I found dropbox as a simple technique for sharing files and information with others, that allows you to access these files and information from any computer. Dropbox actually reminded me a lot of Google Documents, but I have to say that I wouldn't choose one over the other. They both have their unique perks of allowing online file storage and sharing and would definitely apply both programs within my classroom. I liked how we were sent a folder of our class' shared files and we were able to make a simple upload to that folder. It will be a great program to use in the classroom, by the teacher being able to send one simple folder to all of her students to post any type of written assignment or presentation.
I found the Sign-up Online program very interesting. I never really knew that such a program existed for creating sign ups for various types of events. I think it's a wonderful tool to have online because it will be something that the teacher will notify the parents of in the beginning of the school year, to check up on regularly. Many times, these volunteer sign up sheets end up going home in the child's backpack and either thrown away on accident or the child never gets it to the parents. It's a great organizational tool that gives more effective and efficient feedback for sign ups for various events.
This was my first time creating a newsletter. I believe it was also my first time using MS Publisher. The templates for newsletters are amazing, saving a lot of time and providing good organization for different letters. There are several templates to choose from, depending on design and formatting you would like.
The use of newsletters in different grade levels are very important. Most importantly they keep parents aware of upcoming events their child will be attending or having to prepare for. It also is a great way to give positive feedback from and to students', within the "student of the week" section. Keeping parents updated and informed in all different realms of their child's education is one of the most crucial aspects of a teacher's role. These newsletters provide particular highlights of information regarding their child's schooling in a concise and organized manner.
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Social Videos!
A.) " Social stories are used to teach social skills through the use of accurate information about those situations that the child may find difficult or confusing (Healing Thresholds)." Many of these social stories are used to teach students with disabilities, particularly those with autism. In Cori More's article, "Digital Stories Targeting Social Skills For Children With Disabilities" I was able to better understand the necessity and importance of having social stories for children. More emphasized the fact that when students have difficulties in social areas, they will have difficulties in several other areas as well.
"Because the acquisition of social skills is a key to long-term student success (Brigman et al., 1999), it is important to identify strategies to help children who have social deficits (More)." Some of the strategies that More created were peer tutoring, social stories and digital media. The strategy of creating a social story through digital media can be accomplished in four simple steps; identify the student's target behavior, compose a digital story script, obtain desired pictures and transfer your scripts and pictures to a multimedia program, such as Powerpoint. According to Healing Thresholds, each social story should include different types of sentences; descriptive, directive, perspective, affirmative, cooperative and control.
Digital stories can be implemented in whole-group settings to teach classroom routines and procedures, in small groups to target specific skill sets, or individually to meet individual needs (More)." This flexibility with these social stories makes them an even greater asset to have within the classroom. As More mentions in her article, having these social stories included within the everyday classroom makes for a more effective implementation of social skills. As students use digital social stories, they become more engaged in the learning process and gain ownership of learning. They do this by observing the images and voice recording they can upload on the computer and how they are able to create and edit their own personal stories. One consideration that I would make to include in my digital social story is to make sure each slide or picture is clear and legible (within writing and images) so everyone who views it can understand the idea, thought or process I am trying to express.
B.) Creating a digital social story was a bit of a process, but I was finally able to come my desired output. My biggest issue was trying to get my microphone to work properly. At first I couldn't get it attached correctly to my computer and it was a bit difficult to adjust the voice levels. Overall, after some minor glitches were overcome, I was able to enjoy the process of creating this digital social story. Before completing this assignment I had never created a digital social story before and had not known too much about them. I was unsure of the content and logistics of how to create such a video prior to being introduced to this process. The software program, PhotoStory 3 was very simple to use and gave me no problems. I loved how easy it was to edit each picture and all the effects that accompanied them.
I selected the topic of ordering food at a restaurant because it was something that I thought of that was a little different than some of the suggested examples. It also goes to a little of an advanced level of how to ask specific questions, in particular environments. I would use this video with students with disabilities as a whole group within the classroom. Having the whole class watch the video is appropriate as each student can benefit from its content. Ordering food at a restaurant is a skill that everyone should be able to accomplish to gain independence and be self-sufficient in life.
Social Story on Ordering Food at a Restaurant:
http://youtu.be/dfzYmktgjww
2nd video of Washing Your Hands
http://youtu.be/xtxuZGSdw9A
"Because the acquisition of social skills is a key to long-term student success (Brigman et al., 1999), it is important to identify strategies to help children who have social deficits (More)." Some of the strategies that More created were peer tutoring, social stories and digital media. The strategy of creating a social story through digital media can be accomplished in four simple steps; identify the student's target behavior, compose a digital story script, obtain desired pictures and transfer your scripts and pictures to a multimedia program, such as Powerpoint. According to Healing Thresholds, each social story should include different types of sentences; descriptive, directive, perspective, affirmative, cooperative and control.
Digital stories can be implemented in whole-group settings to teach classroom routines and procedures, in small groups to target specific skill sets, or individually to meet individual needs (More)." This flexibility with these social stories makes them an even greater asset to have within the classroom. As More mentions in her article, having these social stories included within the everyday classroom makes for a more effective implementation of social skills. As students use digital social stories, they become more engaged in the learning process and gain ownership of learning. They do this by observing the images and voice recording they can upload on the computer and how they are able to create and edit their own personal stories. One consideration that I would make to include in my digital social story is to make sure each slide or picture is clear and legible (within writing and images) so everyone who views it can understand the idea, thought or process I am trying to express.
B.) Creating a digital social story was a bit of a process, but I was finally able to come my desired output. My biggest issue was trying to get my microphone to work properly. At first I couldn't get it attached correctly to my computer and it was a bit difficult to adjust the voice levels. Overall, after some minor glitches were overcome, I was able to enjoy the process of creating this digital social story. Before completing this assignment I had never created a digital social story before and had not known too much about them. I was unsure of the content and logistics of how to create such a video prior to being introduced to this process. The software program, PhotoStory 3 was very simple to use and gave me no problems. I loved how easy it was to edit each picture and all the effects that accompanied them.
I selected the topic of ordering food at a restaurant because it was something that I thought of that was a little different than some of the suggested examples. It also goes to a little of an advanced level of how to ask specific questions, in particular environments. I would use this video with students with disabilities as a whole group within the classroom. Having the whole class watch the video is appropriate as each student can benefit from its content. Ordering food at a restaurant is a skill that everyone should be able to accomplish to gain independence and be self-sufficient in life.
Social Story on Ordering Food at a Restaurant:
http://youtu.be/dfzYmktgjww
2nd video of Washing Your Hands
http://youtu.be/xtxuZGSdw9A
Saturday, June 16, 2012
Collaboration of Google Documents
Collaborating on Google Docs
was a new and interesting experience for me. It's a great way for all
information to be presented, while each member is delegated an equal and
specific role or task for an assignment. I think my favorite aspect of
Google Docs, which I really appreciated while doing this assignment, was the
support and accessibility it provided. It allowed the same document to be
seen and manipulated by and for each group member. Although each member
was working on a different instructional strategy, we were able to refer to
other group members responses or reactions to be able to gain a full effect of
how to react to the entire article. We were able to gain this effect by
not having to reflect on the entire article; just our specified sections.
Lastly, I love that Google saves your documents with every word you
write. It is a great tool because I'm sure we've all been in that
situation where you lose all of your work right before your finished because of
saving issues!
Webquest/AAC/AT
a.) I have performed one webquest prior to this webquest assignment. This webquest included creating a powerpoint, to educate others on an educational theorist. I really enjoyed and found doing this webquest on a specific case study of a student with a disability, very intriguing. The prior webquest that I performed did not compare to the immensity and information-rich content and availability of sources in this current webquest. I chose to perform a webquest on Hayden, a seventh grader with autism. Hayden's main accessibility problem was focused on having limited verbal expressive language. This webquest provided links upon links of information of assistive technologies, funding resources, the laws and regulations based on communication problems and various other links to learn about other information that could correlate to the student's disability and CCN.
The directions of the webquest were quite simple to follow, alleviating the ever common stress and frustration factors of understanding the ins and outs of an assignment before delving into it. It was very organized according to having a list or different tabs (introduction, task, process, educator and employer resources, evaluation and conclusion) that led to the links under specific themes or headings to have an easy route to find your information. Organization and clarity are key aspects of an assignment.
As a future special education teacher, there is no doubt in my mind that I will definitely use webquests within my classroom and out of the classroom, for home related projects and assignments. These webquests allow the students to still perform research, with provided links and sources by the teacher, in having to search through the links to find the specific information that is needed. Having students do webquests also allows students to perform research, knowing that the sources they are obtaining their information from are reliable and valid, having the assurance they are learning real and true information and material. Specific ways in which I would put a webquest into effect in my classroom, would be by using it as a tool for learning about a specific theme within a novel, such as Tom Sawyer, or if we are learning about different crustaceans in science, I can create a webquest for the students to complete on different aspects of crustaceans. Such aspects can be habitats, food consumption, physical characteristics, etc.
b.) Before reading the article on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), I was not very familiar with this term at all. I learned that AAC is all the forms of communication that can be used to share ideas, make friends and express needs and wants. The article was very informative in making clear that Assistive Technology and AAC must be coupled together, to be most effective in accommodating and supporting students' with communication disabilities. I had a good amount of informational background on Assistive Technologies (AT) from one of our previous modules, in looking at different AT's and understanding how and why they are used and seen as high importance within a special education classroom. Within the topic of students with communication disabilities, whether it be caused from cerebral palsy, down syndrome, autism or any other disability, it is important for teachers to provide specific AAC systems, according to the severity of the communication disability.
Although i am familiar with different AT's for particular disabilities, I have not done research or heard of many of these AT's provided in The AAC Resource Guide For Teachers and even more that I found within my webquest for Hayden's difficulty in verbal expressive language. As a future special education teacher, I will be encountering several students with communication disabilities, making now the time to understand the resources that are available to support such students with these disabilities and know how and when to apply such AT services. I know when I become a teacher, there will most likely be even more AT services for students with communication disabilities. I now have a better understanding and awareness of the many AT's for students with communication disabilities, that currently exist, that I can now begin to apply within the classroom.
There are several hand held objects that are very accessible for students to use in the classroom, such as the Palmtop Portable IMPACT, LightWRITERS, Digital Talking book player and alphabet, picture, symbol and word boards. The alphabet, picture, symbol and word boards are probably one AT service that all students with communication disabilities should have in the classroom. They allow the student to be able to quickly form words on their board, to answer questions or provide feedback in large or small group discussion. They are also very useful for the teacher to manipulate according to what the class is learning about. For example, if the class is learning about reptiles, have pictures and vocabulary for that week, along with other basic vocabulary words (yes, no, what, how, when, where) for the student with CCN to use when participating in discussion.
The directions of the webquest were quite simple to follow, alleviating the ever common stress and frustration factors of understanding the ins and outs of an assignment before delving into it. It was very organized according to having a list or different tabs (introduction, task, process, educator and employer resources, evaluation and conclusion) that led to the links under specific themes or headings to have an easy route to find your information. Organization and clarity are key aspects of an assignment.
As a future special education teacher, there is no doubt in my mind that I will definitely use webquests within my classroom and out of the classroom, for home related projects and assignments. These webquests allow the students to still perform research, with provided links and sources by the teacher, in having to search through the links to find the specific information that is needed. Having students do webquests also allows students to perform research, knowing that the sources they are obtaining their information from are reliable and valid, having the assurance they are learning real and true information and material. Specific ways in which I would put a webquest into effect in my classroom, would be by using it as a tool for learning about a specific theme within a novel, such as Tom Sawyer, or if we are learning about different crustaceans in science, I can create a webquest for the students to complete on different aspects of crustaceans. Such aspects can be habitats, food consumption, physical characteristics, etc.
b.) Before reading the article on Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), I was not very familiar with this term at all. I learned that AAC is all the forms of communication that can be used to share ideas, make friends and express needs and wants. The article was very informative in making clear that Assistive Technology and AAC must be coupled together, to be most effective in accommodating and supporting students' with communication disabilities. I had a good amount of informational background on Assistive Technologies (AT) from one of our previous modules, in looking at different AT's and understanding how and why they are used and seen as high importance within a special education classroom. Within the topic of students with communication disabilities, whether it be caused from cerebral palsy, down syndrome, autism or any other disability, it is important for teachers to provide specific AAC systems, according to the severity of the communication disability.
Although i am familiar with different AT's for particular disabilities, I have not done research or heard of many of these AT's provided in The AAC Resource Guide For Teachers and even more that I found within my webquest for Hayden's difficulty in verbal expressive language. As a future special education teacher, I will be encountering several students with communication disabilities, making now the time to understand the resources that are available to support such students with these disabilities and know how and when to apply such AT services. I know when I become a teacher, there will most likely be even more AT services for students with communication disabilities. I now have a better understanding and awareness of the many AT's for students with communication disabilities, that currently exist, that I can now begin to apply within the classroom.
There are several hand held objects that are very accessible for students to use in the classroom, such as the Palmtop Portable IMPACT, LightWRITERS, Digital Talking book player and alphabet, picture, symbol and word boards. The alphabet, picture, symbol and word boards are probably one AT service that all students with communication disabilities should have in the classroom. They allow the student to be able to quickly form words on their board, to answer questions or provide feedback in large or small group discussion. They are also very useful for the teacher to manipulate according to what the class is learning about. For example, if the class is learning about reptiles, have pictures and vocabulary for that week, along with other basic vocabulary words (yes, no, what, how, when, where) for the student with CCN to use when participating in discussion.
Social Media
Social media networks have been becoming increasingly more popular in the 21st Century, with both adults and children. One social network, in particular, that has become the next best thing from MySpace, is Facebook. Back about 6 years ago, MySpace was the new best social media website for adults and children to use. I personally remember thinking it was so cool to have my own profile page, showcase music and write on friend's pages, back when I was in middle school, on MySpace. It is now becoming apparent that teachers are in search for finding the next best material, tool or idea for implementation within instruction, to the vast amount of diverse students and learners within every single classroom that a teacher will have. This increasing phenomenon of Facebook has become this next best instructional tool, within the classroom, that several teachers are beginning to adapt to.
I personally believe that using Facebook as part of an instructional tool, in the classroom, within limits, is a great idea. But before the topic of using this social networking website is even brought into discussion within the classroom or home (if student doesn't already have a Facebook account), the teacher must be aware of some negative aspects of having the students using the computer for much of their schoolwork, especially a social networking site, that several individuals are on, all around the world. It is important to make the students aware of "online appropriate behavior". "The educators we have spoken to have told us that developing a culture of compassion within the physical walls of their school during the school day sets the expectation for a culture of compassion to be exhibited by students in their online associations outside of school (Phillips, Baird, Fogg)." This type of compassion to be exemplified with school, is especially important to help rid of cyberbullying, one of the number one risk factors of students getting more active online, particularly Facebook. "According to www.cyberbully.org, "Cyberbullying is sending or posting harmful or cruel text or images using the Internet or other digital communication devices." Cyberbully.org is devoted to mobilizing educators, parents, students, and others to combat online social cruelty (Poole)." Not only is it important for teachers to provide examples inside school to avoid bullying and cyberbullying, teachers should also make great strides to make students aware of specific predators on the Internet, that may not be who you think they are, and be careful what you are posting and who you are sharing your posts and information with. Lastly, I believe it is especially crucial for teachers to be aware of when students are on the computers within school. "While students are working online in a classroom/lab environment, the teacher should be alert and always in a position to know what students are up to at their stations. Students won't try to get away with things if they know they're likely to get caught (Poole)." This is also important to monitor at home, because students will also not be as likely to get away with things if they know they will get
caught. The most effective ways in which to apply "digital citizenship" is, by "Conducting yourself in a civil manner in the online world just like you would be expected to behave in offline world, behaving responsibly and compassionately with your online actions and watching out for each other in your online community much like you would in your ‘real world’ neighborhood (Phillips, Baird, Fogg)."
Facebook is especially a good source for students to use, because of the several privacy settings allowed to be applied to it, protecting many things upon it be only viewed among your friends. Some great features of Facebook that would be effective for students to use in and out of school, on Facebook, is the use of the Groups and Pages tools. Groups can be used for projects, in being able to have both students and teachers able to post questions or information within the group, for just the group members to view. It is a great way for students to interact with peers, gain different perspectives on topics and ideas, outside of the classroom, when working on projects or homework, at home. Along this topic of Groups, Pages are an also a great feature of Facebook, for students to be able to share great topics for a particular project. For example, if a project was on rainforests, students may post different liked pages on the topic of rainforests, maybe different animals found in forests, or climates in rainforests for the whole group of students to see. It is also a way a teacher can assess students on the act of finding research. So, unlike Sarah Stewart's view of Facebook for teacher's use with students, I don't agree with this following statement she made: "... But I am extremely concerned that educators think that Facebook will cure all their problems and suddenly make them better teachers (Stewart)." In no way do I believe that Facebook is going to cure all my problems, as a teacher, but that it will be useful in providing more interactive instruction and education. It acts as a great resource for students to use to interact with classmates and the teacher for assistance and working together on different assignments, through transferring ideas and information.
Some specific ways in which I would be able to use Facebook with my students by, for example, if the class was currently learning about fractions, in math, the teacher could share videos on different concepts of fractions, whether it be about multiplication, division, addition, subtraction, mixed numbers, decimals, etc. The teacher could then have students, or groups of students, formed by the Group feature, on Facebook, post reactions or even use the "Hey! Math Challenge" app to have students work through different problems for extra help, or as part of homework. One other way in which Facebook can be effective for teacher instruction, is through each student creating their own character Facebook page, after reading a novel, such as, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The students will be able to list the basic information of their character, according to what they can know and infer from the story, such as hobbies, physical appearance, likes, dislikes and even post comments to other characters that students created to really portray how the character relates to the other characters in the story. Each student in the class will be friends with each other, allowing each student to see what characters their classmates chose and at the end of the assignment, allow the students to collaborate together to write in different comments and additions. These could be provided to different characters to get to know and understand the characters from the story a little better (Venable).
I personally believe that using Facebook as part of an instructional tool, in the classroom, within limits, is a great idea. But before the topic of using this social networking website is even brought into discussion within the classroom or home (if student doesn't already have a Facebook account), the teacher must be aware of some negative aspects of having the students using the computer for much of their schoolwork, especially a social networking site, that several individuals are on, all around the world. It is important to make the students aware of "online appropriate behavior". "The educators we have spoken to have told us that developing a culture of compassion within the physical walls of their school during the school day sets the expectation for a culture of compassion to be exhibited by students in their online associations outside of school (Phillips, Baird, Fogg)." This type of compassion to be exemplified with school, is especially important to help rid of cyberbullying, one of the number one risk factors of students getting more active online, particularly Facebook. "According to www.cyberbully.org, "Cyberbullying is sending or posting harmful or cruel text or images using the Internet or other digital communication devices." Cyberbully.org is devoted to mobilizing educators, parents, students, and others to combat online social cruelty (Poole)." Not only is it important for teachers to provide examples inside school to avoid bullying and cyberbullying, teachers should also make great strides to make students aware of specific predators on the Internet, that may not be who you think they are, and be careful what you are posting and who you are sharing your posts and information with. Lastly, I believe it is especially crucial for teachers to be aware of when students are on the computers within school. "While students are working online in a classroom/lab environment, the teacher should be alert and always in a position to know what students are up to at their stations. Students won't try to get away with things if they know they're likely to get caught (Poole)." This is also important to monitor at home, because students will also not be as likely to get away with things if they know they will get
caught. The most effective ways in which to apply "digital citizenship" is, by "Conducting yourself in a civil manner in the online world just like you would be expected to behave in offline world, behaving responsibly and compassionately with your online actions and watching out for each other in your online community much like you would in your ‘real world’ neighborhood (Phillips, Baird, Fogg)."
Facebook is especially a good source for students to use, because of the several privacy settings allowed to be applied to it, protecting many things upon it be only viewed among your friends. Some great features of Facebook that would be effective for students to use in and out of school, on Facebook, is the use of the Groups and Pages tools. Groups can be used for projects, in being able to have both students and teachers able to post questions or information within the group, for just the group members to view. It is a great way for students to interact with peers, gain different perspectives on topics and ideas, outside of the classroom, when working on projects or homework, at home. Along this topic of Groups, Pages are an also a great feature of Facebook, for students to be able to share great topics for a particular project. For example, if a project was on rainforests, students may post different liked pages on the topic of rainforests, maybe different animals found in forests, or climates in rainforests for the whole group of students to see. It is also a way a teacher can assess students on the act of finding research. So, unlike Sarah Stewart's view of Facebook for teacher's use with students, I don't agree with this following statement she made: "... But I am extremely concerned that educators think that Facebook will cure all their problems and suddenly make them better teachers (Stewart)." In no way do I believe that Facebook is going to cure all my problems, as a teacher, but that it will be useful in providing more interactive instruction and education. It acts as a great resource for students to use to interact with classmates and the teacher for assistance and working together on different assignments, through transferring ideas and information.
Some specific ways in which I would be able to use Facebook with my students by, for example, if the class was currently learning about fractions, in math, the teacher could share videos on different concepts of fractions, whether it be about multiplication, division, addition, subtraction, mixed numbers, decimals, etc. The teacher could then have students, or groups of students, formed by the Group feature, on Facebook, post reactions or even use the "Hey! Math Challenge" app to have students work through different problems for extra help, or as part of homework. One other way in which Facebook can be effective for teacher instruction, is through each student creating their own character Facebook page, after reading a novel, such as, The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. The students will be able to list the basic information of their character, according to what they can know and infer from the story, such as hobbies, physical appearance, likes, dislikes and even post comments to other characters that students created to really portray how the character relates to the other characters in the story. Each student in the class will be friends with each other, allowing each student to see what characters their classmates chose and at the end of the assignment, allow the students to collaborate together to write in different comments and additions. These could be provided to different characters to get to know and understand the characters from the story a little better (Venable).
WebKlipper
The Web 2.0 tool that I looked into and thought would be very helpful and useful within the classroom is WebKlipper. WebKlipper allows the teacher and the students to personalize classroom notes. Within doing this, the students and teacher would be able to add illustrations, such as highlights, drawings, annotations and create sticky notes. Not only can you use WebKlipper for your personal use and create your own notes, but others and yourself can share their personalized notes for others to view. This tool is not only easy to use, but brings about several positive aspects for a students use, in and outside of the classroom. This tool allows creative thinking, engagement of learning and even group activity.
WebKlipper can most definitely be used to assist students with disabilities. This can be done by this tool acting as a great visual component of the classroom, such as if the teacher used it on the smartboard, while reading a short article, summarization of an article, key, important facts of an article/essay/reading, etc. Such a visual oriented tool is great for those who are visual learners, students with different information processing disabilities (breaks information down into key or core components) or even those that need things to be read aloud to them, as the teacher reads to the class what she is highlighting and reads the particular sticky notes she may put on the side. This program also helps students work on different sensory and motor skills, if asked to come use the touch screen, on the smart board, in whole class discussion and work, while hightlighting or creating notes, with this tool.
One particular way that I would use the WebKlipper in the classroom is, by having the students work in small groups of about 4-5 in each group, with each group at a different computer. This allows the students to work together in using the different illustrations and personalization tools within this software. The assignment I would have the students do, would be to summarize an article, by hightlighting the key ideas/words/phrases and take notes to give a final summary of an article. This tool could also be very helpful on working on correct grammar and sentence structure, by using the hightlight tool and note taking option to correct examples of essays with gramatical errors. With the allowance of making sticky notes and highlighting, it enables the students to better use critical thinking in choosing important areas to hightlight, crucial annotations or drawings to take on the side. Within students delving into critical thinking, it can be especially useful for small group work for students with disabilities, to gain perspectives from fellow group members and learn to work as a collaborative whole. Some students with disabilities feel left out or categorized as a student with a disability. To avoid such labels or terms in an inclusive classroom, such small group work helps the student to attain more social interactions with his/her peers and have all students gain awareness of not just students weaknesses, but most importantly, their strengths.
WebKlipper can most definitely be used to assist students with disabilities. This can be done by this tool acting as a great visual component of the classroom, such as if the teacher used it on the smartboard, while reading a short article, summarization of an article, key, important facts of an article/essay/reading, etc. Such a visual oriented tool is great for those who are visual learners, students with different information processing disabilities (breaks information down into key or core components) or even those that need things to be read aloud to them, as the teacher reads to the class what she is highlighting and reads the particular sticky notes she may put on the side. This program also helps students work on different sensory and motor skills, if asked to come use the touch screen, on the smart board, in whole class discussion and work, while hightlighting or creating notes, with this tool.
One particular way that I would use the WebKlipper in the classroom is, by having the students work in small groups of about 4-5 in each group, with each group at a different computer. This allows the students to work together in using the different illustrations and personalization tools within this software. The assignment I would have the students do, would be to summarize an article, by hightlighting the key ideas/words/phrases and take notes to give a final summary of an article. This tool could also be very helpful on working on correct grammar and sentence structure, by using the hightlight tool and note taking option to correct examples of essays with gramatical errors. With the allowance of making sticky notes and highlighting, it enables the students to better use critical thinking in choosing important areas to hightlight, crucial annotations or drawings to take on the side. Within students delving into critical thinking, it can be especially useful for small group work for students with disabilities, to gain perspectives from fellow group members and learn to work as a collaborative whole. Some students with disabilities feel left out or categorized as a student with a disability. To avoid such labels or terms in an inclusive classroom, such small group work helps the student to attain more social interactions with his/her peers and have all students gain awareness of not just students weaknesses, but most importantly, their strengths.
Web 2.0
1.) I believe that it is a very important aspect for all educators to incorporate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in their teaching instruction. Allowing all individuals an equal opportunity to learn is one of the number one goals for educators. Teachers must keep in mind that all students learn differently, whether it be from a specific disability, cultural background or any other difference. Though there are several of these differences, it is important to work your best, as a teacher to provide options and conformities for the diverse learning of students.
When a teacher attempts to provide these options and conformities for his/her students, it is very helpful to have specific tools in which to do so. These tools that the World Wide Web has provided are known as Web 2.0 tools. These tools not only help the students tremendously in and outside of the classroom, but also ease specific tasks and jobs for the teacher to help students better understand, have easier access to sharing with their peers for specific topics or ideas to gain new perspectives and opinions. "Anyone with an Internet browser can “write” to the Web with very little technical knowledge. Those who were previously only consumers of information can now also be producers (Rosen, Nelson)." These Web 2.0 tools allow the students and teachers to interact, collaborate and share different presentations and materials they create, such as text, audio, video and photos.Some specific types of Web 2.0 tools that teachers could be recommended to use are Flickr, LibraryThing, wikis and weblogs.
"While the one-way nature of the read-only Web 1.0 platform fits well with a transmission, or stage-on-the-stage pedagogy, the multi-way nature of the Web 2.0 platform exemplifies constructivist
pedagogy, especially of the social variety (Rosen, Nelson)." This constructivist pedagogy is based around constructing student knowledge, coexisting with social constructivism, to promote collaborative and social interactions. According to Web 2.0: A New Generation of Learners and Education, "Web 2.0 “is not a technological revolution, it is a social revolution” (Downes, 2005) (Rosen, Nelson)."
Blog URL link= wicks927
2.) Teaching "digital natives" is going to be a crucial task that all educators must be forced to come to terms with and conform to and become more aware of the digital and technological savvy world. The world of technology is rapidly changing on a day to day, even, hour to hour basis. The children who are brought up in this current decade were brought into this ever changing technological world, with most things being done on the Internet, for amusement, social interaction and school related work. For a teacher to become accustomed and more familiarized with these technologies (Web 2.0 tools), it will take time and effort, but in the end it will bring about easier access to teach and provide options and different materials for multiple learners. This Today Show video clip really made me realize that many of us really are completely unaware of several helpful and new technological advances. Some of us may be a bit more aware than others, depending on which time period in which you were brought up and taught within. We all know that we cannot compare with the "digital natives" of students everyday use and reliability with the ever-growing and populating expansion of the technology in our current times, especially the tools we can receive to be helpful in social interactions, educational purposes and so much more, on the World Wide Web.
When a teacher attempts to provide these options and conformities for his/her students, it is very helpful to have specific tools in which to do so. These tools that the World Wide Web has provided are known as Web 2.0 tools. These tools not only help the students tremendously in and outside of the classroom, but also ease specific tasks and jobs for the teacher to help students better understand, have easier access to sharing with their peers for specific topics or ideas to gain new perspectives and opinions. "Anyone with an Internet browser can “write” to the Web with very little technical knowledge. Those who were previously only consumers of information can now also be producers (Rosen, Nelson)." These Web 2.0 tools allow the students and teachers to interact, collaborate and share different presentations and materials they create, such as text, audio, video and photos.Some specific types of Web 2.0 tools that teachers could be recommended to use are Flickr, LibraryThing, wikis and weblogs.
"While the one-way nature of the read-only Web 1.0 platform fits well with a transmission, or stage-on-the-stage pedagogy, the multi-way nature of the Web 2.0 platform exemplifies constructivist
pedagogy, especially of the social variety (Rosen, Nelson)." This constructivist pedagogy is based around constructing student knowledge, coexisting with social constructivism, to promote collaborative and social interactions. According to Web 2.0: A New Generation of Learners and Education, "Web 2.0 “is not a technological revolution, it is a social revolution” (Downes, 2005) (Rosen, Nelson)."
Blog URL link= wicks927
2.) Teaching "digital natives" is going to be a crucial task that all educators must be forced to come to terms with and conform to and become more aware of the digital and technological savvy world. The world of technology is rapidly changing on a day to day, even, hour to hour basis. The children who are brought up in this current decade were brought into this ever changing technological world, with most things being done on the Internet, for amusement, social interaction and school related work. For a teacher to become accustomed and more familiarized with these technologies (Web 2.0 tools), it will take time and effort, but in the end it will bring about easier access to teach and provide options and different materials for multiple learners. This Today Show video clip really made me realize that many of us really are completely unaware of several helpful and new technological advances. Some of us may be a bit more aware than others, depending on which time period in which you were brought up and taught within. We all know that we cannot compare with the "digital natives" of students everyday use and reliability with the ever-growing and populating expansion of the technology in our current times, especially the tools we can receive to be helpful in social interactions, educational purposes and so much more, on the World Wide Web.
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