EDCI 5825 Final Questions

How your view of instructional technology has or has not changed over the course of the semester?

I have gained general experience and knowledge about the types of technology that is available and how it can be appropriately incorporated into the classroom. I feel more comfortable with challenging myself to use new technology. 

The quality and appropriateness of what you have learned/created this semester.

As I've mentioned in some of my rubric reflection questions, I think for the Special Education teacher specifically the tools we've utilized in this class will be particularly useful with language arts. The SMART board activities provide auditory, visual and kinesthetic experiences, which are essential to language learning. The class Wiki is also appropriate for us to use with our classes and to serve as a forum for parents.  

Evaluation of your comfort moving forward with technology.

I'm more confident than I was at the beginning of the semester, but I think the biggest challenge is the short timeframe of our classes. I would have liked to incorporate technology in a more meaningful way, but due to the semester being only 6 weeks long, it was difficult to spend the appropriate amount of time on each tool.

EDCI 5825 Week Six

I really enjoyed and benefited from reading the blogs of my peers, especially the "Good Teacher" post from last week's EDCI 5065 class.  While all of us had our own definitions of what makes a good teacher, common themes existed throughout our group.  Most of us mentioned how our own values play a huge role in the way we teach, how we are role models for our students, how we need to be inspiring and encouraging, how we need to value the backgrounds and needs of each individual, how learning should be meaningful and purposeful.  It is essentially important that we stimulate interest and elicit emotional responses from our students to optimally engage them in lessons (the idea of hot cognition).  Most importantly in my opinion is the notion that our attitudes define how our students perceive us, and how we perceive them: that modeling positivity and optimism have a tremendous impact on the classroom.  Kaitlyn's "Good Teacher" post describes this perfectly:


"A smile is a curve that often sets things straight. A good teacher always smiles because she wants to show that she is content to work with her students. Positivity. Optimism. She achieves the objectives for the day and provides a purpose for learning. She connects the curriculum with the students experiences in order to make the material relevant. "

EDCI 5825 Week Five

I explored most of the websites on the resource list and I think that many of them could be used in my future classroom.  However, there are three that I definitely plan to use. 

UConn Literacy & Technology Integration

On this site, I am particularly interested in the information on graphic organizers and subsequently the link to The Graphic Organizer.  This website has a variety of graphic organizer tools available for use as well as tools that provide help in creating one’s own.  As a Special Education teacher, my job will often require me to help students find tools to better organize and manage data.  Graphic organizers can serve as beneficial support tools to these students, particularly those with specific learning disabilities involving language, literacy and comprehension.  The organizers and concept maps found on this site “are powerful tools that can be used to enhance learning and create a foundation for learning” (The Graphic Organizer, 2010). 

Netiquette

Due to the nature of my classes, I will probably incorporate a good deal of internet safety, responsible behavior/online decorum information into my lessons as many of them will involve interacting with classmates and peers online.  This site is a web-version of Netiquette by Virginia Shea that shares guidelines and suggestions for online interaction and proposes the best ways to present oneself in web forums, both for business and social purposes.  This book could be referenced not only for lessons on internet safety, but also throughout the school year when students are 1) collaborating online for projects, 2) interacting with other classrooms and 3) during self-advocacy practice when students are learning the best ways to communicate with future peers and how to seek resources and assistance. 

Internet4Classrooms

The last site that is of particular interest to me is internet4classrooms.com.  As I browsed around the site, I found a link to lesson plans and resources focused on students with special needs, including gifted and talented.  Also many of the lesson plans are adaptable and easy to modify as needed.  Throughout the TCPCG program to date, it has been difficult to find plans adapted specifically for Special Education purposes.  Resources that I’ve come across tend to be narrow in focus and limited to students with certain disabilities.  On this site, the plans can easily be manipulated to accommodate students with special needs, including those that are gifted.  Because I will be instructing students in a number of different content areas, this tool is helpful because the lesson plans are easy to find, easy to modify and also there are templates included on the site to assist in new lesson plan creation.  

References

Graphic.org.  (n.d.) The graphic organizer.  Retrieved from http://www.graphic.org/

Internet4Classrooms.com. (2010). Lesson plan resources K-12. Retrived from http://www.internet4classrooms.com/lesson.htm

Shea, Virginia (2004). Netiquette. Retrieved from http://www.albion.com/netiquette/book/0963702513p4.html 

EDCI 5065 Week Five T2P

If teachers understand the relationship of the cognitive and physiological functions involved the exhibition of teenage behaviors, they are better able to provide meaningful instruction and appropriate behavioral supports.  Teachers that are able to see the connections between a student's behavior and the potential physiological activity occurring will be able to assess how to best help the student manage that behavior, which will in turn result in a more positive learning experience.  Daniel Goleman says that managing ones emotions, and understanding the emotions of peers results in more meaningful learning, increased interest in the school environment and decreased high-risk activity (i.e. unprotected sex, drug abuse, violence, bullying, etc.).  When a teacher fully understands the underlying causes/triggers of a student's behavior, and he/she responds appropriately, that teacher is exhibiting empathy and providing a model to that student of how to value the feelings of others.   As a result of feeling valued, the student is more likely to have positive engagement in school activities and less likely to exhibit the undesirable behaviors mentioned above.  

A Good Teacher...

A good teacher is someone who exhibits fairness, honesty, compassion and empathy.  She is flexible and adaptable and willing to stray from "the plan" when lessons aren't engaging students.  She is truly interested in learning about her students, their interests and their goals, then structures her lessons and classroom activities around those interests.  She is able to address state and district standards while still maintaining an environment that fosters critical thinking, openness, autonomy and respectful debate.  A good teacher also recognizes when a student is struggling and intervenes as soon as possible to ensure that student maintains a sense of purpose and accomplishment in class.  She creates connections between students and their peers, and connections between content and prior knowledge.




Revised Week Four T2P 

(1) If there is an expectation that students are intrinsically motivated to learn,(2) then instructional practices can lend themselves to students' freedom to research and seek information independently (3) because the teacher is creating an environment in which it is encouraged.  (4) Through independent, self-directed research, students gain competency as well as autonomy because their actions are valued by the teacher.  In the case of Vicki Davis, she not only encourages her students to look up information that they do not know (or that will enhance their educational experience), she had made it clear by her actions that she expects them to take the initiative to do so.  In relation to self-determination theory, the elements of high-level motivation that she is fostering, will lead to enhanced performance, curiosity, critical thinking and problem solving skills.  Students who are curious, critical thinkers will be more likely to be socially responsible as they progress into adulthood. By preparing students to question, interact and actively seek information, they will be better able to make informed decisions as adults.

1) If statement

2) Then statement

3) Because statement

4) Evidence/Relation to theory

5) Moral implication

6) Additions in Week 5 

EDCI 5825 Week Four

I benefited greatly from researching the assigned websites this week, because I hope to have the opportunity to use most of this technology as an educator of students with special needs.  Of particular interest to me are the speech generating devices (SGD) and Alternative and Augmentative Communications (AAC).  This technology allows students to communicate in alternative means when they are unable to communicate effectively through traditional methods. For example, a student with autism may be unable to verbally communicate their thoughts and needs.  With the help of AAC, students with autism are able to use symbols and pictures in lieu of written or spoken words.  ACC programs and applications are readily accessible and can be added to iPhones, iPads and other handheld devices, making them affordable and portable. “These AAC apps come with pre-installed symbols with messages and allow the user to add pictures and messages. Some use text to speech and others use recorded audio” (Wikipedia, 2011). 

A student with a hearing impairment would benefit from the use of speech-to-text software.  As the teacher speaks aloud, the speech is translated into text and can be read by the student.  Again, there are programs/applications available on iPhones, iPads, and other eReaders that make this technology portable and accessible.

A student with low vision would benefit from the use of two technologies: the E-reader, and Digital Accessible Information Systems (DAISY).  An E-reader has several functions that can aid a student with visual impairments, including adjustable text sizes and grayscale and text-to-speech.  However, the user is limited in that these accessibility features do not extend to the menu functions (Wikipedia, 2011).  DAISY books, or talking books, are suitable for students with more severe visual impairments because not only does the text-to-speech function allow them to read, they are also capable of navigating menu functions.  Also, an added benefit to DAISY books is that any Microsoft user can save their files in a DAISY-compatible format.

If a child has a physical disability that limits the use of the hands or arms (such as a broken arm), Speech Recognition Software can be helpful in producing typed materials, managing software programs, and doing online research.  The child is able to speak verbally, and the software will transcribe the words to text.  A limitation of this software is that because the “nature of narrative dictation is highly interpretive [it] requires judgment that [must] be provided by a real human” (Wikipedia, 2011).  In order for the transcription to be an accurate display of the spoken word, it must often be revised by another person.  It is also a time-intensive process to train the software to recognize the tone and intonation of a particular person.

Overall, these technologies have impacts that are far-reaching, and are beneficial for use with students with disabilities. 

Reference

Wikipedia. (2011). Assistive technology in education.  Retrieved from http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Assistive_Technology_in_Education

EDCI 5065 Week Four

Expansion of Week Three T2P Statement: 

(1) If students are actively engaged in a group activity where they share prior knowledge and unique approaches to a similar task, (2) the sharing of those perspectives can facilitate learning among the group. (3) Each group member can enrich the discussion by sharing, and also by questioning the other participants. In this situation, the students themselves are guiding the learning process, and the instructor serves as the facilitator/moderator when support is needed. (4) Vygotsky's theory of social-cultural learning supports this small-group instructional model and suggests that each member of the group contributes to the learning process by acting as the more knowledgable other (MKO) to the other group members.  (5) In this setting, the teacher is creating an environment where individual perspectives are valued and considered to be an essential contribution to the learning process, and as a result students gain confidence, self-worth and are more likely to feel comfortable participating productively in group activities. 


1) If statement
2) Then statement
3) Because statement
4) Evidence/Relation to theory
5) Moral implication




T2P Practice - Self-Determination


(1) If there is an expectation that students are intrinsically motivated to learn, (2) then instructional practices can lend themselves to students' freedom to research and seek information independently (3) because the teachers is creating an environment in which it is encouraged.  (4) Through independent, self-directed research, students gain competency as well as autonomy because their actions are valued by the teacher.  In the case of Vicki Davis, she not only encourages her students to look up information that they do not know (or that will enhance their educational experience), she had made it clear by her actions that she expects them to take the initiative to do so.  In relation to self-determination theory, the elements of high-level motivation that she is fostering, will lead to enhanced performance, curiosity, critical thinking and problem solving skills.  

1) If statement

2) Then statement

3) Because statement

4) Evidence/Relation to theory

5) Moral implication

T2P Reflection
The activities we did and the discussion we had for the beginning portion of the class today served as clarification for us (students) on the expectations of our T2P statements.  It was evident by the current state of our T2P posts that further explanation was need, so the instructional plan for today's class was modified to accomodate the time needed for this activity.  Even though content needed to be pushed back to next week's class, it was incredibly beneficial to us all to have this extra discussion to alleviate the collective confusion.  After a clear framework was presented, it became much easier to focus on the meaning of our T2P statements rather then the convention.  By including this discussion in today's class, GNA demonstrated that she wanted us to feel more confident in our posts while still being challenged to stretch ourselves to gain a deeper sense of our own pedagogy.  It is clear that this experience was mutually beneficial to us as students, and to GNA as our instructor, and supports that GNA's pedagogical framework includes creating an environment where her students can feel free to acknowledge when they are struggling, and know that they have support if needed.

More T2P Practice

(1) If students require additional information regarding expectations, guidelines or conventions of completing a task, (2) then spending extra time and resources to work through this need are well spent and more meaningful learning can occur. (3) Students are better able to focus on the task at hand because a reasonable framework as been provided and the instructor can better assess the needs of the group and direct the instructional plan to utilize class time where it is needed most.  (4) There are elements of Vygotsky's social cultural learning in this statement, including the role of the teacher in ensuring that independent and group work is most productive by providing support and guidance when needed.  Also, David Hansen's theory of moral appraisal and mutual respect relate to GNA's desire to ensure all students are confident in their interpretations of the content covered, and willingness to adjust the lesson to include additional supports.  The actions being modeled by the instructor create an environment of mutual respect between teacher and students. 

1) If statement

2) Then statement

3) Because statement

4) Evidence/Relation to theory

5) Moral implication

Learning Theories Spreadsheet (work in progress)