Crossing The Street

The articles that we were instructed to read prior to doing this assignment were incredibly helpful. I learned a lot about how sentence types (affirmative, perspective, directive, descriptive, etc.) effect the message you are trying to deliver. The most important message I gained from the More article was that "Social stories can meet the diverse needs of learners by combining visual cues with verbal cues (Barry & Burlew, 2004)" This quote really directs all attention to not only what the child is seeing, but what they are hearing as well. Having these two reinforcers can really strengthen the message the teacher is trying to deliver to the students.

At the beginning of this project, I was shaking in my boots. Since I have a Macbook and everyone I know does too, I knew things were going to be difficult as far as getting this project done through Photo Story. Somehow however, I managed to navigate my way through iMovie on my Mac, and successfully create my own version of a photo story with a voiceover and text! I successfully uploaded it to YouTube as well (which was an adventure in itself), but here is is: Crossing The Street

I'm incredibly excited about this project, and I'm really proud of it. I enjoyed exploring my way through iMovie, I personally could see myself using it again for other presentations in the future. I'm happy that I'm starting to feel confident in this course as far as the technology aspect goes. In the beginning, I was very nervous because I'm not very tech savvy.. but I've learned throughout the semester that trial and error can get you a long way if you put enough time and effort in!

Google drive..you confusing thing you.

I know that I will someday look back on this and realize how much I actually enjoy Google Drive. Until then, I'll remain utterly confused. I know that some day I will fully understand how to use it and what buttons do what things, where to go and how to navigate.. all things take practice, right? I'm hoping that by the end of this semester I'll at least have that under my belt... I'm hoping that my efforts and continuous don't effect my grade! Overall, I enjoyed the collaboration effort done by the small group. I was confused in the beginning as to what roles were assigned to each student, and how these roles were introduced in the actual article.. but by being the last one in the group to post, I figured filling in the last bits of the 9-strategy sequence was my best fighting effort. Hopefully I'll quickly learn how to use this new technology  (to me) effectively!

ACC WebQuest

Well.. first off, I hope that I did the assignment right. The way I took the assignment, was as a giant scavenger hunt throughout someone else's WebQuest. Since there wasn't any given instruction on us actually making our own WebQuest, I'm assuming that this will come in future modules. Overall, I really enjoyed doing this scavenger hunt type of assignment. I felt that collecting data and notes on different case studies is a good way to individualize each student based on their abilities, and to present them in according ways to fit their personal needs. I chose the student with multiple disabilities mainly because it seems as though this student has similar disabilities to that of my cousin, Tara. While collecting the data and resources for the student, I couldn't help but think of how these resources could be used for Tara, too. It's very interesting to see how students differ and are alike all at the same time. Thats the beauty in the world of Exceptional Education.. not only do we see new things every day, we learn new things as well.

As for ACC as a whole, I find it a wonderful tool that any educator should take full advantage of in their classroom. Because education today is now based on collaboration and the idea that not all students learn the same, I find it very important for teachers to continue implementation of new ideas and tools that students can use to complete their curriculum assignments! In the special education classroom more importantly, students are given the tools needed to further assist them in making strides towards IEP goals, as well as assessments and accountability in the school. I can see myself using these tools on a daily basis with my students in a special education setting.

Is Facebook Necessary in the Classroom?

This is the first time this semester that I've had 50/50 feelings on a given topic. For the most part with just about everything, I'm either for it, or against it. This topic however, strikes me both ways. I see where all the hype is about integrating Facebook into the classroom, but at the same time I can't help but question.. do the risks outweigh the benefits? I can't help but wonder if integrating Facebook into a special education classroom will only add more steps onto homework and other instruction outside of class. There are so many questions that fill my brain when I think about student/teacher collaboration through the use of Facebook. What happens to the students who don't have internet access at home? What happens if they don't have the support at home to assist in their use of the internet? Does that child get left out of instruction? Do they access it at school? Can they access it at school? I can't help but wonder all the limitations and problems that can arise from the use of Facebook (and other social media networks) in the classroom. On top of all these factors, why is that schools internet access denies the use of Facebook and other social media networks? Is this suppose to mean that these websites are not recommended for school use? If so, shouldn't we follow this recommendation? After all, a good portion of the internet is either filled with two things: garbage or sites telling you that the information you see is garbage.

In a more light-hearted sense of things, Facebook and other social media networking sites could do wonders in collaboration and lesson making for teachers. It's been said time and time again, teaching is a collaborative effort. The sharing of ideas and philosophies are what makes a good teacher. Using sites like Facebook, twitter, tumblr, etc. can easily allow teachers to access the ideas of other teachers, whether they're across the state or across the globe. Thats the nice thing about the internet and social media, it connects us on a global level.

Personally, I believe that the students (especially those with disabilities) should be taught in the simplest of ways. A teachers job is to teach in the classroom, and provide their students with enrichment and tools that they can use outside of the classroom. A teachers involvement in the students social media aspect of life is more of a personal preference, and I don't believe it should be enforced. There are many factors of the internet that parents may censor from students, especially at the elementary level. Although classroom instruction, games, or homework through the use of Facebook is completely harmless, there are a lot of things within these websites that are not  harmless.

The Web Is A Beautiful Place

Exploring The Unknown: Web2.0

Look how far we have come..

It is truly amazing to think that not even six years ago, YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook were not apart of our daily lives. In fact, they weren't apart of anyones lives at all.. they weren't even created yet! As the video states, "We are living in exponential times".. aint' that the truth! Our technological world is growing at a rapid rate, more now than ever! As things in the technological world grow, we grow. Especially in the field of exceptional education, students are gaining more and more support, accessibility, and independence through the use of our daily Web and all it has to offer. According to Larry Ferlazzo's "Best Web 2.0 Applications for Education-2010", the use of Sitehoover is helping make things more organized and direct for students. For some, the use of this site could determine whether or not an assignment gets complete. It can foresee whether or not a student has enough given information to perform certain tasks to the extent needed. For others, it can provide a useful organizing tool, where students are free to direct their information and websites into distinct folders that they create. Sitehoover allows you to create a personal homepage for a topic of your choice, and shows thumbnail images of the selected websites you have chosen. This application is very useful to students in doing research and gaining data from different websites across the Web, for it allows students to put all of their accessed websites onto one homepage, instead of having a different tab open for each website.

This application stood out to me directly, because as I was reading the description of how the tool works, I noticed that I have 7 tabs open on my one browser, with three "Stickies" with different to-do lists on them, my agenda sitting next to my bed with assignments written down, and a hand written to-do list taped to my door. I really liked this application for the main reason that it allows for students to feel as though they have a strong sense of organization and overall control. Having control over an assignment is the easiest way to successfully complete the task with confidence that you put your best work in. By using a tool like Sitehoover, you are given that power and control over the assignment, by organizing things the way that they make sense to you. The sense of individuality will come in handy when educating students with disabilities, in that it allows them to have an individual look at their own work. In accordance to the LRE (Least Restrictive Environment , the process of a students learning is as different as our fingerprints. By using a tool such as Sitehoover, students are able to create a different webpage as different as they are, and use it to their own advantage. Whether you are educating students with or without disabilities, each child learns differently. By giving them the freedom to organize their assignments or research through Sitehoover, they are free to access and organize their information in a way that makes sense to them. 

For my example, I chose to research and gain data on Labrador Retrievers. 

http://www.sitehoover.com/labrador-retrievers/

...Where will we go from here?

The Internet: Native vs. Immigrant

What Is The Internet
"What Is The Internet"... some people may laugh at this question. Although there are probably a great deal of ways to describe what the Internet is, the most basic way to explain it would be simply: "Yet another device used and abused for information, communication, nonsense, and learning." As humans in this day and age, we rely on the Internet.. for some, on a daily basis. For others, not as much. It is becoming more and more of a natural custom in our growing society to use the Internet as a means for just about anything. Just about anything on this planet can be found somehow somewhere on the Internet. In many ways, it connects us. It has come from simple emailing, to Skype (a way to have a video-chat conversation with someone somewhere else in present time). 

In the classroom, students have evolved greatly through the use of computer and the Internet. Growing up as a child, I remember the now "old school" computers, that at the time were the new hit. From then till now, we have enhanced the technological system of the Internet into an amazing device. Laptops, webcams, search engines, the works. Through these new advances, teachers are able to communicate and share ideas across the world. For many teachers, their lessons and ideas are a collaboration of efforts from other educators that could be thousands of miles away. 

As a future educator, I'm well aware that there are going to be changes in our technological systems.. just as there were in my childhood. I'm excited to enhance learning and even further educate students beyond their expectation through the use of these new devises. I think that our society today is driven by modernization and advancement, and I'm excited to see where these next years take us.



Web 2.0 
The article by Dina Rosen and Charles Nelson "Web 2.0: A New Generation of Learners and Education" is an informative article that describes how the Internet has evolved. Before, it used to be a "read only" type of thing, otherwise known as Web 1.0. Now it has transformed into something where one can now publish as well, Web 2.0. Scary, right? Now anyones voice can be heard through the Internet, not just those with special permission. 

This ties into the idea of the Universal Design for Learning in a way that it opens doors for students. With anyone now being capable of publishing ideas on the Internet, students have a widened variety of ideas and demonstrations that can help them learn. By expanding these ideas in such a vast way, more students are likely to find educational learning techniques that work for them, seeing as that the UDL is based on the concept that not every child learns the same. 

This new and improved way of looking at the Internet can also benefit teachers. As many theorists have said, education is a collaborated effort. By using Web 2.0, teachers are able to collaborate not only with the teachers they work with, but with teachers all around the world. I know personally, I've used the web numerous times to help guide me with lesson planning and ideas for creative learning styles for individual students. The web is our friend. 

"As a social revolution more than as a technical revolution, Web 2.0

tools’ greatest power is that it can change the nature of student learning"

(Rosen & Nelson)