Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Dyslexic Remix in the Digital Age
Found this site on line and wanted to share:
http://mariewustner.weebly.com/education-remix.html
“Creativity is as important in education as Literacy!” (Sir Ken Robinson, 2006)
The current educational system is in need of serious reform as it is inherently exclusive instead of inclusive. Public school system of today were designed during the industrial revolution and still resembles the factory. Consequently individuals who do not fit into the particular mold that educational institutions create are cast aside as defective. This is unacceptable and irresponsible. If we expect all of our citizens to pay taxes towards an education then we need to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to thrive in this environment. I believe that introducing Media Language and Remix Documentary to a curriculum of students with dyslexia would allow these students to compete competently in the world of academia. By using digital technology and remix culture dyslexic students may be able to learn and express themselves in language based on images, sounds, and movement - a more appropriate learning environment for visual thinkers.
http://mariewustner.weebly.com/education-remix.html
“Creativity is as important in education as Literacy!” (Sir Ken Robinson, 2006)
The current educational system is in need of serious reform as it is inherently exclusive instead of inclusive. Public school system of today were designed during the industrial revolution and still resembles the factory. Consequently individuals who do not fit into the particular mold that educational institutions create are cast aside as defective. This is unacceptable and irresponsible. If we expect all of our citizens to pay taxes towards an education then we need to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to thrive in this environment. I believe that introducing Media Language and Remix Documentary to a curriculum of students with dyslexia would allow these students to compete competently in the world of academia. By using digital technology and remix culture dyslexic students may be able to learn and express themselves in language based on images, sounds, and movement - a more appropriate learning environment for visual thinkers.
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
Learning Disabled students change in learning styles.
In his article, Growing Up Digital: How the Web Changes Work, Education, and the Ways People Learn, John Seely Brown (2002) uses ecology as a metaphor to describe an environment for learning. Brown says, “An ecology is basically an open, complex adaptive system comprising elements that are dynamic and interdependent. One of the things that make an ecology so powerful and adaptable to new contexts is its diversity.”
Brown further describes a learning ecology as, “a collection of overlapping communities of interest (virtual), cross-pollinating with each other, constantly evolving, and largely self-organizing.”New Web 2.0 technologies and websites, such as a blog, Wiki or YouTube, make new demands on learning and they provide new support to learning, even as they also dismantle some of the learning supports upon which education has depended in the past. If we agree that there are changes occurring across the learning ecology and that new conceptualizations are required to use these emerging technologies, then some care should be taken to think deeply about the impacts of Web 2.0 on the processes and practices of pedagogy.
The above quotations taken from John Seely Brown (2002) holds true in some of today’s classrooms with older teachers. As a co-teacher in a regular classroom, I am consistently trying to change the view of fellow teachers in how they deal with many of my learning disabled students and the change in their learning styles. The Web2.0 site http://goanimate.com/ can be used to teach Learning Disabled students to write all genre of essay writing. Many students enjoy expressing themselves if they can create a product at the same time. In using goanimate.com, students use the site to create and tell a story using characters supplied or purchased on the web site. I have seen many of my students become so engrossed in creating their story that they at times do not want to leave the classroom. This Web2.0 site lets the students see their writing come to life in the form of a live cartoon which can be anywhere from a few minutes to ten minutes. Not only does this site capture the attention of Attention Deficit Disorder students, many of whom have attention problems, but it brings out their creative side and shows their peers that they are able to develop a great product in the classroom.
Teachers can also use this site to teach a lesson to the visual students in the classroom. Students will be more willing to watch a cartoon that is teaching a lesson over and over again, than hear the voice of the teacher repeating the topic over and over. As a teacher, we have to learn to move away from the uses of only pen and paper as a way for students to express mastery of any topic.
Brown further describes a learning ecology as, “a collection of overlapping communities of interest (virtual), cross-pollinating with each other, constantly evolving, and largely self-organizing.”New Web 2.0 technologies and websites, such as a blog, Wiki or YouTube, make new demands on learning and they provide new support to learning, even as they also dismantle some of the learning supports upon which education has depended in the past. If we agree that there are changes occurring across the learning ecology and that new conceptualizations are required to use these emerging technologies, then some care should be taken to think deeply about the impacts of Web 2.0 on the processes and practices of pedagogy.
The above quotations taken from John Seely Brown (2002) holds true in some of today’s classrooms with older teachers. As a co-teacher in a regular classroom, I am consistently trying to change the view of fellow teachers in how they deal with many of my learning disabled students and the change in their learning styles. The Web2.0 site http://goanimate.com/ can be used to teach Learning Disabled students to write all genre of essay writing. Many students enjoy expressing themselves if they can create a product at the same time. In using goanimate.com, students use the site to create and tell a story using characters supplied or purchased on the web site. I have seen many of my students become so engrossed in creating their story that they at times do not want to leave the classroom. This Web2.0 site lets the students see their writing come to life in the form of a live cartoon which can be anywhere from a few minutes to ten minutes. Not only does this site capture the attention of Attention Deficit Disorder students, many of whom have attention problems, but it brings out their creative side and shows their peers that they are able to develop a great product in the classroom.
Teachers can also use this site to teach a lesson to the visual students in the classroom. Students will be more willing to watch a cartoon that is teaching a lesson over and over again, than hear the voice of the teacher repeating the topic over and over. As a teacher, we have to learn to move away from the uses of only pen and paper as a way for students to express mastery of any topic.
Monday, April 4, 2011
Learning Online
Chunk 1: Introduction
What does “doing it right” entail?
1. “Doing it right” means that online learning materials must be designed properly, with the learners and learning in focus, and that adequate support must be provided.
Describe some of the benefits of online learning.
1. For learners, online learning knows no time zones, and location and distance are not an issue.
2. In asynchronous online learning, students can access the online materials at anytime, while synchronous online learning allows for real time interaction between students and the instructor.
3. Use the Internet to access up-to-date and relevant learning materials, and can communicate with experts.
4. For the instructor, tutoring can be done at anytime and from anywhere. Online materials can be updated, and learners are able to see the changes at once. When learners are able to access materials on the Internet, it is easier for instructors to direct them to appropriate information based on their needs.
The development of effective online learning materials should be based on what?
Learners learn best when they can contextualize what they learn for immediate application and to acquire personal meaning.
Three schools of thought can in fact be used as taxonomy for learning. Behaviorists’ strategies can be used to teach the “what” (facts), cognitive strategies can be used to teach the “how” (processes and principles), and constructivist strategies can be used to teach the “why” (higher level thinking that promotes personal meaning and situated and contextual learning).
Chunk 2: Behaviorist and Cognitive School of Learning
What are the four implications for online learning from the Behaviorist perspective?
Implications for Online Learning
1. Learners should be told the explicit outcomes of the learning so
that they can set expectations and can judge for themselves
whether or not they have achieved the outcome of the online
lesson.
2. Learners must be tested to determine whether or not they have
achieved the learning outcome. Online testing or other forms of
testing and assessment should be integrated into the learning
sequence to check the learner’s achievement level and to provide
appropriate feedback.
3. Learning materials must be sequenced appropriately to promote
learning. The sequencing could take the form of simple to
complex, known to unknown, and knowledge to application.
4. Learners must be provided with feedback so that they can monitor
how they are doing and take corrective action if required.
How should information be organized to facilitate processing?
Online learning strategies must present the materials and use strategies to enable students to process the materials efficiently. Since working memory has limited capacity, information should be organized or chunked in pieces of appropriate size to facilitate processing. According to Miller (1956), because humans have limited short-term memory capacity, information should be grouped into meaningful sequences.
What are the four implications for online learning from the Cognitivist perspective?
• Strategies should be used to allow learners to perceive and attend to the information so that it can be transferred to working memory.
• Strategies should be used to allow learners to retrieve existing information from long-term memory to help make sense of the new information.
• Information should be chunked to prevent overload during processing in working memory
• Other strategies that promote deep processing should be used to help transfer information to long-term storage.
What does “doing it right” entail?
1. “Doing it right” means that online learning materials must be designed properly, with the learners and learning in focus, and that adequate support must be provided.
Describe some of the benefits of online learning.
1. For learners, online learning knows no time zones, and location and distance are not an issue.
2. In asynchronous online learning, students can access the online materials at anytime, while synchronous online learning allows for real time interaction between students and the instructor.
3. Use the Internet to access up-to-date and relevant learning materials, and can communicate with experts.
4. For the instructor, tutoring can be done at anytime and from anywhere. Online materials can be updated, and learners are able to see the changes at once. When learners are able to access materials on the Internet, it is easier for instructors to direct them to appropriate information based on their needs.
The development of effective online learning materials should be based on what?
Learners learn best when they can contextualize what they learn for immediate application and to acquire personal meaning.
Three schools of thought can in fact be used as taxonomy for learning. Behaviorists’ strategies can be used to teach the “what” (facts), cognitive strategies can be used to teach the “how” (processes and principles), and constructivist strategies can be used to teach the “why” (higher level thinking that promotes personal meaning and situated and contextual learning).
Chunk 2: Behaviorist and Cognitive School of Learning
What are the four implications for online learning from the Behaviorist perspective?
Implications for Online Learning
1. Learners should be told the explicit outcomes of the learning so
that they can set expectations and can judge for themselves
whether or not they have achieved the outcome of the online
lesson.
2. Learners must be tested to determine whether or not they have
achieved the learning outcome. Online testing or other forms of
testing and assessment should be integrated into the learning
sequence to check the learner’s achievement level and to provide
appropriate feedback.
3. Learning materials must be sequenced appropriately to promote
learning. The sequencing could take the form of simple to
complex, known to unknown, and knowledge to application.
4. Learners must be provided with feedback so that they can monitor
how they are doing and take corrective action if required.
How should information be organized to facilitate processing?
Online learning strategies must present the materials and use strategies to enable students to process the materials efficiently. Since working memory has limited capacity, information should be organized or chunked in pieces of appropriate size to facilitate processing. According to Miller (1956), because humans have limited short-term memory capacity, information should be grouped into meaningful sequences.
What are the four implications for online learning from the Cognitivist perspective?
• Strategies should be used to allow learners to perceive and attend to the information so that it can be transferred to working memory.
• Strategies should be used to allow learners to retrieve existing information from long-term memory to help make sense of the new information.
• Information should be chunked to prevent overload during processing in working memory
• Other strategies that promote deep processing should be used to help transfer information to long-term storage.
Thursday, March 31, 2011
What is full access
As teachers we talk about proving our students’ full access to information in the curriculum and that should mean how that student is able to view the material and in what format. Is our students understanding and comprehending what they need to learn? If the student is able to show that he/she is able to take the information they were given and use that information to produce a product or solve a problem then we may say that the student has process that information to some degree and learning has taken place.
Universal design talks about the well design lesson but what good is a well design lesson if the students do not understand what they need to do. That means the students must not only have access to the curriculum, but understanding of the curriculum as well. It is important before any lesson to unpack the standards, thus giving students a chance to see and express any concerns they may have. After expressing their concerns teachers may decide that scaffolding for some students is necessary for learning to takes place.
As a Middle School Special Education teacher I make sure I provide a great deal of modeling for my students and this is usually done with manipulative and graphic organizers. My students then are able to become a part of the lesson. They can now feel, touch and gain a mental picture of the task to be completed. As I read and viewed all the videos it has confirmed in me as a teacher the importance of taking a wide-range of approaches in the delivery of my instruction and the evaluation of what type of learning has taken place within the classroom.
Universal design talks about the well design lesson but what good is a well design lesson if the students do not understand what they need to do. That means the students must not only have access to the curriculum, but understanding of the curriculum as well. It is important before any lesson to unpack the standards, thus giving students a chance to see and express any concerns they may have. After expressing their concerns teachers may decide that scaffolding for some students is necessary for learning to takes place.
As a Middle School Special Education teacher I make sure I provide a great deal of modeling for my students and this is usually done with manipulative and graphic organizers. My students then are able to become a part of the lesson. They can now feel, touch and gain a mental picture of the task to be completed. As I read and viewed all the videos it has confirmed in me as a teacher the importance of taking a wide-range of approaches in the delivery of my instruction and the evaluation of what type of learning has taken place within the classroom.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Assistive Technology
Through its legislative efforts in 1992, Congress recognized the importance of assistive technology (AT) devices and services as tools to assist students with disabilities in leading independent and productive lives. Congress addressed the students' needs for AT services by providing specific definitions of these services1 in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDE),(http://www.ucp.org/ucp_channeldoc.cfm/1/12/69/69-69/979). As a teacher it is my responsible to ensure that I include any assistive technology device in my students IEP. It would be wrong of me to sit by and not seek to provide my students with any means necessary to be successful in the classroom. I have had a student who is unable to write clearly and was failing his classes as his teachers were unable to read his writing. It was my job to place in his IEP that all assignments should be done on a computer and that the student should be given extra days to turn in all assignments.
What are your rights regarding copyright and fair use if you modify the access methods of your course materials? How can you make this work for you in your classroom?
As stated in http://home.earthlink.net/~cnew/research emerging technologies bring new challenges for today's teachers. The Internet and availability of computers and digitizing equipment provide ready access to great reservoirs of information and knowledge. Newer technologies also allow teachers to transfer, copy, and digitize learning materials faster and easier than ever. Digital images may travel great distances quickly, leaving no trail. Text and images can be copied instantly, and then easily saved in computer files (Carter, 1996, p. 4). I try to give my student the most up-to-date information this has gotten easier because of the internet but I let my students know that it is very important to site their source at all times. I teacher my students two things how to find and modify information found on the internet, also to convert information into their own words.
What are your rights regarding copyright and fair use if you modify the access methods of your course materials? How can you make this work for you in your classroom?
As stated in http://home.earthlink.net/~cnew/research emerging technologies bring new challenges for today's teachers. The Internet and availability of computers and digitizing equipment provide ready access to great reservoirs of information and knowledge. Newer technologies also allow teachers to transfer, copy, and digitize learning materials faster and easier than ever. Digital images may travel great distances quickly, leaving no trail. Text and images can be copied instantly, and then easily saved in computer files (Carter, 1996, p. 4). I try to give my student the most up-to-date information this has gotten easier because of the internet but I let my students know that it is very important to site their source at all times. I teacher my students two things how to find and modify information found on the internet, also to convert information into their own words.
Saturday, March 19, 2011
Technology Integration
As a teacher of the future generation I can visualize a school where students make available learning content for their peers. I would take pleasure in being a part of a school learning process reversal, where the homework is watching a video lesson on a topic (produced by another student) and the class work is where the student applies the learning content under the supervision of the teacher. In this situation, students are content creators and contributors to the learning process, taking ownership of their learning while providing learning tools for others and participating in a joint learning process. This would have to be a place where teachers are not the only ones who have access to computers and technology and where teachers are not only the dispensers of knowledge, but rather they are guides, and facilitators of the learning process. Technology is in the hands of students with access to Web 2.0 tools and they have the background training to use it wisely and safely .Some apparatus that make this type of situation possible are laptops, digital cameras, camcorders, webcams, iPods, and microphones along with students who are exposed to all these resources at a young age. Students and teachers need to create blogs, wikis, mind mapping resources and online storage to keep and gain instant access to their information. This will also help students to easily carry their work from one grade level to another.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Blogs in the classroom
There is a lot of room in the classroom for the various telecommunications resources of today. Here in Cobb County, we use Weblogs to commutate each week’s agenda to parents and students may view the blogs to see what happen in class on a day they were absent. Many times in the past students have used email to send unfinished work to themselves and then email the completed assignment back to the teacher. This has proven to be a great tool to commute with their teacher. In my class, students can email me if they need advice on a project sometime over the weekend. Parents are using email to seek information on their children progress at school. As teacher, we use an electronic mailing list to commutate with each other.
At some point in the future, there will be a use for Instant messenger when teaming with classrooms in other parts of the county, country or world. This is where video messaging will have a role to play. This would make the world such a miniature place for students to work with other students from all over the world. I have every intention to continue using and exposing my students to new resources that will make them better 21st learners.
At some point in the future, there will be a use for Instant messenger when teaming with classrooms in other parts of the county, country or world. This is where video messaging will have a role to play. This would make the world such a miniature place for students to work with other students from all over the world. I have every intention to continue using and exposing my students to new resources that will make them better 21st learners.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
The IPad!
Thanks Jill for your response and for the link below regarding the use of the IPad. I wish your daughter all the best in her future endeavors.
http://www.suite101.com/content/the-ipad-changed-my-daughters-education-i-know-she-will-succeed-a290620
This is a really good tool for those who are not very organized. It is light, portable which takes the place of a planner and trying to find a pen to jot down ideas. It offers the ability to research information on-the-spot which is key to anyone who tends to forget quickly. It helps to expand visual and audio communication with the use of applications such as a camera, microphone and google cabilities. For students of all levels it is a multi-tasking tool; a library, classroom-ready applications and allows for younger children to improve their research and typing capabilities. For students who are learning disabled, it is more visually enticing and stimulating for the focus challenged. For the emotionally disturbed, this can be used to aid their focus which allows them to be proactive, engaged and this controls their behavior. Also, the information that is produced in this setting can be recorded and saved for future retrieval.
http://www.suite101.com/content/the-ipad-changed-my-daughters-education-i-know-she-will-succeed-a290620
This is a really good tool for those who are not very organized. It is light, portable which takes the place of a planner and trying to find a pen to jot down ideas. It offers the ability to research information on-the-spot which is key to anyone who tends to forget quickly. It helps to expand visual and audio communication with the use of applications such as a camera, microphone and google cabilities. For students of all levels it is a multi-tasking tool; a library, classroom-ready applications and allows for younger children to improve their research and typing capabilities. For students who are learning disabled, it is more visually enticing and stimulating for the focus challenged. For the emotionally disturbed, this can be used to aid their focus which allows them to be proactive, engaged and this controls their behavior. Also, the information that is produced in this setting can be recorded and saved for future retrieval.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Using 21st software to keep students organize
I currently work with several disabled students who are challenged with being organized. I’m constantly researching ways that will permit my students to be better equipped in having their notes and keeping up with their assignments. Some of my students use flash drives to save their work and others have to save all work done on the computer as they have a hard time carrying a book bag around all day. So I will be looking for ways to help SWD students to stay organize .
Monday, March 7, 2011
To comment or not to comment!
As the blogosphere gets inundated with blogs of all type, we all want and need feedback on our blogs. Why is this important? Well, it gives us a chance to see how others feel about the topic we have a passion for and to share our own thoughts. As others share, it may invoke new and different ways to look at a topic. Blogging should be about collaboration, sharing experiences and knowledge. How can that be done without the input from others? As we open blogs to comments, we are hoping to learn and receive additional information from other bloggers who could leave their comments and even their own blog address. When people find a blog that can be a forum to their voice, they will inadvertently relay the blog address to others. Every blog benefits positively from increased traffic as people share ideas and experiences. In a classroom setting having an open blog will give students who are shy or may be fearfully that other may criticize them, the chance to have a voice in a that class. Students can also post comments or questions on an open blog. Students would not have to wait until they get to class to talk to the teacher or even their peers. This may be a way to get students to begin to have meaningful discussions based upon other each others’ comments on a classroom blog. In school we have developed a blog for students to post their comments on a book that they have read. They are encouraged to highlight sections of the book they find interesting. Others who have also read that book may add additional comments.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Introduction
This online class is primarily for students who are unable to attend school for any of the following reasons; illness or out of school suspension (being out for a minimum period of six weeks). Before starting this course each student and parent will be required to read an Online Learning Support Agreement and submit, by email, a response within two days of being enrolled in the course.
This document called an Online Learning Support Agreement will set the expectation of this class, what you as the student can expect from me as your instructor and your responsibility as the student. An online class is a lot different than sitting in a classroom at your school and requires each student to commit to the program. I am looking forward to a great time exploring the thinking of the 21st century student with you.
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