Assessing Meaningful Learning

There are many different assessment technology tools that I have learned about through this semester. The assignments that we have learned about through the past few months are ePortfolios, Grading Rubrics, Clicker Tools, and Inspiration/Kidspiration software. ePortfolio is an electronic portfolio that collects different assignments. Example of this would be is instead of having a final exam, have the students create an ePortfolio of what they have done throughout the semester.   This can allow the teacher to grade the student and what they have done throughout the course by using an online program.  There are many different rubrics that are provided that are available for you online. These sites are very useful for teachers to be able to find grading rubrics that will fit to you needs. A fun way to get your student involved is by using clicker tools. The Quizdom helps students get involved and increase their participation in the lesson. This also allows the teacher to gain knowledge of feedback so that she can see that were students understood what they are discussing. Inspiration soft websites is a great tool not only for the teacher, but also for the students. This website provides the student with diagrams, maps, graphic organizers, outlines, and lesson plans. The will allow the teacher and the student be able to succeed throughout the year.

Through this semester I have learned a great amount on how to incorporate technology throughout my classroom.  I have not only learned about the many new technology tools that are provided for the teacher and the students, but also how to teach them. Every tool that I have learned about through this class, I plan on using in my future classroom.  Blogs & Podcasting are all great tools that you can provide you student with. I think that using a site such as Quizdom would be a great tool to provide your students that will engage them in learning. Using technology in your classroom is very important part of your student’s education. By taking this class I feel that I am prepared to help my students to be able to succeed in their education.

Technology Application Standards

I will teach High School Special Education.

§127.13. Career Preparation I (Two to Three Credits).

(a)  General requirements. This course is recommended for students in Grades 11-12.

(b)  Introduction. Career Preparation I provides opportunities for students to participate in a learning experience that combines classroom instruction with paid business and industry employment experiences and supports strong partnerships among school, business, and community stakeholders. The goal is to prepare students with a variety of skills for a fast-changing workplace. This instructional arrangement should be an advanced component of a student's individual program of study. Students are taught employability skills, which include job-specific skills applicable to their training station, job interview techniques, communication skills, financial and budget activities, human relations, and portfolio development. Career preparation is relevant and rigorous, supports student attainment of academic standards, and effectively prepares students for college and career success.

(Source: Texas Education Agency at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/)

My degree that I am pursuing is All-Level Special Education. I plan to be in a higher secondary classroom of 11^th and 12^th graders. Since I have planned on working with the high school level, I choose the career development portion of the TEKS for grades 11 and 12. In my classroom I would break down the TEKS in my classroom in many different activities. Working with students that have serve disabilities, the career development skills can be very important. Students that are getting ready to make the transition into the job fields, it is very important from them to know these skills so that they will be prepared for their future. To teach these skills to my students I would have role play activities such as a pretend store or work place. Also, I would use hands on group activities such as an activity with money skills. I would have my students also fill out a pretend job application and go through a pretend interview process.

Every TEKS play a very important role in education. Not only are they important to the teacher, but also to the student. TEKS are designed to set up guidelines for the teacher to follow and what all he/she need to cover for the year. To me career preparation is a very important TEKS for students that are in a life skills class to cover. Students with disabilities that are able to go out into the world should be taught these skills so that they will be able to succeed in their life. Using the TEKS that I have provided above, I will be able to prepare my students to know how to find careers and also to be able to succeed and whatever career path they choose to follow. 

Visualizing with Technology

In my classroom I want my students to feel comfortable to express what they love to do and who they want to be. With have students that are able to do as the 6^th grader in the video about creating apps you are having great tools to be provided to your students. Visualizing with technologies is teaching and showing students new ways to learn and grow with the changing times. It is new careers that teachers can prepare their students for. Also, teaching students with visualizing with technology makes your classroom more interesting because students have not learned in that style before. In my classroom I play to use visualizing with technology to help students better their education and their futures.

I believe that visualizing with technology has a huge impact on the use of technology that you can use in your classroom with your students. When using visualizing technology in your classrooms it gives your students something to look forward to, and also it gives your students another tool to express themselves through. Having this can help your students learn about technology and also help them grow with technology. When having students work with visualizing technology in class you can use this to help make the activity interesting other than just pencil and paper that they are used to using. Students that are using technology are ready to learn because they have an interesting tool that they are getting to use. 

Podcasting

Over the past few years I have seen the changes that have been made with broadcasting, but I never knew it had a name. Podcasting is something I knew was out there but just thought it was the new version of broadcasting. Watching the video and reading over the information, I use Podcasting a lot! With working and going to school I never get to watch my Saturday night TV series. With Podcasting I am able to download the series whenever I have time to catch-up on what I messed from when it aired on Saturday. I believe that podcasting can be used throughout the classroom like as the example on the YouTube video of information from a different country and also if you watched something at home on TV that you felt your students could relate to through an activity you can download the video and show it to them in class.  

I believe that Podcasting and Web 2.0 are very similar in very many ways. I believe that they are great tools to use in your classroom for technology by showing a video and with communicating with your class. Web 2.0 and Podcasting have made great improvements in the way that we all use technology today.  Podcasting is a tool that you can use to show students that you would never been able to show before. So as Web 2.0 as a teacher you did not have great tools like Wiki, Social Bookmarking, and Voice Thread. With having this great tool in your classroom you are able to improve the child’s education so that they will be able to succeed and at what they want to prose in life.  

I own an IPhone and an IPad, but I do not use my IPad as much as my little cousin does. My cousin is three years old and has had trouble learning how to talk. In the past few months he has been going to speech therapy where he works with a SLP (Speech Language Pathologist) for 30 minutes every Monday. One of the tools that she uses is an IPad and he loves to play on it. After observing him a few times I went home and download some of the games that she had on her IPad. When in just a week of him playing the educational games on the IPad and on my IPhone I could tell a dramatic change in his speech.  I believe that using this technology in your classroom is a great and funny tool that the students are willing to use and learn at the same time. I think that online communication has its advantages by giving the student another way they can contact the teacher and also other students when they need help. But with a disadvantage of always having some problem with technology, maybe the server was down and the students couldn't figure out how to do their homework or maybe they wanted to let the teacher know they would not be at school and the teacher did not receive the email.     

Web 2.0

Before I started reading this activity I didn't know the difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. After reading over the information and watching the YouTube videos, I now know the different between them and what they have to offer. People on the internet today are not looking for just information, but they are also looking for an experience online. Web 1.0 constantly has to update information for people that are seeking the information. Web 2.0 has a responsibility to keep the internet up to date, and to keep the people looking for the information engaged in what they are researching. Web 2.0 is not just a place to share your information, but a place where you can gather together and interact with different people.

I believe that the tools Web 2.0 has to offer are a great resource to use in the classroom. Wiki to me is a great tool to teachers so that they can interact with one another on the student, but also they could collaborate on the lessons that they are teaching in their classrooms. Social Bookmarking is in the same boat as Wiki, teachers and also students can share their information with one another that they have found useful to them online. Voice Thread is a great tool to use in an activity, which would keep the students engaged in what they are learning and also an overall fun way for them to share what they have learned.  These tools are not only away to interact with your fellow teachers and students, but also a creative way to stay engaged in what is being learned in the classroom. 

Copyrighting, Fair Use, and Online Safety

                Throughout my high school career I never thought much of copyrighting and the fair use of resources on the internet. I wish while I was in high school they would have taught me the skills you need to know on what you can use, and what is off-limits. I started learning copyrighting and fire use when I started college, but still I did not know all that much about it. Through this activity I have gained much knowledge about copyrighting and fair use and now I am very comfortable about what resources I can use and what I cannot use. Looking over the different websites that were provided for us, I thought that the “Cheat Sheet” was very helpful. Netiquette is a tool that every student should be taught, because having access to the internet student should be aware of how to behave on the internet. Having the privilege of being on the internet student should behave by treating others the way they want to be treated.  As a future educator I want to be able to provide my students with those tools so they know what resources that they can use and what they cannot use on the internet.  

Growing up in the technology generation I have seen cyberbullying take place. I feel that cyberbullying is a way for people that have a problem with their self can hide behind a computer and attack others. Cyberbullying affects a person being attacked the same way that bullying a person face to face does. In my classroom I want to be able to provide the student with information that will help them stay away from cyberbullies, and tell them how it affects a person life after being attacked. While I was in high school this was not a subject to talk about, but as a future educator I want my students to be aware of what is going on and what could happen to them on the internet. Also, I want to have a relationship with my students so that if cyberbullying or if they have a problem with copyrighting and fair use or netiquette takes place they are not scared to come talk to me to receive some form of help. 

Information Literate

Before, I had never used anything besides Google’s search engine on the World Wide Web. It wasn't because I did not know any other search engines like Bing and Yahoo. It was just that Google always gave me what I was looking for. Reading over this week’s assignment I had already learned some of the material in my IPC Class in High School and form the Computer Science Class I had to take for my Associates Degree. In my IPC class the teacher taught us all the abbreviations that we could use for narrow are search to find what we were looking for. Another great tool I was taught, was how to tell if a website was a reliable site or if it was all made up stuff. For instants, Wikipedia is a site that anyone can change and add to the material on that webpage.     

After reading the material, I believe that I will start not only using Google but also Bing and Yahoo. Going through and look at all the search engines that were listed they were by far the most reliable ones. Knowing what search engines have the right material that I am look for, I will be able to help my student on research projects, and also find tools that can help them in reading, math, science, and history. In my classroom, I plan to have a listed posted by the computers that show all the abbreviations that will help better and narrow their search. I believe that my future student will be affected by this to help them throughout their school career.  

In conclusion, I want to be able to teach my student these tools, so that they may be able to use them throughout their life. Also, I would like to read more about the different abbreviations that are out there, because I blows my mind on how typing in two or three letters can narrow a search compared to two or three words, and find reliable webpages. I want to teach my students about the different search engines out there, and also the different ways your can find exactly what you are looking for on the World Wide Web. This activity has helped me better my skills so that I will be able to help my students succeed at whatever they set their minds too.   

Blog #1

My name is Jacie Phillips I am a junior here at Texas A&M University Commerce. My interests are scrapbooking, taking pictures, playing volleyball, getting to work with students with disabilities, and hanging out with my family and friends. My certification is All-Level Special Education and I plan to graduate in May 2015. After I have received my Bachelor’s Degree I plan to go back to school to get my Master’s Degree to be able to get my license as a Dyslexia Therapist. All throughout my school career I was in dyslexia classrooms, but it wasn’t until I was in high school that I realized that being a Dyslexia Therapist was what I wanted to do with the rest of my life.

Before going and observing I thought the only technology in a Special Education classroom would be like books on tape and maybe a few activities the student could do on an internet website, but I was wrong! There is so many way you can incorporate technology into your classroom. Here are a few I am going to use in mine, Istation on the computers works with each individual student by what level the student is on, and gradually helps the student improve their skills. IPads so the student can use them for reading and having the text read to them aloud, Apps that are for reading, writing, numbers, shapes, and colors. Also, having a smart board in the classroom helps the student work together as a whole group by using an internet web page for math, reading, writing, science, and social studies. In my classroom, I would like to have a blog page where student can go and ask other students’ questions about homework and a place where they can work on projects together. 

My goal for the classroom is to have a welcome environment that students will be able to work best in. Wanting to be a Dyslexia Therapist I always want the students to feel like my classroom is a safe place for them to work hard to improve their skills and a place where they are not afraid to express themselves. As a teacher, I have set high goals for myself and my students. For my students I want them to learn the tools that help them overcome their disabilities so that they can succeed at anything they set their minds too. Also, I want my students to have a love, enjoy, and feel a part of school, not a place that is just a babysitter while their parents are at work. Goals for myself, I want to learn everything I can throughout college and the Scottish Rite Hospital so that I am prepared and can help these students face any obstacle with their disability. I look at in this point of view, we as Special Education Teachers are preparing and teaching these children the everyday tools and skill they will need to know after they have moved on after school to succeed in life!