Final Blog :(

Unfortunately, I was not in attendance to the school field trip, as much as I would have loved to be.  So instead of my last blog being a fun one on the smart board, it's on question 1 on page 507. When I was in grade school, we had a computer lab, but I also remember having a card catalogue as well.  It was quickly fading out as the new technology was coming in, and those are vague memories, and the rest is computers.  I remember my very fist computer class that I hated with a passion, our computers had the green letters in the program we were using.  All I remember was hating my teacher, hating that class, and always getting F's on my computer papers.  It mainly consisted of making pictures out of letters and having correct spaces.  Fail. 

So since the use of technology in schools has come a long way, so has research for term papers.  When I was in high school, I remember fellow students taking works from the Internet and using those as their own.  I never had the guts to do such a thing, but I did  find it rather interesting that they could fool a teacher, or so I thought because I never had found out whether or not they were caught.  One student my senior year was caught, she was a star athlete, honors student, you name it, model student, and her punishment was getting an "f" on her paper and one week detention.  Had it been another student from our BD self contained classroom that was hidden in the back of the school, there would have been greater consequences. 

Today, you can google term papers, and many come up as PDF files or documents and are the subject you need or close to.  I find it very disturbing that such things are so popular, and yet many students fall through the cracks and get away with using it.  At the same time, there are students who are able to properly write a research paper and write it well, and yet they are accused for plagiarizing even though they hadn't.  This happened to me for our first paper my senior year, and so I had to submit my others papers and grades from past English classes, have a meeting with my parents, and write on the spot so I could prove my innocence.  I hadn't come from the best educational background entering my senior year, and I guess they felt every right to not trust me. 

However, with all of the plagiarizing that goes on, teachers need to be extremely cautious.  For technology teachers, I am sure they have an array of sites and tools at their disposal in order to see whether or not a student has plagiarized.  Yet, for many other teachers they are not so lucky, and may not know exactly where to look for a credible source to check.  All teachers should have resources to check whether documents are plagiarized or not.  I once heard from my freshman college English teacher, that when in doubt, cite; to cite anything that wasn't our own thoughts.  I feel that any student, honors or not, should be given the same punishment.  Plagiarizing is pure laziness, and they are obviously a smart student, because they took the time and effort to find a paper, edit and turn in.  It shows brains, however useful, and so they could have used that time and effort in actually doing their own work.  In high school, students should be given a failing grade for that assignment, and put on academic probation.  The next occurrence they fail the course and must re-take it in summer school.  In college, similar consequences should occur, you do it once, you fail the assignment, you do it again and you fail the course and are dropped and placed on academic probation for one year; any further occurrences results in being dismissed from the college. 
I know these are rather harsh, but need to be done in these events.  Teachers just need to take every precaution available in order to keep students and cathing them when and if they plagiarize.  Studnets should be sure to cite in every area and thought that is not theirs, and should include a reference list. 

Chapter 7!

During this chapter, a lot things that were discussed in this chapter were things we as a class have already had the pleasure of going through while creating our cybrary's.  We were acting as teachers, surfing the net in search of educational websites which we could use for different subject areas in the classroom.  We went through and searched for sites and their authors to verify credibility, we played on the sites as well.  When finding software or sites to integrate into your curriculum, you have to make sure they are age and developmentally appropriate, that they serve a purpose and meet standards, that are easily accessible, etc.  You also need to make sure that if they are sites, that they are accurate and not full of false information, such as some sites we looked at about explorers.  Creating forms of assessment is crucial not only for us as teachers but for the success and growth of our students.  There are a variety of assessments the chapter discussed, authentic assessment, project-based assessment, portfolio assessment, and teacher observation, just to name a few.  As a class, we have done project-based assessment with our cybrary's and integrated lesson plans, as well as portfolio assessment with our eporfolios full of our complete work which shows our growth.  The section on lesson plans was helpful, but look and sound slightly different that what I have been accustomed to as far as verbiage.  The rubrics in this chapter were helpful as well, so as to have something to look off of when going through different soft wares and websites to find accuracy, etc.
I wonder how students and teachers alike get through a school year in lower achieving schools in areas like the inner city.  The book touched on integration in one computer classrooms, but what about those kids who don't have a computer at all, and who barely have enough textbooks to go around?  How can technology be introduced to them?
Quiz Contribution: Explain the following:
         Authentic Assessment
         Project-Based Assessment
         Informal Assessment

Philosophy of Technology in Education

At the start of this class I never really imagined myself taking time to integrate technology in my classroom.  I had never known the importance or relevance of technology until now.  Technology is everywhere, and is the future.  The use of technology in the classroom is extremely beneficial to students and teachers alike, that way learning can be more hands on and directly at the students disposal.  Technology allows for a wide range of abilities to be met, and for curriculum and lessons to be adapted to make more interesting.  Activities involving technology for students of all ages allows them to be more involved in classroom activities, active learners, be able to have learning in their hands.  The amount of topics in education allows for a plethora of uses for technology which in turn drives motivation.  Students will feel excited, especially if for an hour they have their own computer, ipad, or smart phone to use applications on directly related to the curriculum.  This also gives educators the opportunity to continue to learn, to continue to challenge themselves to keep finding new fun ways to integrate technology in the classroom.  After this class, and once I have my own classroom, technology will be a large part of my teaching career.

Week 9

In chapter 6 I really liked how much they went into detail about the different learning styles and needs of students that will be met through technology integration.  I also found it interesting on how research is finding out more and more that students are able to retain more knowledge and subject matter when media is involved. It's a win for everyone, questions come up, teachers have a "teachable moment," and they can go into further detail and have the technology to do so. And the students are learning and remembering and pulling that information out later!  I think it's great to have classes offered like ours, as well as many training programs on how to effectively integrate technology in the curriculum.  Wllievers Instructional Transformation model is one of my favorite things from this chapter, familiarization, utilization, integration, reorientation, revolution.  With these in mind on a constant basis, make it possible to know the latest forms of technologies to use in the classroom in order to reach all students from all backgrounds of learning.  Motivation is something that teachers all over are dealing with, and we are in an age where technology is dominating.  Students are not always motivated in school, and certain topics discussed are harder to grasp without hands on interaction, and that is where technology like ipones, and laptops are essential.  I heard on Drex in the morning the other day how technology is taking over the minds of people and instant gratification is something that they are used to.  So teachers called in saying how they accommodate their learning needs with technology, and others are absolutely opposed to it.  By what research says in this book, those who oppose the use and integration of technology in the classroom should read this book and take this class.  I wonder, for those districts that don't have the money to fund such devices, how they will still reach their students.  I wonder how much more difficult it would be to teach in a place where such luxuries do not exist, and how the teachers could go about getting things on their own.  As for the actual quiz contribution question, what is the difference between a computer lab and a wireless mobile lab?

Sze,S. (2009). The Effects of Assistive Technology on Students with Disabilities. Journal of Educational
           Technology Systems, 37(4), 419-429. Retrieved from ERIC Database. 
           (PDF File)

I visited the Merlot website and found this site http://www.eskeletons.org/index.html, called ESkeletons and lets you look and see all the bones in a human and animals body.  You can compare bones and gives you information about each animal and bone, etc.

Digital Age Learners!

I do believe there is definitely a difference in the way that students who have grown up in this digital age, learn in the classroom.  There is so much technology that has rapidly advanced in recent years, and many students have a plethora of encounters with such devices.  My nephew is a great example to back this theory up. 
He has grown up with cell phones, play station and now has play station three, has a smart phone, is very advanced in his technology abilities, and yet has a hard time in school.  He is in sports, but every spare moment he has, he is playing his games, or on his phone downloading the latest application, which has to be better than the last.  He is all about the speed of things, and hates waiting and is very impatient.  He has a difficult time reading, he reads the words on a page, but his mind is elsewhere and has difficulties with reading comprehension.  But, when playing his game, he'll read anything, very fast, and is all about the way things are done so fast in the game.  I've watched his demeanor and movements while playing the game, his mind is working so fast and the controls are able to keep up with his pace.  His phone works the same way, he needs things to be done quickly, that is how he is able to comprehend what to do next in the game.

But when it comes to academics, he tries to rush things but has such a difficult time learning.  Things don't seem to work or move as fast as his mind is working, and he gets frustrated.  I would suggest having a lesson differentiated and allow him to use some sort of technology when it comes to reading.  Have him read a book or story the class is working on, on the computer.  I would want him to use something that can keep up with his thinking, so that he is able to grasp the material.  This would give him some familiarity and comfort when having to do school work, and have it be on a computer as opposed to the traditional paper back book.  He could also listen to the book and follow along, and then doing some exercises as an informal assessment on the computer to see whether or not hewas able to comprehend that time around. 

The computer I have at home is a Dell Tower Computer.  It has windows XP, is 1GB. Intel is 1.6 HZ. It's hard drive is 100 GB.

Digital Equity

Digital equity by definition "is the goal of ensuring that everyone in our society has equal access to technology tools, computers, and the Internet, (pg.101)."  This states that everyone should be able to access computers, but unfortunately this is not always the case.  With the number of Americans living in poverty, the largest number in over 50 years, not all students have access to a the Internet, let alone a computer outside of school walls.  As a teacher designing a project for my students, one that requires research, I will need to plan the requirements so as not to leave anyone out.  I would never ask a student in front of the class whether or not they have a computer at home, nor would I assume everyone had one.  I would simply have the students answer questions regarding their projects prior to starting them, this will allow me to see who has access and who doesn't.  From there, I would require that the research be both Internet and book sources, not just one or the other.  Each student would be in charge of the specific content area, despite access to a computer outside of school.  The students would be given in class computer time to work on Internet sources, and would be assigned to research books outside of class.  This would allow for every student to be active in the process of the project, without discriminating against any one student.  It would also alleviate any embarrassment lack of a computer might cause a student to feel.

Post One

When "surfing the net," as I have always heard people say, I am not very creative in finding fun and new websites.  However, I was able to finally visit the website flickr.com!  I have heard of it before, have even seen a link to follow and I never have.  I went on and took the tour they offer and fell in love!  I love photography, and although I must admit, I am no photographer, I marvel at the art and worship those we can create a masterpiece simply by seeing the world differently through a lens. I had some fun with the site and shared it with my sister-in-law and she too fell in love! I'm sure most have been to it, and may even have accounts set up, but for those who have yet to try, now is the time!  The pictures people take and post are beautiful!!

In thinking about this past weeks reading, I have learned the many, and I do mean many websites for EVERY occasion.  I have always struggled with finding websites for research papers and for government and what not.  But the special section covered a wide variety of sites for every purpose.  Although I am not very technologically advanced, I am able to navigate my way through search engines to the best of my ability...which isn't great. 

I still wonder how it is that people can keep up with all the new and exciting websites available at our disposal!  Prior to this class I did not realize the amount of great search engines and cool sites I could visit! This chapter is full of them, and so how would I go about finding more as laid out in the text?  Had I not taken this class or read this chapter, how else would I be aware of these things?  I don't think I would have known about such sites unless someone physically showed them to me. 

Quiz contribution:
         When using a search engine, to make your search a success, what symbol would you use in order to find variations of words?

Using the Internet

When I think of the Internet and its uses, I think of entertainment, politics, news and shopping.  I think of facebook first, of course as I am always on it.  I also think of the many sites used for entertainment purposes, such as listening and downloading music, to watching missed TV episodes. 

There are many websites for news and politics as well, which I like to look through, because some sites like cnn.com allow readers to post their own thoughts on topics and allow others to respond to them.  These are always interesting to me, I can see exactly what others think because their identity has been withheld, so they feel comfortable enough to share their inner most thoughts. 

There are many websites to shop for things online, of my favorites, Amazon is top.  There are so many things you can buy other than just books and music which I had never realized until my brother bought his very first iron.  Since then, I go on to find old books, music, shoes, clothes and purses. 

There are many advantages, you can shop in the comfort of your own home, you can connect with friends and family all over the world which can be much easier than using your phone.  You have direct access to local and national news which is constantly being updated and you can hear about things before it hits the air.  With advantages, always come disadvantages.  There are always many people posting fictional information about themselves, and worse, other people.  It allows for a lot of people to give their actual feelings on issues and people and for the most part get away with it.  People can post just about anything on the Internet.  There are a lot of sites like craigslit.com which can be of great use for some people, and others take the opportunity and take advantage of the site.  Sometimes systems go down and go under maintenance, and other times, there are too many things out there which young people see which they shouldn't. 

Chapter Two Blog

Going through this weeks readings and such, I found that I really enjoy the idea of wireless classrooms and wireless school buses.  I plan to go into the field of Special Education, working with a wide variety of disabilities.  Many of these students will in fact be using many forms of technology, from their motorized wheel chairs, from their own boards that speak for them.  I love the fact that we have the capability to bring computers and such to them, right in their own classroom without having to do very much movement.  I also love that teachers can see where their students stand as far as grasping material with a clicker, allowing students to answer without having to feel embarrassed if they have an answer wrong.  The teacher is then able to adjust their lesson plans accordingly in order to meet the needs of everyone, especially those who may be struggling. 

The idea of wireless school buses fascinates me, although it does raise questions as far as the types of websites other than educational which could potentially be accessed while on the bus.  But this will give students a chance to continue with their work while it is still fresh in their heads.  It would also be great for those special needs students, drivers can promptly be made aware if they will need to be picked up or not, etc.  Technology is growing and we are finally able to give more students access to such great valuable tools, not just for the special needs students, but for the entire student population. 

Week 2

This week I interviewed my 13 year old nephew who attends Wauconda Middle School.  I asked him what types of technologies he used, and his list seemed endless for such a young person.  He uses his smart phone, almost obsessively, and can never be without it; a 13 year old, with a smart phone?! He frequently uses WIFI on his phone, as well as on his dad's laptop which he carries with him when he can.  He also plays PS3 on a near constant basis as well.  He uses wireless controllers for the game system, as well as a headset so as to be able to communicate with other players. 

He runs cross country, and plays soccer and works out as much as he can, working around his gaming time of course.  He has a watch that acts as a heart rate monitor which stores weekly exercises.  It's almost like a computer log on your wrist which helps him keep track of his past excursions as well as accomplishments and failures. 

I strongly believe that he is most definitely a digital student; the boy can hardly be without technology without going through some type of withdrawals.  He gets irritated if he is away from the game or his phone for too long.  He is very tech savvy as well, he fixes most of our technical difficulties at our house, my mother and I can never seem to do well with that part of the house. 

The name of the site I went to was called the Alliance for Technology Access,
 http://www.ataccess.org/
Their purpose is to inform both children and adults with disabilities to participate in their communities.  They want to empower those with special needs, and have the tools necessary to do so, the technology tools.  Their main goal is to make technology accessible to everyone, so they train and hold forums and events in order for people to learn more about them. They realize for the need for emergence of technology as well as the ease it is in accessing the technology as well. 

I firmly believe and agree that technology needs to be accessible to EVERYONE and EVERYONE should be knowledgeable on how to use the technology with students and adults best interest at heart.Technology is not always an easy language to be accustomed to, and through the ATA providing training is a huge plus.  This is a great community to be involved in, especially because I plan to go into Special Education, I will need to be aware and knowledgeable on how the devices of my students work. 

Introduction!

My name is Stacey and I live in Wauconda,IL.  I am pursuing a career in Special Education at the high school level.  My goal is to return to my old high school, Palatine High School and begin my career there. 

When I picture my future students, I see them using all sorts of technology.  Special needs students use a lot of technology both in and out of the classroom.  I know my future students will use many forms of technology, whether it be power chairs, talking boards, or those newer devicescan translate braille.  They will most likely be up to date as far as knowledge on the newest gadgets than I may be. 

While reading chapter one, there was a lot of terms that I have heard before, I just never put the word with what I saw.  I have used a computer as long as I can remember and I never paid much attention as to the actual things I have been using. 

I wonder how much more technology will grow just be semester end, what new gadgets will Special needs kids have in the classroom?  How will mainstream teachers incorporate more technology in their classrooms when the latest devices are able to be provided to the students due to lack in funds?  How can I prepare myself for such things in my near future?

Quiz Question:
What is the difference between hardware and software?