Blog Post #3

education (Photo credit: Sean MacEntee)Technology in Special Education
Technology today has helped change the teaching process in so many ways. Special Education teachers who use technology in the classroom can allow students to interact with each other. Not only can students interact with each but they feel like they are contributing to the class.  While that students are learning new vocabulary words they are also learning how to use the computer or laptops and even how to use different apps.  With the many advancements it is important to include technology in special education classes.  This gives special education students the opportunity to participate in with the learning process.

While watching the video Technology in Special Education, I noticed that some of the students said that they were able to go faster when using there laptops or computers.  One student said that he made his text larger so he can see it better, this made him read faster.  Another student said that the she liked using the keyboard because it didn't take as long.  All of these students seemed to very excited about being able to do there work and keeping up.  I am glad the teacher is implementing a technology base classroom, it makes learning so much fun.

How the iPad Works with Academics for Autism

After going to Apple.Education Apps.com, I saw several apps that I could use.  I few of them may depend on the age the children.  The I Dress for weather, app teaches them what the weather is like during different seasons.  Children are being taught the different seasons and also learning what to wear during those seasons.  All children need to know that you don't wear sweaters in the summer on bathing suits or swim trunks during the winter.  My favorite app was the ABC Sight Words Writing.  I like this app because it was helping students to read, spell and write.  This was a free app and will down load for later use.

There were several Apps that could be used in the classroom. With so many choices it would be really hard for a teacher to narrow down.  In order to choose which one of the apps to use in the classroom, a teacher would have to find out what criteria or standards need to be met.  Some of these apps would be good for parents to use at home to help enhance what the teacher has taught through out the day.

Social Media Count
When I viewed on the Social Media Count and saw how fast the numbers were going up, I had to back out of it and look at again.  The number of people that use facebook per second is unbelievable. Facebook numbers where so high I had to see if these numbers were really real.  Since they were so high I thought the numbers were from the past.  i just couldn't believe that the numbers were increasing by the second.

With there being so many Social networks available now, what will we be using in 2022 & 2032.  The networking system has already changed the way people do things.  Most people use SMS or facebok to communicate.  I often wonder if teachers will start teaching students how to socially communicate.  Right now I find myself asking what something stands for in a text.  Will social networking have its on class in the education system?

A Vision For Students Today
This was a very meaningful video.  No voices just words.  A Vision For Students Today, expressed how the students felt about the things that were going on around them.  Each student had a voice but by using words only.  This is a good message to get across to other people.

Blog Post #2

Did you know?

I watched both of the videos several times and both were very exciting to watch. When I watched Dr. Strange's version I was so excited to see how all this information was but together with the music I couldn't read what the information was about. The music added drama to the video; it was as if you were waiting for something to happen. I must admit that when I watched the videos for the second time the information had me thinking. As a teacher in 2022 what new gadgets or social networks will I be using to help teach students? Will there be video classrooms, where everybody just signs in with their computers. I know we are doing online classes but will Skype, and ooVoo, be a platform for our future classrooms. Although this may open doors in further communication with other countries, but is the direction were going in. I have a seventeen year old that is trying to make a career decision for college after graduation in 2013. What jobs will be available to her if she doesn't major in something that is in demand when she graduates from college.

It has always been said that the education in other countries was far better than ours in the U.S. When you look at some of these numbers I ask, what can educators do to increase our IQ numbers in the U.S.? With the technology world growing so fast, how can we keep up? Should we start teaching children to use some of these gadgets, when they learn how to walk? Do we allow them to use the social networks pre-school.

Mr. Winkle Wakes

To sleep for 100 years, is the same as sleeping your life away. Technology changes so fast,that not keeping up with it is like sleeping. When you don't stay on top of the different technology you are left behind. I will admit it was a while (a few years) before I knew what "facebook" and "twitter" was, but with two children in the house I thought it was necessary for me to keep up. Most people don't realize just how important it is to keep up with some of the basic technology. Technology is everywhere it not going to leave it in your home, in your cars, the grocery stores etc. The only way technology will be changed is by adding something else to it and by that, I mean making one product better. For instance, when Mr. Winkle walked into the hospital it made him sick because I didn't look the same as It did 100 years ago, if I had walked and it looked 100 years old, I would be worried. I don't think anybody wants to go into a hospital that has outdated equipment. Although it appeared to Mr. Winkle that the students were being taught the same as a 100 years ago he would have been sick again if he knew they were not.

Don't let the new technology get you down, do something to keep up. There are always places you can go and take classes. There are classes that are just for the Senior Citizens, because they need to how things are going to work. I tell my parents all the time to take some of these classes, so they will know what is going on. I remember when my daughter set my mother's laptop up with ooVoo and Skype, both of my parents thought it was so amazing that they could talk to us from the computer and be able to see us. They also have classes for the younger children. Even though some of the younger children can tell you how to operate some of the new gadgets it still is a good idea to put them in classes, you may learn something also.

Sir Ken Robinson: The Importance of Creativity

I had the opportunity of watching a smaller version of this video last semester. Sir Robinson says that "Creativity is just as important as literacy." You have to give children the chance to be creative. I think the question that was posed to us in Art Education was "Are schools killing creativity?" When we tell children that their ideas are wrong, what exactly are we saying them? Teachers and parents often tell students when they are doing projects to explore their minds. When students come up with their ideas and what to create them we tell them it is wrong or they can't do it. Therefore, when a child is told he or she is wrong their creativity has been killed.

If teachers and schools can put emphasizes on literacy why isn't it extended to creativity? Why are we limiting our children to be creative? Everything we use in this world today is somebody's creation. Children have their own way of being creative, as Sir Robinson said children will take a chance. As we become adults we are not willing to take many of the chances anymore. It is up to us parents, relatives and instructors to help our kids be creative.

A Vision for 21st Century Learning

The main idea of this video is to change and come up with new ideas of teaching our students.
This is a chance to put a little creativity in or children education process. Our education system has to move from the "Mass Standardization," although it may have worked in the pass, teachers and instructors will need to create new ideas to get the information out. I believe this is what Dr. Strange considers to be, "birth back education." However, the statement, "Students come in as raw material," means that teachers can add to them what is needed. When can use whatever method needed to get the information across.

The idea of children learning a different language and learning social studies through video games is great. Since most children are playing video games while in preschool why not make the games useful. If this is what it takes to get our children to learn without complaining I'm all for it. Since we know that technology is critical to establish jobs in 2022 we must establish something that will empower our children.

Vicki Davis: Harness Your Students' Digital Smarts

Ms Davis makes sure her students are involved in learning process in this technology class. In this class she said her students were, "learning how to learn." Ms. Davis is aware that she or all her students know how to do it all but they are taught by each other. With the programs and software available you pretty much have to get on them and start using them. With some of the programs suggested to be used in EDM310, many are new to me. I know I will have to get on it and just figure out how things will work. Dr. Strange has said to us "If we don't know how, we will find out." Nothing that I have done so far would have been easy for me by just reading it out of a textbook.  Even though we did have instructions, I still didn't get it until I actually did it.

When you make students do the research on their own, you get different results.  If I had to read the book on how to do some of things, I don't think I would know how to do it. A lot of it I didn't understand until I actually got it to work and I had to do it a second time to make sure I understood what I was doing. The  hands on experience and the research was a better approach for this class to take.  Once the students got the information and implemented the task themselves they felt comfortable enough to teach it to the class, you can only do this when you know how to do something.