being sent out into the internet by children and also make sure that our students stay safe in the content they are allowed to view in the school setting (Schrum & Levin, 2009). These aspects of internet safety and privacy play a huge part in how schools decide which content and websites to block from student use in schools. This can be an effective form or limiting use so students maximize time spent on the internet and use credible resources.
National Council of Teachers of English. (2011). Read Write Think. Retrieved June 27, 2011. www.readwritethink.org
Schrum, L. & Levin, B.B. (2009). Leading 21st Century Schools: Harnessing Technology for Engagement and Achievement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Utah State University. (2010). National Library of Virtual Manipulatives. Retrieved June 27, 2011. http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
Both internet resources have different grade level materials which is important in special education as the students may not be on grade level. We must determine their instructional level and teach appropriately to that level with materials that will enhance their learning experience, such as visual aids and manipulatives.
Some of the features that I explored and enjoyed: for the NLVM I liked that there were games available to help with deduction skills and reasoning skills for older students (Utah State University, 2010). I tried out the counterfeit coin game in which you had to only use the scale 2x to test 8 coins. I used the scale 6 times, than 3, then finally understood a method to only use the scale twice.
For the Read Write Think website, I liked the use of graphic organizers to display information from novels (National Council of Teachers of English, 2011). I also enjoyed the idea of "character trading cards" used to get kids involved in delving into what is essential to each character while making it into a fun game.
In deciding what resources to use, we must understand the legal ramifications of information being sent out into the internet by children and also make sure that our students stay safe in the content they are allowed to view in the school setting (Schrum & Levin, 2009). These aspects of internet safety and privacy play a huge part in how schools decide which content and websites to block from student use in schools. This can be an effective form or limiting use so students maximize time spent on the internet and use credible resources.
National Council of Teachers of English. (2011). Read Write Think. Retrieved June 27, 2011. www.readwritethink.org
Schrum, L. & Levin, B.B. (2009). Leading 21st Century Schools: Harnessing Technology for Engagement and Achievement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
Utah State University. (2010). National Library of Virtual Manipulatives. Retrieved June 27, 2011. http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
Learning Theories T2P: Week 5
Today, we started with a structured plan in the morning: first we wrote a blog entry which I found difficult as it was first thing in the morning and my brain was not prepared to think in that capacity. However, I did find it "got the juices flowing" and was a good basis for our second task for the morning, which was going over the three theorists from Week 4 in relation to Dan Pink and the article on motivation. We used class participation to brainstorm about what we know and then to explore the connections between the theorists, which along the lines of a modified K-W-L (what do you know, what do you want to know, what have we learned) in the direction of our discussion.
As our teacher felt we had a good enough basis on learning theories, we were allowed to vote democratically on how we wanted to spend the afternoon: expanding on our knowledge, applying our knowledge, or incorporating new knowledge about the adolescent brain. As we learn about school as a reflection of the overarching democratic society, this was a good example of voting and democracy in class. It is also a way to make sure students are engaged - by teaching what they want to know. Curriculum for the afternoon was created/modified to incorporate the new lesson plan.
So, while our morning was very structured around a set plan of material to teach, the afternoon was open. Balancing structure and openness/adaptability is important in the classroom. There is a certain level of trust and security that comes with some structure or routine. For example, knowing that your teacher is going to shake your hand when you enter the classroom everyday and say "Thank you for being here, Marisa" creates an expectation that you are on time to greet the teacher and that you are welcomed and appreciated. How to structure a class is very subjective and will benefit or provide a disadvantage for some students; the important part of this is to be aware of how your structure and control (or lack thereof) is affecting your students, all of your students, and not just the vocal ones.
As our teacher felt we had a good enough basis on learning theories, we were allowed to vote democratically on how we wanted to spend the afternoon: expanding on our knowledge, applying our knowledge, or incorporating new knowledge about the adolescent brain. As we learn about school as a reflection of the overarching democratic society, this was a good example of voting and democracy in class. It is also a way to make sure students are engaged - by teaching what they want to know. Curriculum for the afternoon was created/modified to incorporate the new lesson plan.
So, while our morning was very structured around a set plan of material to teach, the afternoon was open. Balancing structure and openness/adaptability is important in the classroom. There is a certain level of trust and security that comes with some structure or routine. For example, knowing that your teacher is going to shake your hand when you enter the classroom everyday and say "Thank you for being here, Marisa" creates an expectation that you are on time to greet the teacher and that you are welcomed and appreciated. How to structure a class is very subjective and will benefit or provide a disadvantage for some students; the important part of this is to be aware of how your structure and control (or lack thereof) is affecting your students, all of your students, and not just the vocal ones.
A good teacher...
A good teacher is someone who is perceptive to the needs of her students as far as the level of instruction and amount of personal attention. They need to be able to differentiate levels of instruction so that all students are challenged including the exceptional students, who otherwise might escape notice because of their exceptionality.
A good teacher models appropriate, respectful behavior in and out of class so the students regard them as professional and ethical. They build a rapport with their students and allow them to feel comfortable and safe. These are important aspects of teaching because students look to their teachers for guidance but they need to trust and respect them to ask for help or to model their behavior in a similarly positive fashion.
A good teacher lets all students know they are an integral part of the class and their participation is encouraged and necessary to maximize the experience of all. A student will learn if they are actively involved in the learning process and the way to do this is to engage them in class and encourage them to participate. A teacher can be engaging by passionately instructing and using different methods to make class fun and motivate students. Students may be intrinsically motivated but the teacher still needs to be able to tap into that motivation and maximize it, keep it going when a student may be feeling burnt out or disconnected from their goals.
If: a teacher is notices a flaw in their instruction (i.e. time management),
Then: it should be addressed directly to the class as a flaw on their part and corrected in the future,
Because: students will also learn from the experience and know it is alright to make mistakes. Students often feel uncomfortable making mistakes in class, saying the wrong thing, but
Evidence: Hansen would feel this is an example of the teacher modeling how to accept responsibility for a mistake and correct it for future classes.
Context: This type of open atmosphere is created and demonstrated by the teacher in an environment of tolerance and a class without fear of embarrassment or failing.
Moral Implication: A good teacher will encourage students to make mistakes because it is part of the learning process. When a teacher shows how easily a mistake can be addressed and corrected, students will not be as fearful of doing something wrong. This open, accepting atmosphere allows them to feel comfortable to explore and discover while not fearing the ramifications of coming to a wrong or mistaken conclusion. Persistance, which is being encouraged, is an essential quality of all human beings in creativity, exploration, innovativeness. Many inventions of the world only exist due to the persistance of the inventor, who did not allow themselves to give up.
A good teacher models appropriate, respectful behavior in and out of class so the students regard them as professional and ethical. They build a rapport with their students and allow them to feel comfortable and safe. These are important aspects of teaching because students look to their teachers for guidance but they need to trust and respect them to ask for help or to model their behavior in a similarly positive fashion.
A good teacher lets all students know they are an integral part of the class and their participation is encouraged and necessary to maximize the experience of all. A student will learn if they are actively involved in the learning process and the way to do this is to engage them in class and encourage them to participate. A teacher can be engaging by passionately instructing and using different methods to make class fun and motivate students. Students may be intrinsically motivated but the teacher still needs to be able to tap into that motivation and maximize it, keep it going when a student may be feeling burnt out or disconnected from their goals.
If: a teacher is notices a flaw in their instruction (i.e. time management),
Then: it should be addressed directly to the class as a flaw on their part and corrected in the future,
Because: students will also learn from the experience and know it is alright to make mistakes. Students often feel uncomfortable making mistakes in class, saying the wrong thing, but
Evidence: Hansen would feel this is an example of the teacher modeling how to accept responsibility for a mistake and correct it for future classes.
Context: This type of open atmosphere is created and demonstrated by the teacher in an environment of tolerance and a class without fear of embarrassment or failing.
Moral Implication: A good teacher will encourage students to make mistakes because it is part of the learning process. When a teacher shows how easily a mistake can be addressed and corrected, students will not be as fearful of doing something wrong. This open, accepting atmosphere allows them to feel comfortable to explore and discover while not fearing the ramifications of coming to a wrong or mistaken conclusion. Persistance, which is being encouraged, is an essential quality of all human beings in creativity, exploration, innovativeness. Many inventions of the world only exist due to the persistance of the inventor, who did not allow themselves to give up.
Monday, June 20, 2011
Moral T2P Broken Down and Case Study T2P: Week 4
Statement 1:
If (decision): the teacher makes expectations clear and models moral behavior and embeds these dispositions
Context: in instruction in their classroom,
Then: the class will feel more comfortable and will be encouraged to become students of a higher moral character over time in the class. This may also be applied outside the class if no other oppositional dispositions are learned in their experiences (by teachers, peers, family, etc.) outside of class.
Because: They will want to meet the set expectations and will have learned the expressed morals through observation, repetition/procedure, and moral judgment.
Evidence: David Hansen suggests that students build their moral character over time as a teacher imparts their values on the class, not even purposefully but because they truly feel particular values are important.
Moral Implication: This means that a teacher must have personal values to begin with and cannot impart values that are not that important to them onto their students. If a conflict arises in class, the teacher must be consistent with their moral appraisal of the situation(s) so students do not un-learn these morals as soon as conflicts arise.
Statement 2:
If: If a teacher empowers her students to take initiative and does not act as the sole source of information in their classroom,
Then: the students will learn how to find the answers to things they do not know
Because: they are want to discover and be proactive in their learning process.
Evidence: In Vicki Davis' video example, her pedagogy inspires students to seek answers to things they do not know without interrupting class or looking to her as the sole provider of information. This allows them to develop questions and know where to look to find the answers which lessens the impact of the teacher and empowers the students as the ultimate explorer
Context: in the classroom and outside of the classroom, wherever their their learning experience can be enhanced.
Moral Implication: By setting up curriculum in an open forum to be explored and discovered and for the teacher and learner to be mutually enhanced, we are enabling students to become open-minded, innovative and enthusiastic citizens of the world.
Pedagogical Language: In italics
Today, in class, GNA made an effort to correct her mistakes in time management and stepped back in noticing that we lacked pedagogical language in our blogs, so we had a lesson on theory to practice statements and how they should be written and broken down. We spent the morning going over this along with self-determination. We watched an example of a specific teacher's pedagogy (Linda Davis) and thought of examples in a round-robin discussion while relating it to the big ideas of self-determination: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Later in the day, we worked on our presentations that our triad groups created on one of the six theorists from last week. We reviewed them and then presented each of which we only got through five, adding to our spreadsheets to organize our thoughts and ideas. GNA was more conscientious of time this week to make sure that we had enough time at the end to finish our blogs as last week some of us had difficulty doing these tasks outside of class by a specified deadline. This is an example of being adaptive and taking into consideration the process in the classroom and how students are responding.
Statement 3:
If: a teacher is notices a flaw in their instruction (i.e. time management),
Then: it should be addressed directly to the class as a flaw on their part and corrected in the future,
Because: students will also learn from the experience and know it is alright to make mistakes. Students often feel uncomfortable making mistakes in class, saying the wrong thing, but
Evidence: Hansen would feel this is an example of the teacher modeling how to accept responsibility for a mistake and correct it for future classes.
Moral Implication: We need to let students explore and discover while letting them feel free to make mistakes and not be ashamed.
Context: This type of open atmosphere is created and demonstrated by the teacher in an environment of tolerance and a class without fear of embarrassment or failing.
Learning Theorists Spreadsheet
If (decision): the teacher makes expectations clear and models moral behavior and embeds these dispositions
Context: in instruction in their classroom,
Then: the class will feel more comfortable and will be encouraged to become students of a higher moral character over time in the class. This may also be applied outside the class if no other oppositional dispositions are learned in their experiences (by teachers, peers, family, etc.) outside of class.
Because: They will want to meet the set expectations and will have learned the expressed morals through observation, repetition/procedure, and moral judgment.
Evidence: David Hansen suggests that students build their moral character over time as a teacher imparts their values on the class, not even purposefully but because they truly feel particular values are important.
Moral Implication: This means that a teacher must have personal values to begin with and cannot impart values that are not that important to them onto their students. If a conflict arises in class, the teacher must be consistent with their moral appraisal of the situation(s) so students do not un-learn these morals as soon as conflicts arise.
Statement 2:
If: If a teacher empowers her students to take initiative and does not act as the sole source of information in their classroom,
Then: the students will learn how to find the answers to things they do not know
Because: they are want to discover and be proactive in their learning process.
Evidence: In Vicki Davis' video example, her pedagogy inspires students to seek answers to things they do not know without interrupting class or looking to her as the sole provider of information. This allows them to develop questions and know where to look to find the answers which lessens the impact of the teacher and empowers the students as the ultimate explorer
Context: in the classroom and outside of the classroom, wherever their their learning experience can be enhanced.
Moral Implication: By setting up curriculum in an open forum to be explored and discovered and for the teacher and learner to be mutually enhanced, we are enabling students to become open-minded, innovative and enthusiastic citizens of the world.
Pedagogical Language: In italics
Today, in class, GNA made an effort to correct her mistakes in time management and stepped back in noticing that we lacked pedagogical language in our blogs, so we had a lesson on theory to practice statements and how they should be written and broken down. We spent the morning going over this along with self-determination. We watched an example of a specific teacher's pedagogy (Linda Davis) and thought of examples in a round-robin discussion while relating it to the big ideas of self-determination: autonomy, competence, and relatedness. Later in the day, we worked on our presentations that our triad groups created on one of the six theorists from last week. We reviewed them and then presented each of which we only got through five, adding to our spreadsheets to organize our thoughts and ideas. GNA was more conscientious of time this week to make sure that we had enough time at the end to finish our blogs as last week some of us had difficulty doing these tasks outside of class by a specified deadline. This is an example of being adaptive and taking into consideration the process in the classroom and how students are responding.
Statement 3:
If: a teacher is notices a flaw in their instruction (i.e. time management),
Then: it should be addressed directly to the class as a flaw on their part and corrected in the future,
Because: students will also learn from the experience and know it is alright to make mistakes. Students often feel uncomfortable making mistakes in class, saying the wrong thing, but
Evidence: Hansen would feel this is an example of the teacher modeling how to accept responsibility for a mistake and correct it for future classes.
Moral Implication: We need to let students explore and discover while letting them feel free to make mistakes and not be ashamed.
Context: This type of open atmosphere is created and demonstrated by the teacher in an environment of tolerance and a class without fear of embarrassment or failing.
Learning Theorists Spreadsheet
Friday, June 17, 2011
Uses of Assistive Technology
Please provide specific examples of technology/tools that you would recommend for a student with... (1) a hearing impairment, (2) low-vision, (3) a broken right arm, and (4) autism (non-communicative).
If a student of mine had a hearing impairment, I could compile major points from a lesson onto a blog and have students in the class comment on the blog with a few discussion points from class. The blog could be viewed via an e-Book for the child who is hearing impaired, and the other students would be participating in that child's learning process. This is another way for the class to collaborate and for me to demonstrate to them how technology can be utilized.
If a student of mine had vision problems, there are a few routes I could take. Textbooks could be viewed on e-Books with larger print so the student could see better, or I could have them use a DAISY, which is a multimedia-rich tool that incorporates video, pictures, and speech to make text more accessible for visually impaired people.
There is also technology available to convert a student's speech to text (and also to command the computer in navigation). This is useful for a student with a physical impairment such as a broken arm who may not be able to type or use a mouse to direct the computer to certain functions. They could perform research and type assignments with the Dragon Speech Recognition Premium (Wikibooks, March 2011) and keep up with other classmates by not missing out.
To support a non-communicative student with autism, one possibility is to arm them with a smartphone (PDA or iPhone), which have many apps available for the aid of communication (Wikibooks, February 2011). There are applications that convert text to speech and ones where you can pick out which voice you'd like to use (male or female) and you can add pictures on some. There is one, iCommunicate, that creates a story book from text designed by the user. These files could be uploaded on the class blog or wiki for other students to react and respond to, as I continue thinking about collaboration in the classroom.
Sometimes schools do not allow enough money in a budget for technology, but Open Source Initiative is a great internet site that allows for the sharing of software and well-received curriculum tools (Schrum & Levin 2009). This allows for free access to educational materials and benefits the students despite economic issues.
Sources:
Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License. (2011). Open Source Education: Open Source Initiative. Retrieved June 19, 2011. http://www.opensource.org/osi-open-source-education
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. (February 2011). Assistive Technology in Education/Autistic. Retrieved June 17, 2011. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Assistive_Technology_in_Education/Autistic
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. (March 2011). Assistive Technology in Education/Speech Recognition Software. Retrieved June 17, 2011. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Assistive_Technology_in_Education/Speech_Recognition_Software
Schrum, L. & Levin, B.B. (2009). Leading 21st Century Schools: Harnessing Technology for Engagement and Achievement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
If a student of mine had a hearing impairment, I could compile major points from a lesson onto a blog and have students in the class comment on the blog with a few discussion points from class. The blog could be viewed via an e-Book for the child who is hearing impaired, and the other students would be participating in that child's learning process. This is another way for the class to collaborate and for me to demonstrate to them how technology can be utilized.
If a student of mine had vision problems, there are a few routes I could take. Textbooks could be viewed on e-Books with larger print so the student could see better, or I could have them use a DAISY, which is a multimedia-rich tool that incorporates video, pictures, and speech to make text more accessible for visually impaired people.
There is also technology available to convert a student's speech to text (and also to command the computer in navigation). This is useful for a student with a physical impairment such as a broken arm who may not be able to type or use a mouse to direct the computer to certain functions. They could perform research and type assignments with the Dragon Speech Recognition Premium (Wikibooks, March 2011) and keep up with other classmates by not missing out.
To support a non-communicative student with autism, one possibility is to arm them with a smartphone (PDA or iPhone), which have many apps available for the aid of communication (Wikibooks, February 2011). There are applications that convert text to speech and ones where you can pick out which voice you'd like to use (male or female) and you can add pictures on some. There is one, iCommunicate, that creates a story book from text designed by the user. These files could be uploaded on the class blog or wiki for other students to react and respond to, as I continue thinking about collaboration in the classroom.
Sometimes schools do not allow enough money in a budget for technology, but Open Source Initiative is a great internet site that allows for the sharing of software and well-received curriculum tools (Schrum & Levin 2009). This allows for free access to educational materials and benefits the students despite economic issues.
Sources:
Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License. (2011). Open Source Education: Open Source Initiative. Retrieved June 19, 2011. http://www.opensource.org/osi-open-source-education
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. (February 2011). Assistive Technology in Education/Autistic. Retrieved June 17, 2011. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Assistive_Technology_in_Education/Autistic
Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. (March 2011). Assistive Technology in Education/Speech Recognition Software. Retrieved June 17, 2011. http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Assistive_Technology_in_Education/Speech_Recognition_Software
Schrum, L. & Levin, B.B. (2009). Leading 21st Century Schools: Harnessing Technology for Engagement and Achievement. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
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