Carline's Word Cloud

My Word Cloud!

Chapter 10 & 11

Chapters 10 and 11 covered several topics of interest to me, including, the use of  technology to support diverse learners, the inclusion of technology in service-learning projects and the utilisation of pre-assessment surveys.

As someone pursuing my degree in Special Education, in conjunction with my Childhood Education degree, I was extremely excited to read about various low-tech, mid and high-tech classroom organization tools--such as text to speech software, virtual manipulatives and assistive technologies--that enrich the learning experience for diverse learners, including children with disabilities.  I also appreciated the emphasis on how technology can facilitate more multicultural and multilingual approaches in the classroom.  In New York City, it seems to be a good bet that as teachers, we will be encountering students from diverse backgrounds.  These students--whether they have a disability, are a different gender or race, have different SES levels, or are from a different country--may feel isolated from their peers.  Any strategies--technological and non-technological--that a teacher can utilise to make their classroom more inclusive and welcoming of differences are important.

Chapter 10 raised an important connection between technology and service-learning.  Service learning

is a teaching strategy that combines classroom learning with community engagement.  Based on lesson objectives and learning goals, students help identify a community need, implement a project which addresses this need and reflect on this process throughout.  One example of a service-learning project that I could incorporate with my students in the future is to have students identify (through internet research) what skills seniors would like to gain or what needs they have.  After, for example, identifying that seniors often feel lonely in their senior center and would like to connect to their friends who are dispersed around the country/world, students could work with seniors to set up social media accounts and write profiles with them.  Students could write a blog to reflect on the experience of setting up an account with the seniors.

Chapter 10 also addressed the use of pre-assessment surveys to gain insight into student knowledge on a topic.  This discussion on why pre-assessment surveys were used definitely expanded my thinking on how to use these surveys in a more engaging fashion.  For example, I can use a pre-survey to have students vote on what type of final project they would like to complete or assess their knowledge of an issue up front and show students how they have grown in understanding by giving them a post-assessment at the end of the unit.

Questions for further thought

1)  What technologies have you found in working with children with disabilities?  What disability did the child have, and how was the technology useful?

2)  Do you have experience creating service learning projects with technology?  If so, what was the project and how was technology incorporated?

3) For what reasons or how would you plan to use a pre-assessment survey in the classroom?

Lessons Learned--11/11

During today's class, we discussed the various ways that assistive technology could be used to aid learning for multiple users.  While assistive technology can be used for every individual, it is mostly associated with supporting the learning of students with disabilities.

The video shown in class raised multiple issues.  I was struck, in a positive way, to see how a classroom of younger students with disabilities was supported through dedicated teachers and innovative assistive technology.  I was also struck by the discussion that we had (after watching the video) about how we decide which  students should receive access to these technologies.  While I understand that this technology may be expensive, I really do believe that as a teacher (particularly a special education teacher!) it is my job to advocate for the best educational tools needed to support my kids.

I look forward to exploring the website provided in class to ensure that I am well versed in the various assistive technologies available!

Chapter 7 & 8

While reading Chapters 7 and 8, several themes stood out to me, including, how to effectively build higher order skills through technology, ease of access through open source websites, sharing information with families and text speak/blogs vs more formal online communication.

Chapter seven referred to two graduate students who formed a high school club in an urban setting that allowed students to play and critique video games.  I thought this was a wonderful idea because it allows students to engage in playing video games and concurrently build valuable higher order analytical, critical thinking and writing skills.  Overall, this type of activity is effective because it lets students be or become experts in fun and engaging way.  I can very well see incorporating this type of activity into a lesson plan during the school day.

I appreciated the inclusion of open source alternative websites because there is nothing more frustrating as a teacher than being incredibly excited to use web tools and resources, and then being thwarted by having to pay to download expensive programs!  The same goes for games--after reading about the River City simulation game, I went to investigate it online as a potential resource.  Unfortunately, the set up and time costs associated with the program are a little off putting.  That being said, if the game had highly proven results and good word of mouth among my colleagues, I would definitely be open to using it in my classroom!

Chapter 8 referred to sharing information with families as potentially incredibly useful in clarifying

expectations around student work.  I currently tutor a family in the Bronx and I am often annoyed when the children say they do not have homework (they say this with relative frequency!)  Often, I have no way to verify this, so I end up making up problems or assignments for them on the spot.  A homework website would be incredibly helpful in delivering reliable information about homework and class assignments.  Now that I have seen how important it is to communicate this information to parents/tutors/caretakers, I plan on using an online website when I am a teacher.

Chapter 8's focus on addressing the use of various modes of communication--e.g. texting, e-mail and blogs, was extremely interesting.  Texting and blogs allow the user to use more informal language/voice while e-mails should remain more formal.  Given how often the lines are blurred between modes of communication, I believe it is important to teach children which conventions govern each medium.  Ultimately, I want to make sure my students know that they should not be using 'lmao' or 'smh' in any type of formal communication!  Similarly, if the assignment is meant to be more informal, such as creating a web blog, I want students to feel comfortable developing and using their own voice.

Questions for further thought

1)  Do you have concerns about introducing games because students may become too engaged at the detriment of completing work/activities that is not game based?  Why or why not?

2) Would you post homework assignments on an online website or do you prefer to let students copy down assignment/give students a print out of homework assignments?

3)  How will you teach students to differentiate between using formal and informal voice in the class/assignments?

Class 7 Review

Webquest Tools and Tips

During this session, I learned strategies for creating a strong Webquest activity for my students. 

The goals of the WebQuest are to:

1. Evaluate online resources for students
2. Practice how to implement constructivism/inquiry based
3. Practice designing online experience
4. Reflection on the process

The main components of the WebQuest are:

• Introduction—hook the class!
• Task—give students a project to be completed. 
• Process—every step you provide, please provide sites or resources to get to the goal.
• Evaluation—provide the students with the expectations, don’t just provide the rubric--give them tips to help them achieve the goal.
• Conclusion—leave students with a take away message that ties to the introduction and provides opportunities for extended learning. 
• Teacher Page—share your information and resources with your peers, e.g. description of the audience, resources, standards and background information.  

Key Takeaways:

In designing my project, I will need to:

• keep in mind the scope of my unit and really be clear about my learning goals.  
• present students with the problem first, then guide them to the sites that will help them get to the heart of the task.
• ensure my evaluation aligns with the inquiry goal.  This will be laid out in my rubric and through the goals.
• introduce the trailer (in the introduction or task section.
• include a takeaway message that allows students and teachers the opportunity to reflect.

Blog 4: Chapter 5 and 6

One of the most interesting topics raised in Chapter 5 was the discussion over Google’s personalization feature.  Google’s currently functionality allows the search engine to retain information about an individual’s preferences.  This can lead to different people retrieving different search results on the same keywords entered.  While this personalization can be helpful in providing access to information that is more likely to be relevant to a user, critics argue that people do not have access to the broad scope of information available, only information that is likely to reinforce a certain viewpoint.  I think this debate holds interesting implications for my work with students.  As students become increasingly connected with the ability to build their web presence and profile at an earlier age, do personalized searches inhibit their ability to grow and become exposed to diverse information that challenge their word view?  As a teacher, I would want students to be exposed to assorted resources that push them to confront and question their assumptions.  One potential lesson I can see developing in my classroom to raise awareness of this issue is to have all of my students search the same keyword, take note of the differences in search results, and have a class discussion about why there is a difference in the results.   

As someone who has relatively recently begun using Memo on my Android phone to take notes and
record random observations or thoughts, I was excited to see the inclusion of electronic note-taking as a strategy to summarize and recall information.  Electronic note-taking can hold particular promise for children with disabilities.  A student with memory issues may be able to quickly write and organize their thoughts on a portable device while a student with dyslexia may be able dictate their thoughts and notes into their phone rather than spending the energy trying to find the right letters.  There has also been a study (Belson & Sherman, 2013) into the efficacy of digital smart pens in reducing the cognitive load of students with language-based disabilities so they can better focus on primary learning goals.  Belson and Sherman’s findings suggest that utilizing digital pens can improve the quality of student notes and note-taking strategies.

I currently tutor a family of kids in the Bronx and one of the first things they do when looking up definitions or information about a topic is use Google.  While this strategy works well to start with, they invariably click on the first link that is pulled up and try to use the information presented there as their main source.  Needless to say, I found the section on helping students evaluate online information particularly relevant.  I agree with the authors when they say that the teacher’s guidance in how to sift through information is especially important in teaching children how to critically evaluate resources and information. 

One of the most exciting aspects of learning that I am excited to share with my students is the world beyond the classroom.  Whether it is learning about how different countries all view the issue of climate change or discovering what subjects are children in Sierra Leone learning today, technology has the potential to expand the world view of my students.  I appreciated the inclusion of videoconferencing as a strategy to achieve this goal in Chapter 6.  I plan on using videoconferencing to provide students with a window into the lives of others around the globe and an opportunity to create shared knowledge.

Questions:
1) What strategies would you use as a teacher to help students critically evaluate web information/resources?
2) What are some potential technologies that you think can benefit children with disabilities?
3) Do you believe that Google's personalized searches are a useful teaching tool?

References

Belson, S. I., Hartmann, D., & Sherman, J. (2013). Digital note taking: The use of electronic pens with students with specific learning disabilities. Journal of Special Education Technology, 28(2), 13-25.

Maloy, R., Verock-O’Loughlin, R., Edwards, S., Woolf, B. (2014). Transforming learning with new technologies. 2nd Ed. Pearson Publishing.

Class 4--Learning Theories

Learning Theories Reflection


Behaviorism subscribes to the theory that behavior has observable characteristics.  You have a learned and demonstrated response--conditioning can occur.  This approach is often used in special education to observe the change of behaviors of students with disabilities.

This is in contrast to cognitive learning theory where a change happens in your memory.  Our brain files, processes and retrieves information.  In learning, teachers may use cognitive theory when creating tests that require a student to recall information.  Prior knowledge and experiences are important.

In constructivism, learners must build their learning using their environment.  Reflection is a key tool in this process.

It is important to understand how and when to use all of these theories in a classroom to properly support student learning and assessment.  This is my main take away from our discussion.  Whatever strategies we utilize in the classroom, they must be thoughtfully planned, implemented and justified--whether or not we choose to use technology.  One of the things I most look forward to in my teaching practice is the opportunity to try new things in the classroom, after careful consideration, and figure out what works for my students!