Chapter 10 and On your mark, get set, wait!

On your mark get set, wait! Is about how students with disabilites are now taught in regular classrooms. Some students use assitive technology to stay in regular classrooms. Teachers or students studying to become teachers, need to be ready to deal with students with disablities, including, with speech and language impairments, students with specific learnign disablities, students with emotional disturbance, mentally handicap, and students with multiple disabilities. Teachers are now teaching handicapped or learning disabled students in the regular class room.

Chapter 10 was titled.... Distance Education: Using Technology to Redefine the Classroom.
This chapter is about using distance education in a classroom. Teachers should plan extra time in case technologies fail. In a regular classroom teachers would:
Ask a question to determine what content needs to be reviewed, Review content as needed, select a target objective for the lesson, prepare students by explaining what they will be able to do after the lesson, respond to students questions about the lesson, decide how to arrange the classroom for this specific lesson, write notes for themselves, select and set up materials media and technology needed and decide how they will be used.
In a Distance education classroom Teachers would/ should : Prepare a pretest so students can self assess, make review materials available, post the target objective in a place students will notice, explain the objective in detail since there may be a delay, create a content module so that students will have manageable materials to work with, and arrange for technologies to be available to students who may not have access.

Replacement Articles for Chapter 10

Since we had articles online to read, I want to talk about them in this blog. The one that I identified the most was The Multitasking Generation. This article talks about how people are age are overwhelming themselves by having too much going on. I think that my schedule can sometimes be seen as hectic, but let's face it, schedules have to be if we want to get everything done. The article says that people are surrounding themselves with too much visual and audio stimulation in times where concentration is needed. When I'm working I usually have a DVD playing in the background, my phone by my side, and most times or not, Facebook will be up. My attention is diverted between all those things quite a bit, but when I sit in complete silence, I find that I will daydream and have my attention elsewhere considerably more than if a DVD is playing. The article also says that we need to cut down out technology time. This is something I agree with. In my house, if we're all home, we eat at the table. And when we eat, no one is allowed to have their phones out. We try and have a family night at least once every two weeks so that we're not 'roommates' but a family. The only difficulty is, when we live in a technology based world, and the majority of the work that we have to do is online, how do we cut that down to a manageable time? We kind of can't.
I think the article Don't fear the Digital is one that represents students and young adults more fully. Digital technology isn't making us dumber, it's making us more capable I think. My parents are fairly good with computers because computers where becoming household items when my parents were in their twenties, but cell phones and new technologies...they're not so good at. When my dad first got a camera phone I had to show him how to take/send pictures. When my mom got her first mp3, I had to show her how to upload music and save copies of the songs so they wouldn't be lost if her library got wiped. I still have to show my grandpa how to work his DVD player. My skills like, writing, have improved because I can type at about the same pace I think. New technologies aren't destroying students; it's all about finding a healthy balance between technologies and real life interaction, that will make a student successful.
The last article On your Mark Get Set, Wait, is about technology and special needs. My research paper was about using assistive technology with visually impaired students. I have to agree that teachers should have a better understanding of new technologies before they are thrust out into the workforce. Not every student is going to have the same abilities or the same learning styles, some may need technological help. If teachers aren't able to work that into their knowledge base, then how can they be successful educators.

Chapter 10 and On Your Mark, Get Set, Wait!

Chapter 10:
This chapter was titled Distance Education: Using Technology to Redefine the Classroom. Using technology for distance education can allow communication no matter where the student is at or even where the teacher is at. Distance Education has changed over the years from mail, to radio, to television, and even to the computer. Communication is a big factor in distance education. Online self assessments are a great idea to have students takes before starting a distance education class. Teachers need to give feedback to their students so students have verification that their work is correct and if there are problems they know how to fix them. Some synchronous technologies that can be used for distance education are the telephone, broadcast videos, radio broadcast, internet chat, videoconferencing, and net meetings. Students who take distance education need to be self motivated and they need to be able to manage their time.


On Your Mark, Get Set, Wait!:
I really enjoyed reading this article because I think it is very beneficial for teachers to be able to utilize different technologies for children P-12 who have different disabilities. No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 created a focus for special needs children to be in a regular classroom. So teachers should be able to know how to use different technologies, different materials, different approaches, and many more ideas to include special needs children. There are many assistive technologies that can be used to help assist teachers and students in their education journey. Teachers need to be up to date on these technologies and they need to know how to choose and use these technologies.

On Your Mark, Get Set, Go Article

When I read this article I liked how it really reinforced how much teachers prepartion for a variety of different students is crucial. Teachers knowledge and what they can do with it makes the most difference in what children are able to learn. The Standards are also important to be aware of for the teachers. I liked the assitive technology for special needs students. I think it's great how many tools there are out there for special needs students.

Chapter 10

This week I read Chapter 10, which was titled Distance Education: Using Technology to Redefine the Classroom. This Chapter really emphasizes how technology is constantly advancing and changing. Technology is becoming more and more used on a daily basis by people all across the world. This Chapter talks about distance learning which is learning that is all technology based and can be between two people that are even in different states or countries. I personally think distance learning is a neat tool in technology, and one I never really thought much about until after reading this chapter. I liked the immediate response from teachers about the students work. I think it's important as a teacher to communicate reguarly with your students. Teacher feedback is crucial to a students success. This Chapter discusses several different types of communication tools, such as: telephone, conference call, videoconferencing, internet chat, and electronic mail. I think all of these are important in communicating.

Chapter 8!

This chapter is about using the web in the classroom. Reading this made me understand that the web can be used for many things. Including teaching. My favorite thing that i think i will use or want to use when i become a teacher is blogs. Blogs are a great way to keep parents and teachers connected with what's going on at school. BLogs can keep students stay caught up with classwork and homework. If a child misses a class then the student can read the classroom blog and do their work. I think another thing that is good to use is the favorites link. You can juse favorite a web page and go back to look at it later without having to save it or having to take the time to search for it. I think the favorites link helps with plagairising. It would help a student, by letting them look at the article over and over again. :]

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 was titled Using the Web for Teaching and Learning. During class we discussed web quests and how they are made. Web quests are great for assigning projects to students. They have all the instruction and resources for their work. These are great because they can be posted online for other teachers to use as well. When designing a web quest, its very important that the content is age appropriate and that the student is able to be interested in the project. If you have a chunk of information that has no color or creativity, then the students may lose interest. The web quest needs to be appealing to the eye, as well as educational.

Articles for chapter 8

The first article I read had to do with a program called Wordle. If you don't know what that is don't feel bad because neither did I. Wordle is a program where you can highlight any text and the words that are used with great frequency are made into a word cloud. Words that are placed together or used in the context are placed together. Take for example Andrew Jackson's address to congress on Indian Removal. The words Indian, Savage, and tribes are placed together just as White and Civilized are put together. I think this is an excellent tool to use to allow students to grasp the main idea of a speech or a piece of literature, especially the more complex it is.
The next article was a point/counterpoint on whether or not a teacher should befriend a student on Facebook. The point says that the same comments or conversations that are held on Facebook are just continuations of what would happen in person. The counterpoint stated that students would have a hard time distinguishing between the personal life and the professional life of the teacher. That once a teacher is outside of the school then they are just like other people and that the students might take unhealthy interest in their personal lives. As a student there were several teachers that I considered to be friends or at least friend-like and I don't want to lose contact with them just because I graduated. I get to know about how their kids are doing, what their new classes are like and they get to know what is going on with me. I don't see this a broach of professionalism. If I saw them in the store or restaurant I should hope that we be able to converse pleasantly.
The last article was about standardized testing and teachers. Since everyone in this class must have had standardized testing I feel safe in asking, was it boring? I also feel safe in assuming the answer would be unanimously be yes. The question I pose with slight uncertainty is, would school be just as boring without testing? The article I read said that the disinterest of students is because of the teachers. How many of you had a favorite teacher in school? Was it someone that textbook taught or someone who wasn't afraid to do something different? The author says that teachers are stuck and their inability to break out of their comfort level is a hindrance to student learning. I think I just might agree, because even though testing isn't' fun, neither is being read to straight from a book and being forced to take pages of notes.

Chapter 8

Chapter 8 was titled Using the Web for Teaching and Learning. Current and future teachers need to use the web in their classrooms but they need to make sure the web is being used appropriately and wisely. There are many resources available to use and they are very beneficial to everyone. Using a website in your classroom can and will enhance communication between teachers and students. Even parents can use the classroom website to keep up with their child’s education. Teachers can post up classroom rules, schedules, and homework. A tool to help teachers make their webpage is web authoring tools. If teachers have their own classroom website, they need to make sure their children have privacy. Chapter 8 was an important chapter to read since we will be making classroom websites later on.

Chapter 8

This week I read Chapter 8, which is titled Using the Web for Teaching and Learning. A good piece of information to remember as a teacher, is that there are so many resources on the web available to you. The resources available online for teachers can be very helpful. This chapter discusses blogging. Blogging is a great way for teachers to communicate, and share helpful information and resources with other teachers. A neat element of the Internet is that you can bookmark websites that you want to keep for later use. Even grading for students is all technology based. This chapter talks about the electronic grade books available for teachers. Web authoring tools are helpful in creating class web sites. Class web sites can be a neat tool for a classroom. Overall, this was a great informational chapter about how using the web is great for teachers and students.


Caitlin Hunter

Articles for Chapter 6

Learning communities are important no matter what stage of education you are in. How many of you have ever attended an SI, or the tutoring center, or even just worked in groups? That's waht a learning community is. Now with new technologies you don't even have to leave the comfort of your home to have a learning community. Say school was snowed out (even though that NEVER happens) but you still really need to study with other people. With Wikis, blogs, and chatrooms can let you communicate with others and share information that otherwise might not have been available.
The next article I read was a reader's response about whether or not schools should regulate student's offsite online behavior. As a student I feel very torn about this. I feel that if I am not at school, or using a school computer, than the school should have no say as to what I do. The arguments made were that of cyberbulling and how it's become a huge factor in schools today. If a student was harassing another student from his/her home computer, doesn't that fall into the realm of the parents' job? When did schools become the third parent? If schools were to regulate offsite online behavior when is the line drawn? Will they have the ability to tell a student, no you cannot go with you friends tonight because you have a test tomorrow?
The last article focused on how people best learn how to use new technology. People fall into one of three catagories: coached, nutured, or nudged. People who fall into the coached catagory are already to use technology but needs advice everynow and then from someone they trust and respect. The nutured catagory consists of people mostly like us. They are learning about technology and are ok, but not comfortable enough with it to incorporate it into lesson plans and to teach other people how to use it. The last, nudge, includes individuals who want nothing to due with techonolgy. They are happy with the way things are and have no desire to change.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 deals with academic software in the classroom. What I related to in this chapter was all the programs that let the student show their creativity. I've always been interested technology and computers. Since I was a home schooled student, I never really had a specific computer class with a lot of resources, but i explored computers on my own. I liked going through word programs or publisher and making up my own random pages or I would design fliers or birthday cards.
Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego was my favorite educational program that I used when I was in middle school. I think I asked for a new Carmen Sandiego game for my birthday one year. Its a fun program for learning history and geography.
As a future teacher, I need to be able to find good programs because educational software will be an important part of daily classroom activities.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 deals with Academic Software and teachers can use this to improve their classroom. Academic software includes authoring systems, desktop publishing, graphics, reference, tutorials and drill-and-practice, educational games, simulations, special needs, and integrated learning systems. One of the simulation software mentioned was something that I used back in elementary school and that was The Oregon Trail. This game helps with problem solving, decision making, critical thinking, and content. I think that academic software is a great way to get all students involved in the classroom. There are many different types of software that teachers can use in all subject areas. As future teachers, I think it is vital that we use some type of software in our future classroom.