Bowser, G. & Zabala, J.S. (May, 2012). AIM for digital equity. Learning & Leading with Technology, 16-19. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/store/my-virtual-products
This article is based on another future perspective in education. The possibility of little to no paper being used in the classroom. The authors outline the different resources such as Bookshare which is used as a resource in special education. It is based on the principles of AIM or accessible instructional material. It is a resource that allows school to abide by the laws of the IDEA act of 2004 which states that all schools must provide free and appropriate public education. The first example the authors give is a student whom used a form of technology to allow him to bridge his literacy gap in order to understand the test of his math problems. This has far reaching implications. The authors acknowledge that in implementing AIM for all students whom need it it is a much harder task. Materials to implement this are very expensive. the authors suggest that teachers become aware of both free online sources and audio and visual components that are given with a textbook set to help bridge this gap. Both authors have an interest in AIM as one works for the national institute of AIM and the other is a retired special education teacher and administrator. The responses in this article reflect those of a special education teacher as there are many references to IDEA 2004.
So what about AIM? AIM is a very good concept that will help those struggling with literacy. It is being implemented in special education programs accross California. I like how the authors acknowledge that implementing AIM on a large scale will take a lot of work for the teachers. I also like how they give many ideas on what to look for, knowing that most textbooks come with an audio component or CD. They also suggest that teachers take professional development courses on technologies like these so they are able to use them themselves and become more aware of them. Recording lectures is one way to help bridge this gap because recorded lectures can be replayed. Finally, collaboration is key to implementing AIM because it will take a network of personnel to implement AIM and will aide you as a teacher.
The article is correct in stating that classrooms are becoming more paperless, however it still depends on the school district and their budget on how much AIM can be implemented. It will take money out of the teacher's pocket to implement this strategy. The good news is that some classes are devoted to this idea and have many digital resources to implement AIM. I think as a teacher I will explore these ideas and try to work with my IT department to make AIM a part of my classroom.
Friday, November 16, 2012
Digital Video Goes to School
Hoffenberg, H. & Handler, M. (October, 2001) Digital video goes to school. Learning & Leading with Technology, 29 (2), 10-15. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/store/my-virtual-products.
This is an article that outlines one possible future if digital technology is used for projects in multiple classes. The authors are and Apple Inc. educational development executive and a member of the ISTE Board of Directors. What is interesting about this article is that it gives a number of different examples of what students have done with digital technology. Students place their own creativity into these videos while learning at the same time. They are engaged in learning. One example was from a teacher that used an interview of actual immigrants and children of immigrants to showcase the story and process of immigration from a primary source. I too interviewed an immigrant during my childhood but it was not videotaped. Technology in schools allows this to happen on a far wider scale because, public school children now have access to these materials. It is also a resource for teachers as one example the authors give is that the use of student video clips can be used an an enhancement to a resume. Visual communication tools are, and will be in the future a means of doing school work for both teachers and students. The authors also acknowledge that these tools must be used responsibly.
So what about this new digital, and Quicktime mode of classroom participation? Digital media is here to stay and is most likely the main mode of communication that we as a society are exposed to. I know children as early as fourth or fifth grade are aquireing cell phones that are internet capable. It is only logical that they will want to use these tools to get their messages across and demonstrate what they know. As this article points out students that visit other places and and take video can have experiences beyond the purpose of the video. As a future teacher it would be best to jump on board this bandwagon as the digital media creeps into the classroom.
I am encouraged to explore ways of using digital media to do projects. This article has a very short section on guideline for use of video usage. It touches on how to use video, angles and shots to bring the most out of your video message. I would like to explore this further as well. One concern I have is that this article seems to give little consideration for content standards. One example was that students in Cox Bay were filming things that were interesting to them instead of hearing a lecture on a subject. This is one way digital media can be abused. If students have these learning experiences, but do not cover what they are supposed to learn, then it is a useless video and cannot be measured as an understanding of the content standards that teachers are required to teach. It is up to the teachers to guide the use of technology.
This is an article that outlines one possible future if digital technology is used for projects in multiple classes. The authors are and Apple Inc. educational development executive and a member of the ISTE Board of Directors. What is interesting about this article is that it gives a number of different examples of what students have done with digital technology. Students place their own creativity into these videos while learning at the same time. They are engaged in learning. One example was from a teacher that used an interview of actual immigrants and children of immigrants to showcase the story and process of immigration from a primary source. I too interviewed an immigrant during my childhood but it was not videotaped. Technology in schools allows this to happen on a far wider scale because, public school children now have access to these materials. It is also a resource for teachers as one example the authors give is that the use of student video clips can be used an an enhancement to a resume. Visual communication tools are, and will be in the future a means of doing school work for both teachers and students. The authors also acknowledge that these tools must be used responsibly.
So what about this new digital, and Quicktime mode of classroom participation? Digital media is here to stay and is most likely the main mode of communication that we as a society are exposed to. I know children as early as fourth or fifth grade are aquireing cell phones that are internet capable. It is only logical that they will want to use these tools to get their messages across and demonstrate what they know. As this article points out students that visit other places and and take video can have experiences beyond the purpose of the video. As a future teacher it would be best to jump on board this bandwagon as the digital media creeps into the classroom.
I am encouraged to explore ways of using digital media to do projects. This article has a very short section on guideline for use of video usage. It touches on how to use video, angles and shots to bring the most out of your video message. I would like to explore this further as well. One concern I have is that this article seems to give little consideration for content standards. One example was that students in Cox Bay were filming things that were interesting to them instead of hearing a lecture on a subject. This is one way digital media can be abused. If students have these learning experiences, but do not cover what they are supposed to learn, then it is a useless video and cannot be measured as an understanding of the content standards that teachers are required to teach. It is up to the teachers to guide the use of technology.
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Royer, R. & Richards, P. (November, 2008). Learning connections: digital storytelling. Learning and Leading With Technology. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/store/my-virtual-products
In Learning connections Digital Storytelling the two authors stress that there are sixteen strategies that have been adopted by the National Reading Panel and five pillars by R. L. Allington to effectively teach reading and literacy. Digital story telling is a mix of almost all of these strategies because it comprises self read material, visuals and active listening as their are parts read to you. It may also allow you to read along with the story depending upon the computer software. The authors are educational technology professor and a professor of a university Reading Specialist Program. Both have come to geather to make this argument that digital story telling can also offer differentiated instruction to students that struggle with reading and can be an excellent tool for teachers as long as they manipulate their specific content standard goals.
So what of this new strategy and the use of digital storytelling to execute it? Digital story telling is usually made by companies that design these programs with students in mind. This is a form of assistive technology that can be used on a wider scale, not just for students in special education. These are also national standards and strategies that are covered in the California Language Arts Framework for teaching literacy. It should definitely allow teachers to reach multiple students in ways that they could not before. Digital storytelling can work if there is a way to add and keep track of students learning and literacy goals as well as what the student has to work on.
This is definitely a technology that i would like to use in my classroom with students who really need help with reading. Students with special needs and English learners would benefit from this resource and so would teachers. I I would like to learn which programs could be purchased or used in schools to make this possible.
In Learning connections Digital Storytelling the two authors stress that there are sixteen strategies that have been adopted by the National Reading Panel and five pillars by R. L. Allington to effectively teach reading and literacy. Digital story telling is a mix of almost all of these strategies because it comprises self read material, visuals and active listening as their are parts read to you. It may also allow you to read along with the story depending upon the computer software. The authors are educational technology professor and a professor of a university Reading Specialist Program. Both have come to geather to make this argument that digital story telling can also offer differentiated instruction to students that struggle with reading and can be an excellent tool for teachers as long as they manipulate their specific content standard goals.
So what of this new strategy and the use of digital storytelling to execute it? Digital story telling is usually made by companies that design these programs with students in mind. This is a form of assistive technology that can be used on a wider scale, not just for students in special education. These are also national standards and strategies that are covered in the California Language Arts Framework for teaching literacy. It should definitely allow teachers to reach multiple students in ways that they could not before. Digital storytelling can work if there is a way to add and keep track of students learning and literacy goals as well as what the student has to work on.
This is definitely a technology that i would like to use in my classroom with students who really need help with reading. Students with special needs and English learners would benefit from this resource and so would teachers. I I would like to learn which programs could be purchased or used in schools to make this possible.
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Assistive Technology Toolkit
In this post I will be analyzing Kelly Ahrens' article about how to make your own AT toolkit. This article is to help teachers and others in general find useful items on their computer that help or can be used as assistive technology. The best part about these tools is that they are free. The first suggestion she makes is google books for the visually impaired. Others include Bookshare and Project Gutenburg which can be assessed through your school site. Another tool she mentions is a smart art plug in that is accessible through Microsoft Office 2007 and gives teachers a concept map tool. She suggests working with the school IT department to get more tools that schools have to offer as they have specific licensing access or administrative rights that teachers do not have. Lastly she gives a list of tools found on the computers themselves. The tools include magnification, on screen keyboards, personalization, and filter keys. These tools allow students to see typing on screen, add language translation and talking clocks to keep time, finally, ignoring of brief keystrokes to increase typing speed an efficiency.
So what about these new tools is useful? This article is written by a technology director of a school district so it is in her best interest to help educators. This is a good article for teachers to learn from because I did not think to use any of these tools and learned about others. I did not know about speech recognition or that computers have the ability to do this. I would like to know how to use this tool. I agree with all of these tools and their use in the classroom and think that many teachers may not know, or even think to use them during the busy school day. The online concept maps and spell checkers were also good to know about. I also did not know about using the IT department of a school district in the way she suggests. For example though I knew about the licensing, I did not know about disk imaging. Disk imaging is the ability to install multiple forms of software at once rather than one item at a time. This could save teachers lots of time.
As good as the article is there is more to be explained. While she gives a list of all of the tools at the end of the article, she does not tell us how to use them, it is up to the teacher to play with them and figure them out. She also does not tell us where to find these tools on the computer or where we can get help within the computer. This being said some of the tools are known and the average user can figure them out, but not all of them. You can also use the internet to find out how and where these items are on the computer it just takes time.
Ahrens, K. (November, 2011). Build an assistive technology toolkit. Learning and Leading With Technology. Retrieved fromhttp://www.iste.org/store/my-virtual-products
So what about these new tools is useful? This article is written by a technology director of a school district so it is in her best interest to help educators. This is a good article for teachers to learn from because I did not think to use any of these tools and learned about others. I did not know about speech recognition or that computers have the ability to do this. I would like to know how to use this tool. I agree with all of these tools and their use in the classroom and think that many teachers may not know, or even think to use them during the busy school day. The online concept maps and spell checkers were also good to know about. I also did not know about using the IT department of a school district in the way she suggests. For example though I knew about the licensing, I did not know about disk imaging. Disk imaging is the ability to install multiple forms of software at once rather than one item at a time. This could save teachers lots of time.
As good as the article is there is more to be explained. While she gives a list of all of the tools at the end of the article, she does not tell us how to use them, it is up to the teacher to play with them and figure them out. She also does not tell us where to find these tools on the computer or where we can get help within the computer. This being said some of the tools are known and the average user can figure them out, but not all of them. You can also use the internet to find out how and where these items are on the computer it just takes time.
Ahrens, K. (November, 2011). Build an assistive technology toolkit. Learning and Leading With Technology. Retrieved fromhttp://www.iste.org/store/my-virtual-products
Passport to Digital Citizenship
In this post I will be analyzing Mike Ribble's article Passport to digital Citizenship. It is an article that suggests a method to teach the concept of digital citizenship in the classroom, using a four stage system. His idea of digital citizenship includes nine categories that cover everything from accessing material; literacy; health; security and others. The first stage of the four stage system is to make the student's aware of these nine categories or elements. The second stage is to deliver guided practice on these categories. The third stage is to model and demonstrate them to give examples of how to use the elements. Finally to give the students feedback on how they executed the elements of digital citizenship.
So what about this model and the elements of citizenship? This model of teaching has been in use for years and is a good strategy for almost any topic that you are trying to teach. Execution of this model depends on the teacher and how well they can use differentiated instruction. One of the best ways for students to practice the elements of citizenship that Ribble is providing is to practice it themselves. There are many assignments that a teacher can assign and offer feedback as in any english class. The concept of digital citizenship is so large that it would be hard to make nine assignments to practice each element. you would have to grade multiple categories at once which will not be too hard.
While I agree with Ribble's plan there are some things that could be explained more in the article. His nine elements are vague in this article although it is also serving as advertisement for his book that cover these nine elements in detail. He also leaves it up to the teacher to use the four stage strategy without any real suggestions on how to execute it. He is giving teachers a model and leaving it up to teachers as to how to use it. I would like to know any other suggestions he has to make his four stage system work.
Ribble, M. (December-Janurary, 2008-09). Passport to digital citizenship: Journey toward appropriate technology use at school and at home. Learning and Leading With Technology. Retrieved fromhttp://www.iste.org/store/my-virtual-products.
So what about this model and the elements of citizenship? This model of teaching has been in use for years and is a good strategy for almost any topic that you are trying to teach. Execution of this model depends on the teacher and how well they can use differentiated instruction. One of the best ways for students to practice the elements of citizenship that Ribble is providing is to practice it themselves. There are many assignments that a teacher can assign and offer feedback as in any english class. The concept of digital citizenship is so large that it would be hard to make nine assignments to practice each element. you would have to grade multiple categories at once which will not be too hard.
While I agree with Ribble's plan there are some things that could be explained more in the article. His nine elements are vague in this article although it is also serving as advertisement for his book that cover these nine elements in detail. He also leaves it up to the teacher to use the four stage strategy without any real suggestions on how to execute it. He is giving teachers a model and leaving it up to teachers as to how to use it. I would like to know any other suggestions he has to make his four stage system work.
Ribble, M. (December-Janurary, 2008-09). Passport to digital citizenship: Journey toward appropriate technology use at school and at home. Learning and Leading With Technology. Retrieved fromhttp://www.iste.org/store/my-virtual-products.
Friday, September 28, 2012
From Toy to Tool Audio Blogging with Cell Phone: Review
This is an interesting article as it suggests turning a known distraction in a classroom into a useful tool. The proposal was made by a doctoral student of learning technologies at the University of Michigan. The proposal states that students can interview, take video and pictures and send them to a blogsite. This idea has its merits and has the potential to be an engaging and exiting activity for students who use their cellphones constantly. The message, video or other item would post to the blogsite immediately. Teachers can make projects for students to do based on content standards and grade them accordingly. There are many issues to consider. First it will take a-lot of monitoring to make sure students are doing what they are supposed to be doing. Due to copyright laws students would need permission to put music on their site. Students would also have to pay to get password protection if they wanted it. Lastly depending on the student's phone plan there could be a cost even if there is unlimited text messaging. In terms of teaching in the classroom it would require you to allow cellphone usage in the class and informing administrations about what is on the blogs.
So what does this have to offer? It is a good idea if teachers are willing to put in the extra effort to monitor student progress, inform administration and work with them on what to blog. Administration may not like the idea of trusting students not to follow copyright laws. There are sites the allow one to ask for permission to use copyrighted material. You also have to make sure to teach students to look at their cellphone plans and be responsible which could be a good lesson. Parts that I would like to be explained further are what cellphone plans would allow this and how much it would cost the student.
This article has definitely taught me to think outside the box in terms of teaching strategies. It has potential to be a very good lesson or a very bad lesson if things get out of hand. You will need strict measures governing the use of the blogs. Applying this reading would mean that it would take a-lot of research and setup to ensure a good lesson and cover content standards.
Kolb, Liz. (2006). From Toy to Tool: Audio Blogging with Cellphones. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/store/publications/downloads/l-l
So what does this have to offer? It is a good idea if teachers are willing to put in the extra effort to monitor student progress, inform administration and work with them on what to blog. Administration may not like the idea of trusting students not to follow copyright laws. There are sites the allow one to ask for permission to use copyrighted material. You also have to make sure to teach students to look at their cellphone plans and be responsible which could be a good lesson. Parts that I would like to be explained further are what cellphone plans would allow this and how much it would cost the student.
This article has definitely taught me to think outside the box in terms of teaching strategies. It has potential to be a very good lesson or a very bad lesson if things get out of hand. You will need strict measures governing the use of the blogs. Applying this reading would mean that it would take a-lot of research and setup to ensure a good lesson and cover content standards.
Kolb, Liz. (2006). From Toy to Tool: Audio Blogging with Cellphones. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/store/publications/downloads/l-l
Saturday, September 15, 2012
Computational thinking reading C
Barr, D., Harrison, J. & Conery, L. (2011, March/April) Computational Thinking: A Digital Age Skill For Everyone
In the article Computational Thinking: A Digital age was written by a group of people including two teachers one math and a former elementary school teacher that now works for ISTE. Also the CEO of ITSE. It is made essentially as an introduction and advertisement to teachers and school administration such as superintendents and Assistant Superintendents of Curriculum to use this strategy in the classroom. This article also aims to make computational thinking accessible to educators by making a certain definition for the strategy. The strategy involves trying to solve problems, design systems and understand human behavior drawing on the concepts of computer science. So can a human adopt processes of solving problems in a manner of and using of computers?
The significance of the article is that it does offer a new way of thinking, learning and teaching in the classroom. It is a strategy that teachers can use doing many different types of assignments due to the fact that the strategy is scientifically based. I have learned that getting the students to break down items that they are doing into components and compiling data is definitely a useable strategy in the classroom. The concept is vague even though the article gives examples they are not very clear as to how to implement the strategy. The examples need more depth as to what the students are trying to accomplish. Also, some of the examples do not use any hard data as the strategy suggests. So I would like to know if this strategy really usable for all subjects.
As a teacher I will have to get more data on how to apply the strategy however, there are many aspects that I can use and put together that would mimic this strategy. In history there are a lot of instances where hard data will be useful to solve historical problems. Social science in general uses this computational process in government and economics. This strategy will work great in a science and math class for sure. In fact, their first example on deforestation shows how well it can work.
Article taken from http://www.iste.org/store/publications/downloads/l-l
NETS-T Makes it work!
If you are not familiar with National Education Technology Standards or NETS for teachers indicated by 'T' you should consider it as it is a tool to use technology in the classroom. The standard I will use today is the very first standard as I have used it many times either in my student teaching or substituting. According to NETS-T the first standard is Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity. To paraphrase it is the use of technology and especially your knowledge of the subject matter to advance the learning and creativity of your students. In terms of the environment you use face-to-face and virtual environments. NETS-T, ISTE (2008).
One reason I have some strength in this issue is that most of my training from my first credential, social science, focused on student creativity. Most of my lessons held students responsible for making something and presenting it. This is in response to the fact that two minutes into a lecture on the chinese empire most students will have tuned out or attempted to text someone. I liked using real-world issues in history and broadened it to include things that mattered to students as well as issues that I felt they should know. doing a current event in-class doing either individually or in partners is great if you have access to news papers, iPads, or a computer lab. I was able to use a computer lab to have students learn about an issue and I used partners so that they could learn to plan and collaborate on a common goal.
To further promote the NETS-T standard I offer two resources that promote implementing this standard. The first one is specifically on creativity called 'Grow Creativity' where Candace Shivley presents the idea of Fluency, Flexibility, Originality, and Elaboration. this may sound complicated however they are very easy steps to follow. Fluency is essentially brainstorming and the gathering of ideas what every student must do to start almost any assignment you give them. Flexibility is having your students think outside the box in terms of either presentations or looking at a problem in more than one way such as analyzing a historical issue from the people whom are effected by a decision rather than the dominant figure whom is making the decision. Originality is using ones own ideas and finally elaboration is to tell or give details on what and how your original idea works or is.
Shivley, Candace H., "Grow Creativity." http://www.iste.org/store/my-virtual-products click here for site
The next source is an ISTE-NETS-T document outlining the creative process and technology. Under the first category one of the ideas it offers is the use of models and simulations. You can use this to demonstrate or teach a subject and you can have your students do this to demonstrate what they know using a computer program or self made video. Secondly they may need work collaboratively on it, even if it is an individual assignment encourage your students to help one another. When researching, item three on the document, using technology is easy and is a main tool that any one uses which covers the application of digital tools. The last category is a relatively new one called Digital Citezenship. this basically lets you know that as a teacher you will be responsible for teaching your students to practice safe, legal and responsible use of the technology. ISTE-NETS-T, (2007) http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-s-standards.pdf Click here for document
One reason I have some strength in this issue is that most of my training from my first credential, social science, focused on student creativity. Most of my lessons held students responsible for making something and presenting it. This is in response to the fact that two minutes into a lecture on the chinese empire most students will have tuned out or attempted to text someone. I liked using real-world issues in history and broadened it to include things that mattered to students as well as issues that I felt they should know. doing a current event in-class doing either individually or in partners is great if you have access to news papers, iPads, or a computer lab. I was able to use a computer lab to have students learn about an issue and I used partners so that they could learn to plan and collaborate on a common goal.
To further promote the NETS-T standard I offer two resources that promote implementing this standard. The first one is specifically on creativity called 'Grow Creativity' where Candace Shivley presents the idea of Fluency, Flexibility, Originality, and Elaboration. this may sound complicated however they are very easy steps to follow. Fluency is essentially brainstorming and the gathering of ideas what every student must do to start almost any assignment you give them. Flexibility is having your students think outside the box in terms of either presentations or looking at a problem in more than one way such as analyzing a historical issue from the people whom are effected by a decision rather than the dominant figure whom is making the decision. Originality is using ones own ideas and finally elaboration is to tell or give details on what and how your original idea works or is.
Shivley, Candace H., "Grow Creativity." http://www.iste.org/store/my-virtual-products click here for site
The next source is an ISTE-NETS-T document outlining the creative process and technology. Under the first category one of the ideas it offers is the use of models and simulations. You can use this to demonstrate or teach a subject and you can have your students do this to demonstrate what they know using a computer program or self made video. Secondly they may need work collaboratively on it, even if it is an individual assignment encourage your students to help one another. When researching, item three on the document, using technology is easy and is a main tool that any one uses which covers the application of digital tools. The last category is a relatively new one called Digital Citezenship. this basically lets you know that as a teacher you will be responsible for teaching your students to practice safe, legal and responsible use of the technology. ISTE-NETS-T, (2007) http://www.iste.org/docs/pdfs/nets-s-standards.pdf Click here for document
Friday, September 14, 2012
Hello to all welcome
I currently have a Single Subject Social Science and am pursuing an Add-On credential for Special Education.
I have used technology in a number of ways. I have made powerpoint presentations. I have used the Elmo camera, videos on computer in various ways. I have also used online videos from discovery.com
I hope to be employed as a Special Education Teacher after completing the current program at CSU San Marcos. As for where that I cannot answer yet.
I have a number of experiences in my substitute teaching in various special education settings which helped guide me to decide to pursue this course. I have the patience and interest now I need the training to be able to teach in a special education.
One thing that is unique to me is that I hold both a bachelors and masters degree in International Relations.
I have used technology in a number of ways. I have made powerpoint presentations. I have used the Elmo camera, videos on computer in various ways. I have also used online videos from discovery.com
I hope to be employed as a Special Education Teacher after completing the current program at CSU San Marcos. As for where that I cannot answer yet.
I have a number of experiences in my substitute teaching in various special education settings which helped guide me to decide to pursue this course. I have the patience and interest now I need the training to be able to teach in a special education.
One thing that is unique to me is that I hold both a bachelors and masters degree in International Relations.
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