Something to think about....

Here just some food for thought - Why do we need to start thinking about using Technology in our classrooms?

A vision of K-12 Students Today 

A vision of k-12 students today

Questions to think about while you review this video:

- What do you think about the stats? Good? Bad? Ugly?
- How do our kids interact with technology?
- Why should we care about incorporating technoto into our classes?
- How can we be a change agent?

New to the special education process?

This one is for you parents, caregivers, or students who are new to the special education referral process. Here are some great links and resources for those of you who are brand new to the whole world of special education:

• CEC's tool of the week - Here are some free downloads available from the Council of Exceptional Children (CEC). These are all great downloads for any stage of special education. Some downloads include: driver's ed, understanding special education, and more.
• Special education news - Here is a great resource that has history of special education, and trending topics regarding special education.
• FAPE - Here is a great resource all about FAPE - Free and Appropriate Public Education 
• IDEA - Click here to learn about the IDEA  - Individual's with Disabilities Education Act.
• IEP - Here is a great site about the IEP process.
• NCLB - No child left behind - learn all about it here.

Have Twitter? Here are some special education related hash-tags:

• #sped
• #spedchat
• #specialneeds
• #spedtech
• #autism
• #adhd
• #asd

TRETC conference part 3

The second session I attended was about learning portals. Learning portals are a great way to extend learning outside the walls of the classroom.

Walls come tumbling down

• http://learningportals.wikispaces.com
• What are learning portals?
• real time learning
• diverse learning
• 24/7
• provides more resources
• discussion boards
• polls
• reminders/calendars
• contact
• enrichment and review
• links and resources
• videos / podcasts
• class notes
• paradigm shift in instructional design
• we need to change the way we think to present information differently
• We don’t need to know how to code or know how to create websites to create a learning portal
• A learning portal is never finished it is fluid and grows
• this is a blended approach used for supplementation
• digital divide is shifting from have and have not to know how and  not know how to

• Tools to create a learning portal:
• wikispaces.com
• wix.com
• wordpress.com
• edublogs.com
• weebly.com
• googlesites.com
• wetpaint.com
• pbwiki
• moodle
• jimdo
• webs
• webstarts
• ning
• moogo

Things to put on your webpage

• animoto
• crocdoc
• slideshare
• coveritlive
• screecast
• edistorm
• quizlet
• glogster
• khanacademy

Resources

• edistorm - similar to wallwisher free post it not bulletin board, able to vote on ideas!
• coursesites.com - free online management of instruction, tools, assessment

TRETC conference part 2

The first session I attended was about how to create an online school for a district. This session really inspired me. These are the notes and tips I received from the session:

Online learning panel  session

• There is no such thing as  a one size fits all online learning needs of kids, teachers, and administrators
• online learning is an agent of change
• Create individual plans and schedules for students which accommodates their own learning path
• can give acceleration to students, along with remediation if needed
• online learning is a quality option
• under promise and over deliver
• education is changing there is now choice
• paradigm shift - education in a new light
• asynchronous or synchronous learning or blended learning
• Need passion, drive, dedication
• be flexible

• How to get an online school started?
• look at this as a new school
• review policies
• focus on students and learning
• purpose of the school
• bring students and teachers into communication
• information for parents regarding policies, procedures, rules
• communication is key
• parent and student buy in
• support for teachers who are going into a virtual world (training, workshops, updates).
• engagement - find engaging activities online, not just reading and writing
• visionary planning
• goal setting
• research and outreach
• reflect
• align curriculum with goals
• don’t rush it!
• all about customer service perspective
• monetary investment
• learn from mistakes

TRETC conference part 1

Good morning. I thought I would take some time to discuss the TRETC conference that I attended yesterday with a colleague of mine. Here are some notes from the keynote speaker panel.

• Gregg Behr - keynote speaker along with panelist
• great time to be a kid to learn about informal learning - anytime, anywhere learning
• kids today are learning anytime and anyplace
• Neil
• students can create sites, videos, blogs, podcast, etc as independent study or differentiated instruction assignments
• Traci Blazosky
• give students choices regarding assignments (tic tac toe board)
• go on virtual field trips with your class by using google earth
• combination with Web 2.0 tools such as Glogster, blabberize
• technology evens the playing field for projects and assignments.
• Dr. Wilder
• find your element
• ask students
• let students find their dreams
• Karen Cater
• education is a matter of national security and economic development
• challenge students get them fully engaged
• shift to digital learning environment from paper based
• learn from people, books, and interfaces
• accessibility is vital
• text to speech, video calls online
• assistive tech and accessible options are made for individuals with disabilities, but are used everyday by others
• opportunity to learn and engage at this time are strong

• Badges or achievements in formal education
• informal learning spaces
• badges for mastery of topics learned
• move to competency based system

Resources from the keynote:

• https://sites.google.com/a/propelschools.org/theplaneteers/ - recylcing site made by a student from Propel School in Pittsburgh, PA
• www.b-7bobcats.wikispaces.com - Traci Blosky’s site
• Cha-ching - earn, save, spend, donate, financial literacy
• http://bugscope.beckman.uiuc.edu/ - great way to review and learn about bugs in your own backyard!

Apps for all

Today I decided to post some of my favorite app resources.This is a list comprised of websites and wikis who have scoured the internet, iPod, and iPad to find some great educational apps to use in the classroom.

• Ipad Resources for Educators - a livebinder that I created with Ipad apps and resources. 
• Ipod Resources for Educators - a livebinder that I created with Ipod apps and resources. 
• Bloom's apps - a list of apps for all of the Bloom's taxonomy levels. 
• Special education apps - list of many different apps organized in alphabetical order. 
• SLP apps 2 - another list of apps for speech therapists.  
• Apps for note taking - here is a comprehensive list of many apps used to take notes. 
• Speech and language apps - a  great list of apps to use in the speech classroom. 
• Apps for spled - more apps for students with special needs 
• ipad apps for ESL - A list of apps to use in the ESL classroom.
•  ipads in the classroom  - Lists many educational apps to use in the classroom.
• Math apps - A comprehensive list of math apps

 For more apps visit my Diigo bookmarks here

Gaming in education

Today I attended a seminar at Penn State about gaming in the classroom. This was presented by Chris Stubbs.

• Games can integrate and add value to lessons.

• All games can be use in education

What is a game like element?

• needs  to be compelling
• can be used to alter motivation
• piece of a game that adds something to it
• objectives - can be overall objective, can be spelled out or subtle embedded within a game
• scaffolding - gives a player enough information to play, but not so much that it keeps them from playing. (WOW- great example), constantly reuse skills or topics learned and reflect, start off easy, use it!
• expression and progression - progression bars, meters, fill up bars, level up
• feedback - sound cues, grades, meters, numerical, fail or “die”, progress, success
• competition
• achievements  - badges, developer creator goals, objectives of the game (mini quests), about feedback, accomplishment, positive reinforcement, allow for reflection, shareable and social
• narrative - gives background information, gives context, story telling
• role play
• choice - character, reactions, gives ownership to players
• fixed rewards
• interval rewards
• lottery
• modifiers
• ownership
• status
• ranking

Gamification  - takes pieces of games to make it more compelling (improve engagaement or change behavior) - takes these elements and use in different contexts

How can we use these elements in the classroom?

• Attendance
• Extra credit ball - 4 x a semester a ball is tossed out (inside the ball are numbers) the ball gets tossed out into the crowd a student picks a number, whatever number is pulled, that's the number of extra credit points is given that day to students.
• A code is embedded in a presentation to unlock quizzes or extra credit points given to students who attend class
• Experience and meters
• Start out with an F in course, each item handed in then meter goes up, shows progression throughout course
• Give objectives that are clear (a rubric)
• Blogs - start a leader board (based on comments) - bring your A game to a blog post

Risks

• extrinsic motivation
• competition doesn’t work for everyone
• over justification effect - constant feedback etc. ask to do without an extrinsic reward - the motivation is at times lost
• privacy - use systems that are not all about grades, most items are not required

Examples of frameworks that already have this to import into your class:

• gamify.it
• cubepoints.com

Guest Post: Lindsey Wright

Lindsey Wright is fascinated with the potential of emerging educational technologies, particularly the online school, to transform the landscape of learning. She writes about web-based learning, electronic and mobile learning, and the possible future of education.

Tools and How You Use Them

As schools scramble for funding and try to increase the number of technological tools available for students, it's easy to get caught up in technology for technology's sake. Instead, it can be helpful to focus on what the access to this technology actually means for the students and the learning outcomes as a result of the technology. Not all schools should be as technology-laden as online college classes, and this is especially true when we consider the role of educational technology in the field of special education.

Tablets

Recently, tablet computers like the iPad are beginning to show up in more and more schools. At the college level, they're being given out to incoming students, and meanwhile becoming teaching tools in elementary and middle schools. In some districts pilot programs are being implemented to introduce tablets in special education classrooms, loaded with software to help engage children with communication and autism spectrum disorders.

The goal of using tablets in these classrooms is to allow students to better express their needs. What makes the tablet so useful in this regard? Touch screens are well suited to kids who have trouble with fine motor skills, and are easier to manipulate than writing utensils or even a computer mice. Young students with or without disabilities are also fascinated by the technology and eager to try it out.

Voice Recognition Software

Voice recognition software such as the popular Dragon application is starting to turn up in more and more individual education plans. This software is invaluable to students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, who can articulate thoughts but have trouble expressing themselves with written words.

Other students who can benefit from this type of technology are those with sensory-processing issues, who have trouble manipulating traditional writing utensils. Instead of falling further behind because of difficulties with writing, students with these types of challenges can instead turn to voice recognition software and dictate essays, research papers, and book reports.

Along similar lines, using digital audio recordings of books is also a great way to engage students who have difficulties reading. The goal here is to allow students the same access to information and education, regardless of disability.

Educational Games

When kids think an activity is fun, they are more likely to participate with gusto. Turning notoriously challenging subjects into games is an excellent way to engage kids and get them excited about subjects like math and science. Using software like IXL and XtraMath, which have built-in rewards like certificates and skill-
ups, lets kids think that they are playing a game when in reality they're practicing and building important math skills.

The customizable nature of these programs makes them ideal for nearly any teaching environment. Students with ADHD or autism spectrum disorders do well with these types of activities, as they tend to be drawn towards the bright imagery and fast-paced action of computer games. Taking advantage of these qualities can help engage students who previously were having difficulty with math.

Games that utilize the principles of physics, such as Angry Birds, can also be good options for the classroom. With this type of game, students don't even realize they're learning science basics. Simple interfaces keep students with sensory issues from being overwhelmed, and they remain engaged by simply having fun. Games like these are excellent for teaching scientific principles to kids with disorders
like autism or cerebral palsy. When kids find out that they can increase their skill at the game by learning more about how physics works, they are more likely to be engaged in classroom activities as well.

Introducing technology simply for the sake of modernizing a classroom is not necessarily going to be beneficial for students. However, breaking down the advantages and seeing which educational and life skills students can obtain through the use of technology tools highlights their importance in today's general education and special education classrooms. Any tool that can engage students otherwise
trapped in their shells can have a powerful impact on those students' future.