Sunday, February 12, 2012

Blog Assignment 3

Students interacting with technology in the classroom


Technology in Special Education
Before watching this video Technology in Special Education, I had never thought about how much technology can also help special education students. I would even say that technology is more crucial to children with disorders. The way they learn and interact with others has changed dramatically for the good. It really stood out to me how many of the students were not able to write well, if at all. Computers allow these children to communicate their thoughts faster by typing or using a special mouse.
The joy that technology has brought to special education students is evident. Learning has turned into something fun and intriguing. Teachers can incorporate this technology into all lessons to help the children become eager to learn. It is always more fun to interact with learning rather than listen to someone talk all day!
How the iPad Works with Academics
How the iPad Works with Academics for Autism, is a great video showing how well educational apps can help children with disabilities. I looked through the app store and found a game that I would love to use in the classroom. "Jungle Fractions" is for the iPad and makes learning fractions fun!
Fractions is something not always easy for children to learn quickly. For example, it is sometimes hard for them to grasp that one-third and two-sixths are equal. This game uses a fun version of pie charts to clearly show what a fraction looks like. The whole class would be able to participate with this game. This not only helps children visually learn, but also helps eliminate the issue some have with writing.
Social Media Count
After watching Gary's Social Media Count, I realize even more the importance of edm 310. It is not only to have a knowledge of the the current technology but to be a part of the continuous growth. Technology is growing at an amazing rate. We as teachers will be lost if we do not continue our blogs and social media networks.
These blogs help us to stay informed. Never before has there been a way for so many teachers around the world to stay in contact with each other. This is an amazing opportunity to learn what we are doing wrong and what we are doing right. We are able to find out about teaching techniques that would have never been thought of. In order for us to be the best, we must have a well rounded understanding gained from communication with others and our own experiences combined.
A Vision of Students Today
Michael Wesch's video A Vision of Students Today, helps teachers become aware that learning is no longer done by just sitting in a classroom. Teaching should be changing from how it was even fifty years ago. Yet, the majority if classrooms are still the same.
There was a quote in the video from 1841 saying what an addition the chalkboard was to education. I find this funny considering half of my classrooms still have chalkboards! We should have moved on to something new by now. The world has gained to much knowledge about studying and learning disabilities to still be teaching off a chalkboard alone.

1 comment:

  1. "We should have moved on to something new by now." I think so too!

    Well written. Interesting.

    ReplyDelete