Edutopia

I checked out http://www.edutopia.org/groups/special-ed
I saw a place where teachers and others involved in special education services can support each other, discuss topics and share information. Some of the topics recently discussed are: "Building Parent/Teacher relationships", "Self Contained Classrooms", "Should Special Education Students Participate in Standardized Testing?" and "Inclusion Help". Teachers and others who work with special education can join this "community" and discuss many different topics that can help each other while working in this field. I think I might want to join in this group. I may get a new job as a special ed. assistant or a one on one in the future and it would be a good idea getting ideas and information to help with any difficulties in the classroom.

"Great Skype Batman!"

So Little Miss Nelly introduced me to Skype life the other day. At first, we skyped by type, but I said, "Hey, I bought this microphone to be able to skype, what do I do to hear you?" So she educated me. Nelly is a whiz at this. She skypes to family out of the country. At first, we discussed how difficult it was to find time to work on our unit plan with work and other classes homework too. Then I said, hey! Where is your unit plan, I'd like to see it. So she sent it to me on skype. I didn't know you could do that! She told me that on some computers you can also see the other person. We didn't try that though. I don't think my computer has a visual thingy on it. If a sick or special needs student couldn't physically come to school, with a webcam and Skype, they could still participate visually and verbally with other students or the teacher. Also, if the teacher set it up, the students could possibly skype with students in another country. Neato! Technology, wow!

Let's Toast, To the Meta-Post!

I know, corny title, but it got your attention right? Maybe someone will be interested and want to read it. Maybe someone will post a comment to it!? Looking back on my past blogging, I can see that I've treated it like an assignment.(Well, da Toni) Very few really have any personality in them. In all but three of them, I've just been answering questions to the best of my ability. In "Well, Isn't That Delicious", I was writing in the mindset of unorganization and relief that my stepdaughter came over to give me a hand. She has been a Godsend. In the "After Action Report", I was very disappointed and bummed out about the group project. In "Blog 1" I was actually amazed that I was able to create a blog. I suppose the blogs I enjoy doing, are the ones that are left open for me to be my silly, joking self. Humor about mistakes and stresses in life is what makes life bearable sometimes. (Did you know that laughter is good for the bowel?)(Just try it sometime when you get constipated!)

"Integrating Technology in the Classroom"

http://powertolearn.typepad.com/teaching_with_technology/integrating_technology/

I listened to the podcast called: "Trends for 2010" by Jim Lengel. To access it, I started at blackboard week 9-10, under Podcasting and Education. Then on "Where to Find Podcasts Page", I clicked on, "Teaching With Technology Podcasts" and that is where I saw, "Trends for 2010".

In this podcast, Mr. Lengel speaks about how teachers are integrating technology into the classroom more each day. They are allowing students to bring in their laptops and other devices to use in the classroom. Teachers are more carefully preparing their presentations with interactive questioning and media. In their lectures they are using online companions so the students will be occupied while they are on their laptops. Teachers are seeing that they don't need to always be the center of attention in the classroom. With technology, the students can focus on content and ideas instead of the teacher. At Killingly High School, each of the students carry a laptop to every class. The middle schools in New York City all have smartboards in their classrooms. Many young students go home with new stories and texts on their iPod or Kindle. With an iPod, a projector the same size, and a short cable, a teacher can present slides, and show student work. One iPod can hold hundreds of books. All of these would be great to have in the classroom. I chose this podcast because it showed me how much it could aid a teacher in getting her lessons understood by all of her students and not just a few. I would recommend this podcast to others because it shows just how important technology is when used in the classroom.

YouTube, "SMART Technology, SMART BOARD Video Contest Winner"

I chose this video because I could see the many different ways that the teacher was able to use this in the classroom. The teacher could use it for so many different subjects, and also use it to access how much the students have learned so far. I think it could be used in my unit plan, by having many different body parts on the screen, and also have the words mixed up under the pictures for the students to match together. They would be having fun and learning at the same time. Possible obstacles one may face using this is, that it would need to be monitored to make sure the children do not put an inappropriate video on the screen. That might cause quite a ruckuss!

A Database For Kids

KidsKnowIt.com has a database for kids. It's a free children's learning network. The different categories it teaches are: The Human Body, Outer Space, Dinosaurs, Geography, History, Math, Spelling, Memory, Geology, and Chemistry. The children will want to use it for fun, not even realizing how much they will be learning in the meantime! The NETS they will be acheiving are: Creativity and Innovation, Communication and Collaboration, Digital Citizenship, and Technology Operations and Concepts. The only disadvantages I could see, would be not enough computers in the classroom, or not enough time for all of them to be able to use it each day!

Word Processor For Kids

At applefritter.com teachers and parents can find a word processor for kids called "TykeWriter". This aids children in reading and writing. It's fun for them to use and easy to learn. Children will be excited to see their own writing in print or hear TykeWriter read it back to them. Teachers can change the level setting for each student. It can be used with the keyboard or with the mouse and on-screen alphabet. For NETS it supplies, creativity and innovation, communication and collaboration, digital citizenship, and technology operations and concepts.

A Spreadsheet For Kindergarten

An idea I had to use a spreadsheet in the kindergarten classroom, is having the students help me create a bar graph representing the different eye colors in the class. I could have all of the children with brown eyes go to one corner of the room. The blue eyed children go to the second corner, the green eyed children to the third corner, and the hazel eyed to the last corner. We can count the number of each and write this down. Then we will make a graph together, showing our results. More than likely, this will be their first time in seeing and understanding a bar graph.

"The Magic School Bus" review

"The Magic School Bus", is a wonderful web based tool to use in teaching children. The ages it can teach would be from 3 years to 10 years old. Considering the cognitive level of the child, it may be a little younger to a little older than these ages. This tool contains themes such as: Animals, Archeology, Dinosaurs, Earth Science, Environment, Five Senses, Forces & Motion, Insects, Kitchen Science, Life Science, Machines & Building, Physical Science, Plants & Ecology, Power & Energy, Space, The Human Body, Water & Ocean, and Weather. I found a real neat fingerprint activity in this tool to use in my "Body Parts" unit. The interaction in this, could easily be used with a typical child or special needs student. I believe it would help in encouraging Autistic children to interact more. For children who learn through sight, auditory, and kinesthetics it is an especially good learning tool. The only disadvantage I could see in this tool is that all of the children will want a chance every day to use it, and with a normal sized classroom this wouldn't be possible. The teacher will have to set up time limits and chances for all who want to use it. The "Magic School Bus" is a fun, exciting, and entertaining learning tool.

Software Recommendation

I have come upon an exciting discovery for learning for our students. It is in the form of software for our computers here in our classrooms. It is called GenkiEnglish. There are many different CDs with many different themes incorporated into them. It contains lesson plans, worksheets, flashcards, clipart, games, songs, and activities. There are vocabulary games, conversation games, learning english games etc. There are activities and songs for all themes. The various subject areas it includes are: body parts, animals, occupations, bigger vs smaller, slow vs fast, counting, Christmas, knowing left from right, money, weather, names, courtesy, vegetables, where are you from?, flavors, numbers, telling time, family, food, super heros, clothes, holidays, colors, age, sports, months of the year, transportation, pets, and the sea. The grade level begins with kindergarten and goes to Jr.High. I recommend that we purchase this complete package which comes to $302.00. You can read all about it on genkienglish.net. It's truly a fun way to learn!

Well, isn't that Delicious?

Well, isn't that Delicious?

Well, after floundering around a few days unsure of what to do with this "Delicious" thing, my husband called my beautiful stepdaughter to come over and save the day. She came over and looked around at the piles of papers that I'd printed to try to get organized and understand this stuff. She said, "Uh, where is your syllabus?" Then she said, "Where's your list of assignments?" I said, "I don't know but somewhere among these papers there has to be directions on how to do "Delicious". She said, "How to do what?". So we spent the night learning together and bonding. What I least liked about it was probably the awful feeling that I might not ever figure it out. What I most liked about it was finishing it and realizing that sleep was not too far away. I suppose a group project could benefit from having this. My stepdaughter told me that she wanted to tell a teacher from her past about it. She said that it could help teachers. I don't think I personally would use it in the classroom because I really like simple things. I also do not plan on being a lead teacher in the classroom. I am interested in being an assistant in public school or a one on one for a special needs child in public school, or maybe I'll just stay in the infant room at Easter Seals U.C.P. I love working with special needs children and babies. It's really strange. The further along I come with technology, the less I like it!

Mobile Computing Devices

What I learned about the Mobile Computing Devices this week really impressed me. They would be very advantageous for classrooms to have. The i-Pod Touches are generating higher test scores for students. Children can practice reading into them and it records their voices. They can play it back and evaluate their own reading. The Apple i'Pod Touch and Microsoft Zune can be used to learn Algebra. That's great news! I also liked viewing the classroom where all of the students were given a mouse to play "Mouse Mischief". The teacher can interact with all of her students and they can interact with her. She can also see which students are the most involved. All of them can interact on a screen in front of the class. The children really looked like they were enjoying their learning experiences. Learning should be fun!

NETS: To Communicate and Collaborate

This week in our discussion board, we discussed a teachers' lesson plans and activities she had put together for her classroom. Sybert's lesson plans were on "Dinosaurs". I really thought it was great how she incorporated math, language, reading, science, music and history in her unit. For example, in Science she had the students research on the internet about dinosaurs to find out which ones were plant eaters and which were meat eaters. She incorporated Math, by having the children use their calculators to figure out the height, length, and weight of these dinosaurs. They also worked in groups with tape measures to figure out the length of them. I think all of us in the discussion board were impressed with Sybert's lesson plans. I was especially impressed that the students were able to use a Smartboard Notebook and create a power point presentation. I am sure her students learned a lot in this unit and also had fun doing it.

After Action Report

In our group project, I will have to admit that it was kind of like the blind trying to lead the blind. We couldn't ever seem to figure out how to communicate. I tried to communicate, but I did everything wrong and I guess none of us really knew how to. The real bummer is that I stayed out of work a day working on it, and I don't think anyone ever got my information in the e-mails I sent. I thought -"If I can just get this info. to someone in my group, maybe they will know how to get it in the paper". I'm not blaming anyone. I'm as guilty as anyone else. We didn't know what to do, so we hoped someone else would, and take the lead. Personally, I prefer individual assignments because if I fail, I fail alone and I don't drag anyone down with me. Group assignments in a classroom work better because it's much easier to communicate. We can plan when we're together and show each other what we have so far. We can assign areas for each of us to research. I don't have any recommendations for the next group project. To be perfectly honest, I'm hoping we don't have another. Congratulations to those who did well on their groups. I take my hat off to you ladies and gentlemen! How did you do it?

Identifying Lesson Topics

Teachers should use a year long planning framework to identify their lesson topics. This gives sequential, integrated, continual and cumulative learning. Teachers can ensure that all curriculum objectives are met.

Meeting the Needs of All Students

Teachers planning to meet the needs of all students do this by using curriculum, rules, instruction, materials and the environment. The curriculum should include both oral and written exams and include both group and individual work. Rules must be simple and implicit. Instruction needs to include class discussion lectures, note taking and models. The materials that would be needed would be spell checkers, graphic organizers and audiotapes of textbooks. The environment needs good seating arrangement, accommodated furniture and no distractions such as noise or window views.

Instructional Cycle

There are three stages to the instructional cycle. In the first stage, we have the "Intended Instructional Outcomes". Teachers identify the content standards and benchmarks. These standards are then translated into measurable learning outcomes.
In the second stage, we have "Planning". The teacher will plan effective teaching strategies and instructional activities.
In the third stage we have "Assessment". The teacher will implement assessments to see if students have met the intended learning outcomes.

Components of Good Assessment

Three components of a good assessment would be, general characteristics, specific entry competencies and learning styles. Once you have completed these for each student, you should have a good assessment.

Adapting Instruction

Adapting instruction is important. Teachers who have used individual learning programs based on learning styles have seen improvement in discipline, attitude and academic achievement. By using this, a teacher is adapting the instructions to meet the individual needs of each student.

Information - Processing Model

Students learn and process information differently. There are four learning categories. They are, concrete sequential learners, Concrete random learners, Abstract sequential learners and abstract random learners.
Concrete sequential learners learn better with direct hands on experiences such as structured laboratory exercises, demonstrations, computer based instruction, and workbooks.
Concrete random learners learn from trial and error or from exploratory experiences. They learn best from discovery learning, projects, independent study, simulations and games.
Abstract sequential learners learn best by decoding symbolic and verbal messages in logical sequence. They do well with reading and listening to presentations.
Abstract random learners learn best from human mediated presentations. They respond to the style and tone of the speaker. It is best to use audiovisual learning experiences, question and answer periods, lectures, and group discussions.

Learning Characteristics

Teachers need to understand characteristics of each student to meet his or her needs. Characteristics include gender, ethnicity, interests, attitudes, age, and experiences. It is a good idea to review academic records of students to be able to design and implement lessons that meet the needs of each one. As an example - When our students represent multiple ethnic groups, it is important to have instructional materials and examples that give priority to cultural values and identity.

Content Standards

When putting together our standards and learning objectives, we must ask ourselves, "What learning outcome do we want our students to achieve by the end of the topic?" We need to take our objectives of curriculum and technology standards from those established at the school district, state and national level. These give general descriptions of expected student performance.

The Ideal Classroom

I believe in the ideal classroom, the teacher would use a variety of instructional strategies. Studies have shown that it is not the media or technology that facilitates learning, but the instructional strategies. As children learn in different ways, this teacher should use demonstration, cooperative learning, presentation, simulation, problem solving, discovery, tutorial, and a little drill and practice.
Thematic Instruction is being used by many teachers today. They organize their instruction around themes or topics. To be a good theme it must get and hold a student's attention, support interdisciplinary activities, provide problem solving experiences, and include a variety of media and technology.
Student-centered activities are wonderful learning tools in technology and the media. These also allow teachers time to spend consulting with individual students, correcting and diagnosing student problems and teaching in small groups.
As we are told in our text- "Students are no longer limited to the confines of the classroom. Through the school media center and computer networks such as the Internet, the world becomes each student's classroom."
Information taken from our text-"Instructional Technology and Media for Learning".

"How People Learn", The IRIS Modules

Learner centered instruction should:
1. Contain subject-related problems or challenges.
2. Ask for students thoughts and ideas about how to solve the problem.
3. Ask students to explain reasons behind their thinking.

At Easter Seals/UCP Cape Fear Children's Center, I work in the infant room. Their ages are from 6 weeks to 1 year. A Learner centered activity I use with them is, "Find the Animal". I will show them one of the small soft plastic animals we have and say over and over to them, the name of that animal. Then I will put it on the carpet and lay a recieving blanket over it and ask them, "Where is the (example) dog?" I will pick up the blanket and say, "There is the dog". After a few month's of doing this with different animals, I will see one of the children take the blanket off of the animal and try to say the name of the animal or say something like, "Der is".
Elements that knowledge-centered instruction should contain is:
1. Subject matter aligned with relevant standards.
2. Organized around ideas that matter to students.
3. Focused on information and activities that help learners develop an understanding of a subject or discipline.
4. It promotes learning about available resources and how to use them.
5. It produces knowledge and skills that are organized and connected.
Two types of assessments that should be included in assessment centered instruction is formative assessment and summative assessment. Formative assessment measures learning progress in order to encourage reflection and revision. Summative assessment is designed to measure the results of learning.
Community centeredness is important to student learning because it fosters values and norms that promote lifelong learning and it contributes to the aligning of students and instructors course expectations.
A community centered activity I've been involved in the past was the Cumberland Oratorio Singers. Often, the music we performed was in another language. We performed in the community.
Once a year the Educational Coordinator of our center evaluates the teachers. She will discuss with us at length about our evaluation. Throughout the year she guides us and comments on our instruction. The children I care for are not old enough to become self evaluative. I can assess their skills by observing them and writing the observations down. I put them in the Creative Curriculum online and I make new goals for them based on the observations.

Much of my information for my blog was found in our IRIS modules.

Blog 1

Maybe I did it this time! "By George I think I've got it!" It's a miracle, I created a blog! or a monster! One of the two I'm sure.
Ah yes, my goals for this course would be to learn what podcasts, i-pods, i-pads, twitter and some other terms mean. I need to learn to copy and paste with ease, and learn to put pictures from a digital camera onto the computer. Most of all, I need to learn all I can about technology to better teach children.
This will be quite a challenge for me because I have avoided newer technology most of my life. I can basically use a cell phone, but have never text anyone. I have taken a few online courses, but some of the experiences made me want to throw the computer out of the window. (That's normal right?)
My first impressions for this course are that I'm a little overwhelmed and can see that this will be quite a challenge for me.