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.