Blog Post 16

Final Reflection

In going back and rereading my first blog post, it is clear to me now that I had so much to learn. Before taking EDM 310, I knew a decent bit about computers and technology, but I didn't have a good understanding of how to incorporate this technology into my classroom.

This semester, my eyes were opened to all of the never ending resources available through technology. I didn't know anything about podcasting, blogging, iPad applications, smart boards. After being in EDM 310, I now feel that I am familiar enough with these things that I could successfully use them in my classroom.

In my future classroom, I hope to have enough iPads that my students could each have one, or at least share them in groups of two or three. I will use iPads for research. They could use icurio to find information they needed for any project we have. I will also use iPads in centers. There are so many apps available that are educational games students could really benefit from. I also plan on using a class blog, and I plan to let my children create their own blog if they want (and with their parent's consent :) ). During center time, the students could work on their blogs, writing new posts and uploading new presentations.

Another important resource I will use in the Smart Board. I will use it to teach my lessons with. I will also use it to pull up educational YouTube videos for my students to watch. Smart boards can also be used for interactive lessons. There are smart board apps and websites I have found where the children could actively participate in my teaching. I think this is an awesome thing to use, because it gets the children involved and hopefully will keep their attention more easily. I will also allow my smart board to be a center. I will let the students use to to practice their spelling words or practice their math problems. Since the smart board has all different symbols, shapes, and multimedia objects, it is a great tool for math.

I also had NEVER thought about pod-casting before. I didn't even have a clue what it was before we had to use it in this class. I am so glad I had the chance to use it and learn about how useful it can be. It is such a useful tool for the teacher to use to communicate with students outside the classroom. It would be so helpful for me to be able to just record a pod cast of my lesson to send to student who was out sick. It is also something the students can use. They can use pod casting to tell everyone what they are learning. They could use it to summarize information they learned on a project, ask questions, and share their thoughts.

Lastly, I learned so much about iMovie. I do not own a Mac, so there is no way I would have known about all the things you can do on iMovie. I learned how to record, edit videos, and make a book trailer. I also learned that on Macs you can use iBook author to create your own book. I think this would be an awesome thing to get students into. They could use it for projects instead of just using PowerPoint or Prezi. It would be something completely different and cool for them.

I plan on using all types of technology resources available to me in my future classroom. I also plan on using project based learning. I think it is a great way for students to learn. This way, they are actually making since of the information themselves. It is much more beneficial than me standing up there, telling them everything they need to know. Over the course of the semester, the ideas I had about my future classroom have completely changed. I didn't have a clue when we first started out. Now, I have ideas stirring inside my head, and most of them include the use of technology!

Blog Post #15

Having a Great Time Teaching Mom by: Emma Boren

 

The iPad has a lot of great tools that can assist blind children in using it. Blind children can use the iPad due to it’s talking feedback. You can use a finger to scroll over all the icons, and it will tell you exactly what you are on and how to open it. It also talks to you while typing. There are two modes for this, standard typing mode and touch typing mode. This way, the children know what letters they are typing, and it helps them know that they are typing the right thing. It also talks to you when you have apps open. If you scan your finger across the screen it will tell you what you are clicking on. This is a useful way for these children to get the same benefits of technology as the children who are not blind. The students would still be able to interact in the classroom with the iPads and not feel left out. They would be receiving the same education. I think this an excellent tool to have in a classroom where there are special education students that are visually impaired. I would use it in my classroom!

Ipad Usage For the Blind By: Shakeya Andrews

 

 

Ipads are good tools to use in my classroom because they have what is called VoiceOver. VoiceOver is a resource that students with vision impairment and students who are deaf can use. This gives them the  opportunity to navigate through email, ibooks, itunes u, and more with just the click of a finger. Using VoiceOver on the ipad will help the student become independent. According to VoiceOver Accessibility “VoiceOver is a revolutionary screen reader that lets you know what is happening on your Multi-Touch screen and it helps you navigate even if you cannot see what is on your screen.” Voiceover is built into the ipad therefore, I will not have to worry about buying and installing this application to use on ipads in my classroom. There is also an application on ibooks called ereader that will be helpful for my students with disabilities. You can buy and read books to students to through this application. Students will be able to hear a description of items that are on their screen and from there they can choose where they want to navigate to on their ipad. Students can also use braille and international voices through VoiceOver. VoiceOver is accessible for almost any student.

Teaching Math to the Blind By: Shakeya Andrews

Instead of using the traditional method of teaching math by pencil and paper or using the whiteboard, I can use number blocks as an assistive technology tool. The blocks have braille on the back of them and the visually impaired student will be able use a barcode scanner to identify what the numbers are. All the student has to do is hold the button on the barcode scanner, then place the scanner over the block and the computer will identify what the number on the block is. Math is already a difficult subject to teach so I think it would be wise for me as the teacher to have a one on one session to teach the student math using this method.

 

By: Tracy Armstrong

Wikipedia defines Assistive Technology as an umbrella term that includes assistive, adaptive, and rehabilitative devices for people with disabilities and also includes the process

used in selecting, locating, and using them. AT promotes greater independence by enabling people to perform tasks that they were formerly unable to accomplish, or had great difficulty accomplishing, by providing enhancements to, or changing methods of interacting with, the technology needed to accomplish such tasks.

A couple of assistive technology tools that I think will be available when we become teachers are the IPad and the EBook. Both of these tools can be used across all grade levels. Both will enhance learning for both the vision and hearing impaired student by involving them in the classroom assignments and making them feel apart of the classroom community. The IPad is equipped with  apps for communication such as voice over as well as apps for screen reading and navigating.. These features will make learning personal by enabling the students’ independence. The EBook also contains apps that can be utilized for features such as voice-over, text to speech, magnification and large text for all subject areas.

After watching The Mountbatten, we learned that the students who are identified as struggling learners rely on immediate feedback from their teachers as well as their peers.One of the best things about this type of technology is that the teacher does not need to know Braille in order to communicate with the student because the machine converts the braille text into print. The blind student is therefore able to research, explore and create on his own with the help of this assistive technology thus including him into classroom assignments.