This was one of my favorite modules thus far. As I've stated before; I have never been computer savvy, but this class has been extremely helpful. If you would have asked me before this module to write a newsletter, you would have seen an instant look of panic on my face. Not only was the use of Microsoft Publisher easy to understand, but there were also many fun features to play with. I really enjoyed being creative and playing with different color schemes and formats. Every aspect was nicely laid out and I know that this will be a tool that I will one day use in my own classroom.
The use of the sign up genius website was so quick and easy. I believe it was very practical. When planning events, so much time can go into the event itself that you don't want to take hours upon hours with different ways of informing others of the event and waiting for RSVP's. Sign up genius is a great and dependable way of informing and giving others a chance to respond.
I haven't fully seen the use of the drop box technology in action yet, but I like the idea of it. Uploading my work to the drop box was very simple and seems like a great way to share and organize your work. Overall, I am beginning to see more and more how technology can simplify work while making it more enjoyable!
EXE375
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
Social Stories
Watching the videos and reading the articles was my first
interaction with social stories. I must say that I am very impressed with the
idea and its applicable use in the classroom. As Cori More says in the article Digital Stories Targeting Social Skills for
Children With Disabilities: Multidimensional Learning, "Children
develop with different strengths and weaknesses, but many children with
disabilities experience deficits in social areas." The point of social
stories is to address these deficits with the children and help them overcome
barriers. Social stories have the potential to teach students certain tasks and
appropriate actions and reactions in different situations. They do not have to
take time away from learning as they are short and to the point.
Learning
about the different aspects of social stories and the way sentences are
designed was beneficial to not only creating my own story, but understanding
the language that is used in stories created by others. It's important to use
language that the student understands and the entire story should be written
from their perspective. When making a story you should consult and allow the
student your addressing to work alongside you. When using effects you don't
want anything distracting the student away from the essence of the story
itself. When you work alongside a child you can easily see what things work and
don't work.
The
behavior that you choose to address in the story is of great importance. As the
healing waters website says "The idea is that the child rehearses the
story ahead of time, with an adult. Then, when the situation actually happens, the
child can use the story to help guide his or her behavior." It's important
to begin with the end in mind. Knowing what behavior you are targeting and why
you believe it's important for the child to overcome it will give you
motivation to create a useful story and potentially reach success.
I came
up with the idea for my social story from my own experiences and observations
at the daycare I work at and the school I observe in. Waiting in lines, especially
for non interesting tasks like washing your hands can be a huge issue. The
students I had in mind when creating this social video was a student with
autism. He struggled with waiting in line, because he felt that he would get
behind or miss out on tasks. His feelings of anxiousness causes him to act out
in line and become very irritable. This behavior would often lead to many
issues with classmates and regaining focus when it was time to get to work. The
use of the social video shows this student the appropriate behavior to display
in line and assures him that he will not be missing out on anything. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUley_pF1KM
Friday, October 26, 2012
Google Docs
The use of Google Docs as a collaborative tool was extremely
effective. This was my first experience with Google Docs besides the
"Getting to Know You" survey. At first I was a little hesitant on how
it would all come together, but the document itself is set up so efficiently
that it was easy to collaborate with my classmates. I loved that you could
click on "see revision history" and the parts that my peers added
would hi light in different colors. It displayed all the dates that revisions
were made; which made it unique in that you could see the progression of the
document over time.
The
actual content of what was in the document (the response to the article) really
opened my eyes to my peers perspective. Although we all read the same article
there were many points that I didn't pick up on that my peers did. My
comprehension of the information increased due to their interpretation of the
text. In the realization of this all it became very evident to me that Google
Docs is a great tool to use in the classroom! Students need to gain knowledge
of their peers work. They need to learn how to collaborate and work with
others. Collaboration was never stressed in my high school and since entering
into the Exceptional Education Department at Buffalo State I've had to collaborate
with my peers often. I can honestly say that collaboration has not only made me
a better student, but a better person as a whole. Children need to learn how to
express themselves to others and also give room for others to express themselves
in return. We need to seek to understand than to be understood. Learning is
often most effective when you are growing with those around you. Google Docs
provides a great way for students to work together and enlighten each other
with knowledge that may have otherwise been missed.
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
WebQuest and AT
I enjoyed my first WebQuest; there was definitely a lot of
information to consume. I learned many new things from the information. Some of
the links didn't work, which was annoying, but that could easily be fixed; especially
if you made one of your own. In the future, I can see myself using a WebQuest
as a learning tool in the classroom. I think it would be interesting to use it
as a type of treasure hunt on a certain topic. Each web page they go to will
give them clues for the next page and what to look for. They would have a fill
in the blank paper where the answers would go. At the end whoever gets done
first wins, but there would be some type of prize for every completed WebQuest.
I think this is a valuable way to have students read and comprehend
information.
Learning
about all the different types of computer software and tools was something
completely foreign to me. I had no idea that there are so many different ways
to control a computer. AT makes many things accessible. All of this showed
me how the true the old time saying "If there's a will, there's a
way." is. As a future special education teacher I will come across many
different students with different disabilities and I need to be creative, intuitive,
and persistent in making their education experience the best!
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Social Media in The Classroom
There is no doubt about it; social media has
become the major form of communication for people all over the world. I’ve been
on Facebook for five years now, and I find it to be beneficial for my social
life, but that’s about as far as it went for me. Reading these articles has
opened my eyes to another world. I honestly never even considered using
Facebook in the classroom. It was surprising to see how many articles there are
on this topic, and how many different ideas people have created for using Facebook
in an educational setting.
I believe there are many pros to using Facebook
in the classroom. Students live in a generation that is technologically based;
computers and social media sites is what interest students, so if we can find a
way to use this technology in the classroom, then we can find a way to motivate
students to learn. After reading these articles, it is obvious that there is so
much you can do with sites like Facebook. The web article “100 Ways You Should
Be Using Facebook in Your Classroom” from the site Onlinecollege.org gives
great examples of how to use Facebook effectively, “Students can post their book reviews
for the instructor to grade and other students to read. If it's a peer-reviewed
project, then students can more easily access each other's papers online.”
This is just one of the many great ideas they provide.
There are many articles that explain cautions that should be taken, and
focus that should be given when using social media sites in the classroom.
Sarah Kessler puts it well in her blog “5 Best Practices for Educators on
Facebook” she says, “Once teachers decide how they’re going to use Facebook,
they need to follow through in a way that takes class participation on the
social network seriously.” Basically, if you bring Facebook into your classroom
and you have a purpose and guidelines as to how it will be used, then you will
find it successful. If you use Facebook in the classroom and haven’t researched
precautions and ways to use it effectively, your experience with it may be extremely
negative with unnecessary issues arising. Most of these issues come from
teachers not monitoring the students work and using the internet as a break
from lecturing. Poole states it perfectly when responding to a comment from Dr.
Netiva Caftori in his blog “Risks Involved in Integrating the Internet Into the
K-12 Curriculum, he says “When it comes to children and learning, well-trained
teachers should be “bundled” with the Web, as Dr,Netivia Caftori, professor of
computer science at North Easter Illinois likes to put it. Teachers should be
guides at the side, preparing quality learning experiences for the children in
their care.” Educators need to be actively participating and monitoring
students work.
I can envision Facebook being used in my classroom in many different
ways. I like that you can make polls and have students vote on different issues.
It would be cool to set up profiles for past presidents and have the students
vote on which one they feel made the most effective changes for our country.
Facebook can be a great tool to reach many different people, so why not use it
in your classroom to create an awareness of different issues. I am a strong
believer that community service projects and awareness of world issues can lead
to a better future. It would be awesome to find out what the kids are passionate
about and create a page for specific issues. They could use the page to post
papers on the issues and ideas for special events. It would be a great way to create unity in the
classroom. Overall, I believe Facebook and other social media sites can assist
teachers in making learning more successful and enjoyable.
Monday, September 24, 2012
clp.ly 2.0 Web Tool
Clp.ly is a Web 2.0 tool that takes
screenshots of a web page, that can then be embedded into a blog and it can
also be saved when you create an account. Clp.ly allows you to add a bookmark
on your tool bar, this gives you easy access to take screenshots. A new
application that has recently been added to the clp.ly tool, is the use of
adding personal notes to your clippings. Your clippings remain active and at
any time, they can bring you back to the original site. You can also search other users clippings on
specific information.
I really liked this Web 2.0 tool
because I know that I have always struggled with keeping my bookmarks organized
and remembering what sites said what. I think clp.ly can be used to keep
students organized when doing research, or just searching the web for things
that interest them. Clp.ly would be an effective way of enhancing your
classroom blogs, and making research more interesting. I believe it would be extremely
effective for students with disabilities, for the mere fact that it increases
organization and allows information to be found easily. Many students with
disabilities need more than just written words to recall information; this is
why the use of the screenshot can be helpful to remember what the webpage looks
like. I would use this tool in the classroom, when doing research and classroom
discussions on blogger, as you can post right from clp.ly to many blogging and
social networking sites.
Here is a simple example of a
clipping I created: http://s.tt/!1odsI
Here is the link to the clp.ly
site: https://www.curate.us/
Monday, September 17, 2012
UDL and Web 2.0
1.) Web 2.0
within the parameters of education, works extremely well with Universal Design
for Learning (UDL). The goal of UDL is to provide multiple means of
representation, action and expression, and engagement, web 2.0 can enhance all
three of these areas. There are few
words that come to mind after reading the Web 2.0 article, they are,
collaboration, self expression, and knowledge. Web 2.0 and all the tools that
come with it, allows student to connect with other students, not only in their
classrooms, but all over the world. With the use of site like Facebook,
Blogger, and Flicker, students cannot only express themselves, but see other do
so as well. As an educator of students with and without disabilities, you can
get your students involved in blogs that focus on classroom discussions or
topics that will be addressed. Often, students become more engaged with the use
of the internet and computer.
As Dina Rosen and
Charles Nelson say in the article “Web 2.0 A New Generation of Learners and
Education”, “With the increased social interactivity that a Web 2.0 environment
provides, information and experiences can be shared and published in many ways.”
A Web 2.0 program within a classroom of students with disabilities can provide
many different ways for the students to learn and grow in their education. A
diverse class needs many options and outlets for learning, which is what Web
2.0 provides. As with anything else, there is always a potential for drawbacks,
what if you push Web 2.0, and for some students it doesn’t work? You may have
students who can’t handle the stigmatism of a computer screen, or the internet
has too many distractions for them. This is when, as an educator you need to be
extremely diverse and be able to use both new and old forms of education to
reach all students.
2.) I felt very naïve after watching the “Today Show” clip
from 1994. It’s hard to believe that when I was a little girl, there was only
slight knowledge about the internet and it was only used on a basic level. The
internet has become such a big part of my life these past five years, that I didn’t
even consider myself a “digital immigrant”, but basically all of my education,
until I entered into college, had little to do with the internet. I believe we
should be very aware of the impact this can have on this generation both good
and bad. There are certainly many tools that can be used to enhance education
and students involvement, but I don’t believe we should throw away all the old
values of education, because many of them are still effective, even with the “digital
natives”.
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