Course Reflection

I am not going to lie, when i first signed up for this class I was not excited. I am not really a tech savy person and just knew I was going to get behind. But now that is over, I am kind of sad. I feel like I learned so much but there is so much more I could learn. There are so many great websites and devices you can use in your classroom and I feel like I just scratched the surface. I think the part I enjoyed the most was learning how to use the active board. I have seen it be used in both of my practicums so far and they are great. The kids love them and it keeps them so engaged. This class made the active board go from something scary, to something I can't wait to use in my classroom one day.  I also really liked working with the digital storybooks. I think that could be an incredible way to introduce something new to students. I also would love to get more familiar with making them, so that I can teach my students how to do them one day. I think it would be so cool to have the kids make their own. This class really taught me that the computer/ internet is not as scary as I once thought. For the most part, everything is easy to figure out if you just take your time and don't get frustrated. There are so many incredible resources I learned about in this class andI look forward to getting to use them in my class one day. Also, thanks Jeff for being such a great teacher and for all of your help!

University of Houston Digital Story Website

I am sure I have seen some examples of digital stories, but I didn't really know much about them or even what to call them. I think one of the most beneficial parts of the website was the educational uses of digital stories. I really love the idea of letting the students create one. This would really get the kids excited about learning and make them feel like the can teach the class some as a change. I think digital stories could be a great resource to use in a classroom. Kids love movies and pictures and sounds and really anything that appeals to the senses. You can really make a digital story about anything and I think it can take even the most boring of topics and make it exciting. This website does a great job at teaching us how to create digital diagrams as well as inform about what they are. It seems very doable and like a great way to keep students engaged.

iBooks- Chapter 1

      I thought Chapter 1 of this book was super helpful. I don't have much experience with using the interactive white boards, so I was a little uncertain about my ability to do anything on it. This chapter was a great introduction to what they are all about and what they can be used for. I thought it was cool that they didn't just say that the white board is beneficial, but they back it up with research. Using the white boards improved student's literacy, mathematics, and science. However, this was only if the interactive white boards were used effectively and consistently. It said that there was little effect on students who are lower achievers, but I think I disagree. I have seen interactive white boards used in several resource and CDCA classrooms and the kids love it. It makes learning fun and interactive (obviously). They are more interested in what it going on and more willing to participate. It also helps with students with visual impairments because it makes everything much bigger. I thought it was good that they addressed some challenges that could occur. I am sure I will run into some challenges and now I know that some of those challenges are completely normal. I learned a lot in this chapter and feel much more confident about using the white boards.

Midterm Reflection

So far, I have really enjoyed this class. I has been cool to see what we are learning in here being implemented in my placement. I feel like I have already learned quite a bit about technology and how I can use it in my classroom one day. I like the pace we are going and I am very thankful for your understanding when we are lost. The midterm was a good reflection of what we have learned so far. I am really looking forward to using the white board more, because that is what I have seen used the most in the classrooms I have observed.

Wiki Walk-Through

        Wiki Walk-Through is pretty much exactly what it sounds like, it is a website that give us the basics of what a wiki is. First, we find out that a wiki is a site that lets visitor participate. One thing this website said that i really liked is that a wiki is always "under revision." You can always add or take away anything on a wiki. Something interesting I learned, is that wiki comes from a Hawaiian word meaning quick or fast. Wikis can be used by anyone, not just teachers and students. This website also talks about the difference between a wiki and a blog. In a blog, you are only able to read the post and comment on it. With wiki, like I said before, you anyone is able to change or alter the post. I really liked the link that gave us ways to use wikis in the classroom. I think these could be really be useful in my future classroom. Whether I make the wiki or have the students do it in groups, I think they could be a great resource. Loved the idea of a using it for a virtual tour. I know that in special education, a lot of students learn better seeing what is being taught. This website has so many great ideas and even breaks them into grade levels and content areas. I think my favorite thing was looking at the examples of wikis that have already been created. This made it seem real and achievable for my to do one day. I have enjoyed creating and learning about wikis in our class so far.

Website Evaluation Blog

     

   

       I thought this assignment was well put together and easily understood. I knew exactly what each section was asking from me and how to complete it correctly. I liked how the worksheet gave us what to look for specifically. I have never evaluated a website before so it was super helpful. Now when I am looking for websites to use in my classroom, I will know what to look out for to decide if I should use it or not. I enjoyed completing this assignment, because it gave me the opportunity to expand my technological resources for my future classroom. The website I chose to use is something I could see myself using when I am a teacher. The more we do in this class, the more confident I am feeling about using technology in my classroom.

Blog About a Blog

http://www.aspecialsparkle.com/2013/07/tips-for-new-special-education-teachers.html
       In this post I will look into and discuss about another education blog I have found. This blog is super great. There are many things I love and a few things I might change. Not going to lie, this blog first attracted me so much because of it's bright colors and cute title. After looking at it more, I realized it was more than just a pretty face. The first thing you see on this blog, is a list of tips for special education teachers. As a hopeful special education teacher, this really drew me in. This blog has so many different great resources. The subtitle for it is "a collaborative special education blog", meaning there are several different authors and experiences working together to create it. The first blog I looked at was Teaching Special Thinkers. I really loved this title. The teacher that wrote this teaches students with autism in kindergarten through second grade. This particular blog is very neat and well organized. It is easy to use and navigate. She has a ton of great resources for every subject and even
some for teaching planning in general. She tells a little bit about herself and even gives a way for us readers to contact her. The next author I looked at has a blog called Reading Towards the Stars. In my placement I have been working a lot with struggling readers, so I knew it would be helpful for now as well as in my future classroom. The author's name is Andrea Crawford and she is a reading specialist. I believe she is a very reliable resources. She has a tab for "freebies" that I looked at. Most of the resources I looked at where super useful and gave me ideas for helping those struggling readers.
     When looking at the actual blog, A Special Sparkle, there are a few things I see that I might change. First, it's a little bit overwhelming. I have hard time, when looking at the front page, finding anything with ease. There is just a lot going on. Another thing I might add or change, is a way to contact each specific author without having to go to their blog. Most, if not all of my concerns for this blog are things that don't really need to be changed and aren't really interfering with the success of the blog. I just think I would have liked it that much more if these things were different.