May Blogs (weeks thirteen through fifteen)

Weeks Twleve through Fourteen Blogs

Week Thirteen

What scares me the most is being so behind and feeling like I do not have enough time in the day to learn it all.  It takes longer to learn, being a digital immigrant.  I am learning to just deal with it and ask for help from others around me.  Soon I am sure I will be asking my six year old (or my two year old) for help.

Week Fourteen

After looking at our district's technology plan, I have already talked to my collegues about it.  we are bringing it up with our program supervisor, our site principal, and will take it to the superindentent as well for equal access for training for us and our kids.  We want specifics as to how it will be implemented.  (we are becoming a little pushy =) )

Week Fifteen

What things I will take from this class?  There is so much!!!

 I have already showed all my related service providers the website and we are cooridnating how to have additional websites (through google sites) for each provider.

I am going to relook and delve into the websites provided.  I have a collegues who is getting all the students who would have gone to county programs and she needs LOTS of resources on AT and ammunition to defned WHY she needs it.  I am working with her on the websites that have been given.

I am getting my website developed more, will be doing video podcasts for all the teachers in SDC at our site, and will be trying to video tape my parent trainings.  

I told my collegues about the "office" that you had and how we could have own office hours for consultation.  THEY WERE THRILLED!! We are going to develop our "offices" and have parents access us that way as well.

After looking at our technology plan and letting my collegues know what is in it, we are advocating for equal access and training not only to us, but for our students.  (The district hated  me before, now I am REALLY getting their feathers ruffled =) )

We are starting to collaborate on google docs and putting our data forms there.

I have LOVED this class.  I am already looking into the AT certificate.  Watch out San Ramon!! =)

Blog for 4/22/2009

Carol observed my website and commented that it looked good. Carol felt that my website was sophisticated and in depth.   The only drawback on the website was the link to my blog for my slippery fish video kept going to the blogger status page.

I will continue to build and work on my website.  Particularly I will figure out how to get my link to work effectively for my video podcasts.  I will be adding my newsletters within the month as well as future video podcasts.

4/15/2009 Blog and slippery fish video

Blog for 4/15/2009

How will I use these online resources for parent training, collaboration, and student learning?  

I will be using Google Docs for collaboration with all my related services staff and fellow SDC teachers.  We are writing an assistive technology grant through Autism Speaks and this will help greatly in refining the grant!

I plan to put my parent training on google docs for revisions and additions with my related service staff.

I am video podcasting all my songs and hand movements, trying to attach a link to them from my website so that parents and students can access it anytime.

I am looking at video taping my parent trainings and then importing them in a video cast format so parents who are not able to attend in person will have access to it.  I am looking at doing an online chat with families in regards to the parent training. I am trying to get it all together in a power point presentation for other teachers and paras.

I am looking at using different internet websites for the games and activities in collaboration with Speaking Dynamically Pro.  

I am planning to get involved in Classroom 2.0, TeacherWeb, and QIAT listerv.  I am going to look into listervs in the areas of preschool autism, assistive technology for preschoolers, and behavior analyst forums.

Blog for 4/8/2009

Blog: What 5 things have you learned so far this semester, why is it important to you, how are you currently use them, and how is supporting student development for information literacy?

1) Resources, resources, resources!  I have taken many of the websites and either incorporated them into my classroom or have collaborated with my collegues with them.

2) I learned how to do a website.  I will be incorporating my website for my families and will help with priming for the curriculum for the students.

3) I have learned how to do a podcast.  I will be using video podcasts to record all the hand movements of the songs that I use in class so students can see the movements prior to hearing the song.

4) I have learned about google docs.  This will be using this to collaborate with my collegues as we are developing data forms across the special day classes on our campuses.

5) I have learned more about assistive technology and what it means so that I can be more knowledgeable in IEP meetings.  I have already used this in some IEP meetings and will continue to make more accommodations/modifications on IEP's as I begin to understand more fully what each child needs in relation to assistive technology supports.

How has this helped with student literacy?  Now that I have a better understanding of assistive technology, I am able to make more of my curriculum more accessible and diverse to my students.  This in turn helps them to learn more.

Blog for 4/1/2009

How will you use graphic organizers for teaching, learning, and collaboration?  Why would the use of graphic organizers by both you, the teacher, and your students help improve learning?

Graphic Organizers would be helpful to visually (through icons more than words) show concepts better for my young preschoolers.  

Graphic organizers would be helpful for my staff to see during each area of the day what goals are being worked on.

Graphic organizers would be helpful with collaborating with staff to see how goals are going to be implemented and with whom.

Graphic organizers could help me be more organized in my lesson plans, show parents visually my thought process for a theme, and could help me generate new ideas.

Graphic organizers would help my students understand in more in depth the topics/themes that we use.  I could set up a good sorting activity based on the theme, categories, and picture/word matching games.

Blog for 3/18/2009

Which framework will you use, how will you use it, when, and why? 

I will use the Minnesota Form.  I will use it with a student that I am currently looking at a referral process for AT.  I want to have a complete picture before we start the actual referral and have the family understand why the AT referral is needed for their child.

I have his annual IEP coming up in a May.  I will start the process with my team and family so by the IEP we have a framework for the referral for next year.

I like the Minnesota Form because it is family friendly and very user friendly.  It puts the engima of Assistive Technology aside, and puts it in a way that makes sense to all who would use it.

Blog for 3/4/2009

What kind of "mark" will you leave on your students?

I want them to know that I expect the best from them and will help them reach their potential whatever that is.  My job is to help them find their wings.

Alongside my students, I work closely with parents.  I want to leave a mark on them as well as the teacher who looks for the potential in their child, an advocate for their child, and a helper/mentor in areas they need support in.

Blog for 2/18/2009

I can be a resource to others who have no tech or low tech accessibiity by showing them all the ways that they currently use no tech and low tech devices to help students.  From there, I can help them expand to using additional low tech or no tech items.  Once buy in is there, I could help with some items for a classroom with one computer to show how the low tech items can transfer to high tech and be another way of getting engagement with students.

Blog for 2/11/2009

Blog: How can you use different features in Word for student learning, develop informational literacy in your students, or for your own data management?

I will start using watermarks in all my monthly letters. I will start using speech to text in the classroom as I am writing out thoughts.   I like the aspects of being able to fiddle with word to do forms for more accurate data keeping. I am looking forward to google.sites to get all my classroom information in one setting for parents.

Notes for 2/11/09

Notes for 2/11/09

Sample on website (preschool) of UDL paper.  Check it out to confirm that you are doing it right.

Look at emulators: VMware is supposed to be the best.  Better than bootcamp to have both Mac/PC working.  Can do cut and paste better than bootcamp.

Accessibility tools for : PC version: speech to text (person has to be able to articulate well).  Go to start, control panel, go to speech folder, go to speech recognition.  Make sure you have a good headset. Can do text to speech as well.  Toolbar shows up on the the top of the computer.

Accessibilities options: sticky keys helps students to not press the letter multiple times. Look at all the accessibility options under the PC!!

WACOM tablets would be good for students with fine motor issues. (will draw on tablet and it goes into the computer)

MAC version: Go to apple, system preferences and universal access.  Speech to text is better in a  PC.  Look at notebook version for Word to help with speech to text notes.  It only works in notebook view, no other view.

How do we get students with special needs to "fill the gap" in technology when they are so far behind with students within this country, much less the 28% of the GATE students in China or India.

Look at more options in Microsoft Word for pictures in headers and footers as well as creating watermarks.

Blog for 2/4/2009

How can you use technology to support your teaching strategies and your students' learning?

1)text to speech pairing them with pictures (digital or otherwise) with Boardmaker.

2)Trying the sketchup designs to teach new concepts

3)Doing lesson plans on line to help incorporate more Universal Design of Learning

4)Try some interactive story boards on the touch screen at school.

5) I am looking at the ATTO website and see that I already use a lot of adaptations without thinking of them as assistive technology.  With new insight I will be able to adapt even more and write them more consistently on IEP's.

Notes for 2/4/09

2/4/09 Notes

UDL-Universal Design for Learning

ADA- Examples of ADA not really working, curb cuts not good for blind.  Lower shelves not good for tall people.

UDL-good for all students in your classroom.  Think about how you teach, your student's individual strengths and weaknesses, and their ability to use whatever they can to show that they understand the concept. 

CAST creators of Universal Design for Learning.

Your UDL paper is broken up in two parts: 1) the research found on UDL, 2) how UDL will apply to your classroom.  UDL is due on 2/18/09-2/24/09.  Double spaced, one page title, one page bibliography, One page abstract.  Upload it to TurnItIn.com

plagarism.org

national library of virtual manipulatives; good understanding of concepts

Ideas for themes of preschool and autism: week 13 virtual reality therapy

www.froguts.com dissect a frog online

www.storynory.com 

www.librivox.org  free audio books

www.bookshare.org

www.sd21.org/curriculum/lincoln

Text edit plus ( free for Mac's) will speak text as they are written

solo write out loud-speaks letter each time it is written

www.cepstral.com text to speech with natural voices to them.

QIAT listserv-ask the question how to change the voices from adult to children 

Cepstral may be able to download them into SDPro so there are more natural voices.

Blog Topic for 1/28/09

What was most interesting, most useful about tonight's information and what do you want to explore further?

There was so much that I have learned about tonight.  I am so excited about the possibilities to use technology with my young students.  I am so excited to use podcasts as a way to document data collection on behaviors and have parent resources out there more accessible to families.

I would like to have as many resources as possible for podcasts, AT needs, and collaboration via technology.

notes from class 1/29/09

urls: storynory.com (early child, CAST.org,  teachertube,  smartboard (interactive whiteboard), WII mo use the WII's remote to make a smartboard.  cloud computing is posting (like facebook) or blogging.

digital native(under 25) a part of their being, digital alien(those that refuse to learn), digital immigrant( over 25) still has to keep learning about the computer and technology: Mark Crenske coined the phrases above.  John G showed research that gaming is helping children learn concepts faster, better, and retain them longer.

Student Response Systems (jeopardy)

Virtual Field Trips : Donorschoose.org (this will help with getting stuff for schools.  Fall is a registration for it for the West Coast); Monterey Bay Aquiarium web cams, San Diego Zoo has animal cams as well.

Podcasts: Download books from Itunes that kids have read and posted.

Google Docs:  Need to to do this for team members for our data collection and grant writing.

nivac and nimac: legislation to make all materials accessible to all people with disabilities.

Next week: plagarism certificate, research on UDL, and today's blog.

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