There is certainly a great deal more information available about AT than I realized. Since the main resource we were given was for chidren ages 5-11, I searched for resources applicable to older students. I also looked for resources that would help students that I currently teach.
Assistive Technology for Children with Autism
http://www.specialed.us/autism/assist/asst10.htm
While I don't currently have any autistic students, I have in the past. This website is excellent. Like the podcast, the technology is divided into low, mid, and high tech. There are also suggestions for implementation.
University of Georgia Educational Technology Center Website
http://ttc.coe.uga.edu/link-high.html
This site has tons of links. Some are for AT and some are for technology that could be used in the classroom and perhaps adapted for AT. Many of the links are similar to ones found on other sites, but I like how they are all in one place. This is also geared for middle and high school teachers so it leaves out the technologies more appropriate for elementary.
Standard Technology Tools Checklist for Middle and High School
http://assistivetech.sf.k12.sd.us/middle_and_high.htm
This site is quite similar to the UGA site in terms of content; however, it sorts technology by subject and skill. You can scroll to Math or Social Skills and find all applicable technology. This is fabulous when looking for a technology to help a student with a certain skill.
Kurzweil 3000
http://www.kurzweiledu.com/kurz3000.aspx
Several of my dyslexic students use this program. I didn't really know much about how the program worked until I read the site. The students who use Kurzweil swear by it. If your district doesn't have it, encourage them to get it.
LD Online: Technology
http://www.ldonline.org/indepth/technology
I would imagine many parents and students use this site. There are links to articles, new products, and information about how to obtain AT. It is always good to know what the parents are reading and expect. The first article I read was about commercial products as AT. One suggestion was smart phones. I have been encouraging my students to use apps on their phone for organization, dictionary, etc. I've also seen several IEPs where students were supposed to be allowed access to organizational and instructional apps.
Saturday, October 17, 2009
Saturday, October 10, 2009
Topic 10. Tech Skills Outcomes
My tech skills were not highly advanced when I began this class, but I was not completely lacking them either. I'm fairly knowledgeable about Word, Promethean programs, and using the internet. The atomic learning survey led me to realize I needed to learn more about Excel and video editing.
Six weeks into this course, I think I've learned a great deal already. I've used atomic learning for tutorials on Promethean software in order to enhance my presentations. I'm also in the process of improving my spreadsheet and database skills using atomic learning. Earlier this week I gave a technology survey to my students. I'm in the process of organizing the data in a spreadsheet and database. Hopefully, I'll be able to share the results on the blog soon.
This course has made me think more about incorporating technology every few days. Through the textbooks, reading posts, and the e-mails I get from subscribing to technology sites, I've discovered a plethora of new technology ideas. I surveyed my students last week to see what technology they would like to use in class. I'm excited to start implementing some of their suggestions. I've also found I'm more willing to explore and figure things out with technology. In the past someone would recommend a website or I would have an idea, but I would file the suggestions or ideas away. Now I go directly to the site and check it out. The other day I though of a song the students would like that went along with the lesson. I immediately found the song on YouTube. Then I figured out how to turn a picture in my flipchart into an action button. When I clicked on the picture it launched the video! The students were impressed and I was excited.
Reading Angela's blog, I came up with an idea. One of the barriers to using technology for me is that the students don't have the technology skills we assume they do. I'm considering teaching a 5 minute lesson at the beginning of class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I think my first topic will be opening and saving a file from Moodle. The second topic would be a few skills relating to formatting a document in Word that the students need for a project they will be doing. Has anyone tried this? Any suggestions?
I still have a great deal to learn, but I'm feeling more confident that I can do this.
Six weeks into this course, I think I've learned a great deal already. I've used atomic learning for tutorials on Promethean software in order to enhance my presentations. I'm also in the process of improving my spreadsheet and database skills using atomic learning. Earlier this week I gave a technology survey to my students. I'm in the process of organizing the data in a spreadsheet and database. Hopefully, I'll be able to share the results on the blog soon.
This course has made me think more about incorporating technology every few days. Through the textbooks, reading posts, and the e-mails I get from subscribing to technology sites, I've discovered a plethora of new technology ideas. I surveyed my students last week to see what technology they would like to use in class. I'm excited to start implementing some of their suggestions. I've also found I'm more willing to explore and figure things out with technology. In the past someone would recommend a website or I would have an idea, but I would file the suggestions or ideas away. Now I go directly to the site and check it out. The other day I though of a song the students would like that went along with the lesson. I immediately found the song on YouTube. Then I figured out how to turn a picture in my flipchart into an action button. When I clicked on the picture it launched the video! The students were impressed and I was excited.
Reading Angela's blog, I came up with an idea. One of the barriers to using technology for me is that the students don't have the technology skills we assume they do. I'm considering teaching a 5 minute lesson at the beginning of class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. I think my first topic will be opening and saving a file from Moodle. The second topic would be a few skills relating to formatting a document in Word that the students need for a project they will be doing. Has anyone tried this? Any suggestions?
I still have a great deal to learn, but I'm feeling more confident that I can do this.
Topic 9. Ed Tech Journal 3
This week I had a completely inspiring SDAS* meeting. This was a complete shock as most SDAS meetings are a formality and the collective understanding is let's get this over with. The only people in the meeting were David Williams, geometry teacher Stacey Tekell, and myself. This is always fun because we have very similar teaching philosophies and love integrating technology. Stacey started talking about her topic and David and I almost started jumping up and down with excitement. She wants to switch up the way she teaches geometry. She wants the students to watch the lesson online for homework and use class time to practice the skills.
Stacey attended a technology conference in Boston last summer where this idea was presented. Her plan is to record her lessons using the Promethean Board record feature. She will then post the lesson online. Students will watch the lessons at home and take notes. The next day students will bring their notes to class for Stacey to check. She will then answer questions about the lesson and help students as they work problems. This structure allows her to be more of a facilitator.
Stacey, David, and I discussed the benefits and possible problems. We thought the benefits would be that students would practice working problems correctly rather than incorrectly at home. The teacher would be there to facilitate learning rather than lecture the students. This would hopefully decrease the amount of outside tutoring students would seek. Another benefit would be that math would be more like the other subjects where class time is for practice and homework is preparation. The possible problems are backlash to change, students not watching the lesson, and technological issues. While some students and parents may initially not like the new approach, they will accept it if the student is more successful. David assured Stacey the administration would support her with parents. Some students won't do the lesson at home, but they also wouldn't do homework. The student could always watch the lesson during class instead of receiving help with problems. David solved the technology problem by offering to make one of the computer labs open for 30 minutes before school each morning so students could watch the lesson at school.
While I'm not sure this approach would be as useful in my classroom, it was exciting to see another teacher and an administrator embrace something so different. Sometimes I feel people use technology to make the old way fancy or there is some complex project involved. This is definitely using technology in a completely different way but it makes sense. It is not anymore time consuming but it will help students be more successful. Now to get my name on next year's conference list...
*SDAS is HPISD's alternative teacher evaluation program to PDAS. Each teacher develops a question that they study throughout the year. The question must relate to improving student achievement. Teachers are divided into groups that meet 6 times throughout the year to discuss progress on their questions.
Stacey attended a technology conference in Boston last summer where this idea was presented. Her plan is to record her lessons using the Promethean Board record feature. She will then post the lesson online. Students will watch the lessons at home and take notes. The next day students will bring their notes to class for Stacey to check. She will then answer questions about the lesson and help students as they work problems. This structure allows her to be more of a facilitator.
Stacey, David, and I discussed the benefits and possible problems. We thought the benefits would be that students would practice working problems correctly rather than incorrectly at home. The teacher would be there to facilitate learning rather than lecture the students. This would hopefully decrease the amount of outside tutoring students would seek. Another benefit would be that math would be more like the other subjects where class time is for practice and homework is preparation. The possible problems are backlash to change, students not watching the lesson, and technological issues. While some students and parents may initially not like the new approach, they will accept it if the student is more successful. David assured Stacey the administration would support her with parents. Some students won't do the lesson at home, but they also wouldn't do homework. The student could always watch the lesson during class instead of receiving help with problems. David solved the technology problem by offering to make one of the computer labs open for 30 minutes before school each morning so students could watch the lesson at school.
While I'm not sure this approach would be as useful in my classroom, it was exciting to see another teacher and an administrator embrace something so different. Sometimes I feel people use technology to make the old way fancy or there is some complex project involved. This is definitely using technology in a completely different way but it makes sense. It is not anymore time consuming but it will help students be more successful. Now to get my name on next year's conference list...
*SDAS is HPISD's alternative teacher evaluation program to PDAS. Each teacher develops a question that they study throughout the year. The question must relate to improving student achievement. Teachers are divided into groups that meet 6 times throughout the year to discuss progress on their questions.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Topic 8. Ed Tech Journal 2
Several of the literature teachers in my building use the forum feature on Moodle for students to respond to literature. I have not seen the lesson plans for this assignment, but I’ve heard a great deal about it from students and the teachers. Forum discussions force students to form opinions about their reading and defend them. They also allow students to have a discussion using a format in which they are comfortable. I would really like to try using forums with my students.
The teachers assigns students to forum groups based on the book they are reading (this assignment is usually used for their required outside reading book). There is usually some time spent in class showing the students how to use the forum feature on Moodle. Some teachers assign certain discussion topics, some allow a mixture of assigned topics and student choice, and some teachers allow students to choose all discussion topics. The students are required to post to the forum a certain number of times for each section of the book. They are also required to respond to other threads. These posts are usually done as homework.
Teachers only hear about work other teachers assign if it is awesome or it is loathed. I have heard both about the forums. Several students have told me about the debates they are having over the literature and even checked with me about historical information relating to the story. Some students express shock at how insightful or combative a normally quiet student in class is on the forum. Other students do not like having to make nightly or weekly posts. Several others don’t like trying to respond to posts that are not of high quality in order to earn the grade they desire.
Many students think more insightfully about the literature because they are starting threads and thoughtfully responding to threads created by their peers. Some of these students may not have read the book but are inspired by the conversation. Other students flip through the book or Spark Notes to find something to write about. They do not engage in the book and the discussions do not interest them.
The students are given a grade for their participation on the forums. There is a rubric, but I have not seen it. From what I can gather, students are graded on the quality of their comments which include reference to the literature. They must complete a certain number of original posts and respond thoughtfully to a certain number of posts.
The teachers assigns students to forum groups based on the book they are reading (this assignment is usually used for their required outside reading book). There is usually some time spent in class showing the students how to use the forum feature on Moodle. Some teachers assign certain discussion topics, some allow a mixture of assigned topics and student choice, and some teachers allow students to choose all discussion topics. The students are required to post to the forum a certain number of times for each section of the book. They are also required to respond to other threads. These posts are usually done as homework.
Teachers only hear about work other teachers assign if it is awesome or it is loathed. I have heard both about the forums. Several students have told me about the debates they are having over the literature and even checked with me about historical information relating to the story. Some students express shock at how insightful or combative a normally quiet student in class is on the forum. Other students do not like having to make nightly or weekly posts. Several others don’t like trying to respond to posts that are not of high quality in order to earn the grade they desire.
Many students think more insightfully about the literature because they are starting threads and thoughtfully responding to threads created by their peers. Some of these students may not have read the book but are inspired by the conversation. Other students flip through the book or Spark Notes to find something to write about. They do not engage in the book and the discussions do not interest them.
The students are given a grade for their participation on the forums. There is a rubric, but I have not seen it. From what I can gather, students are graded on the quality of their comments which include reference to the literature. They must complete a certain number of original posts and respond thoughtfully to a certain number of posts.
Topic 7. Ed Teach Journal 1
The technology that I integrate the most is student response systems and the active board. I find them a useful tool for formative assessment. The students like them because they receive immediate feedback. An active board, a set of student response systems, LCD projector, and a computer are required.
The most recent lesson using the student response system was practicing with multiple choice questions and thesis statements. A few days before the first test, I could tell the students needed more practice with multiple choice strategies and writing thesis statements for change over time essays.
I gave the students a 5 question multiple choice quiz at the beginning of class. They completed the quiz on paper. Once all students were finished, I had the students text in their response to the first question. I then displayed the results. We noted which answers were most popular and then minimized the results. The question was already typed on the screen. I then modeled how to eliminate distractors to arrive at the correct answer. As we eliminated distractors, students were given feedback about why their answer was incorrect.
Since I know which voter each student is using, I can tell which students are consistently answering incorrectly. After class that day or the next day, I asked them what was happening during the practice quiz. Some said they simply didn’t know the information and realized they needed to study more. Other students struggled with the multiple choice questions, but said they felt more confident after the explanations I gave.
After we finished with the multiple choice quiz, I divided the students into groups and had them write thesis statements about political changes in India. The students had already been working on outlining this essay topic the day before. Each group was instructed to write a thesis statement. Each group then texted the thesis statement using the voter. I copied and pasted each statement onto a flipchart page. The groups then used the voters to rank the statements: 1. no credit, 2. partial credit, 3. full credit. After reviewing the results, students came to the board to suggest improvements to statements that did not score a 3.
Most of the statements ended up being 2s and a few were 3s. Students who scored 2s were able to see where they were making mistakes. Most of the students had a correct thesis or at least a correctly formatted thesis on their change over time essay later that week.
While this lesson took longer than going over the quiz and statements verbally, most students got more out of the lesson. Some of the students who are good at multiple choice were bored during that part of the lesson. However, the students seemed more engaged in the writing lesson than they normally are.
The most recent lesson using the student response system was practicing with multiple choice questions and thesis statements. A few days before the first test, I could tell the students needed more practice with multiple choice strategies and writing thesis statements for change over time essays.
I gave the students a 5 question multiple choice quiz at the beginning of class. They completed the quiz on paper. Once all students were finished, I had the students text in their response to the first question. I then displayed the results. We noted which answers were most popular and then minimized the results. The question was already typed on the screen. I then modeled how to eliminate distractors to arrive at the correct answer. As we eliminated distractors, students were given feedback about why their answer was incorrect.
Since I know which voter each student is using, I can tell which students are consistently answering incorrectly. After class that day or the next day, I asked them what was happening during the practice quiz. Some said they simply didn’t know the information and realized they needed to study more. Other students struggled with the multiple choice questions, but said they felt more confident after the explanations I gave.
After we finished with the multiple choice quiz, I divided the students into groups and had them write thesis statements about political changes in India. The students had already been working on outlining this essay topic the day before. Each group was instructed to write a thesis statement. Each group then texted the thesis statement using the voter. I copied and pasted each statement onto a flipchart page. The groups then used the voters to rank the statements: 1. no credit, 2. partial credit, 3. full credit. After reviewing the results, students came to the board to suggest improvements to statements that did not score a 3.
Most of the statements ended up being 2s and a few were 3s. Students who scored 2s were able to see where they were making mistakes. Most of the students had a correct thesis or at least a correctly formatted thesis on their change over time essay later that week.
While this lesson took longer than going over the quiz and statements verbally, most students got more out of the lesson. Some of the students who are good at multiple choice were bored during that part of the lesson. However, the students seemed more engaged in the writing lesson than they normally are.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Topic 6. Tech Skills: Database
Databases organize information. They also allow users to search for information within the database. Of the basic three, this was the program I knew the least about. I did not know the difference between a database and a spreadsheet before reading this chapter. Databases organize information while spreadsheets organize numerical data.
Most of my students use databases for research. Our school library has several different subscriptions that they can access from home rather than using books in the library. The databases allow students greater access to materials. Many of the articles available online are not available in our school library or the local public library. Random idea: Is itunes a sort of database? It organizes music and you can search it.
While I see my students using databases that are already created, I don't think many of them would know how to create a database on their own. I also don't know of any teachers in my building who use databases in their instruction. Databases do have a place in my course. Students are required to know about pretty much every civilization from the beginning of time. One of the AP essay questions is about change over time. If my classes created databases with each civilization and the basic features of each theme, students could use searches to analyze change over time in each theme.
Teachers also use databases for research. After learning what a database is, I realize we have several that we use at school for student data. While I am as comfortable with database technology as I am with word processing or even spreadsheets, I do believe databases help teachers be more efficient. They also could be beneficial as a review tool for my students.
Most of my students use databases for research. Our school library has several different subscriptions that they can access from home rather than using books in the library. The databases allow students greater access to materials. Many of the articles available online are not available in our school library or the local public library. Random idea: Is itunes a sort of database? It organizes music and you can search it.
While I see my students using databases that are already created, I don't think many of them would know how to create a database on their own. I also don't know of any teachers in my building who use databases in their instruction. Databases do have a place in my course. Students are required to know about pretty much every civilization from the beginning of time. One of the AP essay questions is about change over time. If my classes created databases with each civilization and the basic features of each theme, students could use searches to analyze change over time in each theme.
Teachers also use databases for research. After learning what a database is, I realize we have several that we use at school for student data. While I am as comfortable with database technology as I am with word processing or even spreadsheets, I do believe databases help teachers be more efficient. They also could be beneficial as a review tool for my students.
Topic 5. Tech Skill: Spreadsheets
Spreadsheet programs are primarily used when working with numerical data. Spreadsheets will perform calculations and produce graphic representations of the data. To be honest, I've never really known much about spreadsheet programs. This summer I became a bit more interested as I worked on learning my ActiveExpressions software. Reading the chapter in the Roblyer book and doing some research on my own, made me aware of multiple ways I could use spreadsheets in the classroom that I had not considered. Up to this point, I didn't think programs such as Excel had any value in a World History classroom.
Looking into spreadsheets this summer, I found that students could use Excel to create all sorts of products. One idea was to create trading cards with graphics and information about a topic. Using Excel allows several cards per page and maintains a uniform size. Another idea was to make propaganda posters using Excel to divide the image. Students can then print parts of the image on several pages and paste the pages together to make a poster.
In reading the Roblyer text, it is clear spreadsheets would be quite useful in math or science. I know I would have benefitted from visual representations of numerical data. The book also mentions students can make timelines in spreadsheets. This is something I would like to learn how to do. My students find timelines tremendously helpful, but they are difficult to create. I've tried several methods in Word, but I haven't found a format I like.
Spreadsheet programs are also useful to the teacher in analyzing student data. I'm currently trying to learn more about exporting the date from my ActiveExpressions to Excel in order to analyze student performance. I also just received the breakdown of how my students scored in different areas on the AP exam. Creating a chart comparing our scores to the national average would be a great motivator for students when introducing essay writing.
Looking into spreadsheets this summer, I found that students could use Excel to create all sorts of products. One idea was to create trading cards with graphics and information about a topic. Using Excel allows several cards per page and maintains a uniform size. Another idea was to make propaganda posters using Excel to divide the image. Students can then print parts of the image on several pages and paste the pages together to make a poster.
In reading the Roblyer text, it is clear spreadsheets would be quite useful in math or science. I know I would have benefitted from visual representations of numerical data. The book also mentions students can make timelines in spreadsheets. This is something I would like to learn how to do. My students find timelines tremendously helpful, but they are difficult to create. I've tried several methods in Word, but I haven't found a format I like.
Spreadsheet programs are also useful to the teacher in analyzing student data. I'm currently trying to learn more about exporting the date from my ActiveExpressions to Excel in order to analyze student performance. I also just received the breakdown of how my students scored in different areas on the AP exam. Creating a chart comparing our scores to the national average would be a great motivator for students when introducing essay writing.
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