CEP 812: My info Diet

Adding to my info diet was a little difficult.  I couldn't think about what else I wanted to know.  My main interest for a while has been educational technology and flipping my classroom.  That being said I decided to focus on some of the "problems" I had while teaching and where education is going besides the technology route.  How did I increase my info diet?  Well I decided to use Twitter and I chose to follow Education Next, We are Teachers  and  Khan Academy.  Khan Academy promotes lifelong learning and it can be used as a classroom research.  Our students can sign up for free, watch video, learn new things and review recommendations based on what you have already complete.  Education Next publishes an quarterly journal that is focused on education reform and the potential for major changes in education.  I chose Education Next because of its editorial view on education.  I didn't want another source that provides the weekly or monthly trends in education.   I decided to follow We are Teachers in the hope that it will inspire me to try something new.  Maybe I can forgo my need for a flipped classroom or maybe I can get ideas on how to improve and make it happen faster.  Overall my goal is to grow as an individual and as a teacher.  I wanted to select pages or Twitter members that I could learn from and that will challenge me to be better.  I looked at several that also addressed some of my classroom problems but they haven been updated in years! The problems and issues I've faced in my classroom include lack of innovation/imagination, social learning, some dysfunctional classroom management with my co-teacher and at times a lack of flow through a lesson.  In my opinion all of these sites have the ability to help me change my problems.

CEP 800 Digital Storytelling

This is my digital story about close reading.  I hope you like it.

How can we use technologies to support students’ special learning needs?

For this assignment I chose to focus on something that is close to my heart.  I conducted some research about students with learning disabilities.  Over the past 20 years that I have been in school I've compared myself to other students.  Approximately fifteen years ago, I was diagnosed with a learning disability.  As a child I didn't know much but as I grew as a student it became more and more aware of how it affected my learning.  With the advancements in technology, accommodations can be made to help all students with learning disabilities.

Based on my research most of the technology used with LD students consists of computers and recordings.  According to Maccini, Gagnon and Hughes, 

"Three practices appear promising for educating students with LD: (a) hypertext and hyper-media software programs; (b) videodisc instruction involving contextualized learning; and (c) multimedia software." 

I will be uses this as a guideline for choice of technology that is available today.  Most of the other research I looked at was outdated and referred to "videodisc instruction" as the preferred application of technology for students with learning disabilities.

  In the 21st century there are tens if not hundreds of methods that can be used.  Depending on the type of disability the student can use anything from Dragon Naturally Speaking, to help them take verbal notes and "write" essays, to screen readers and audio books.  Imagine setting a student up with a laptop that has access to everything they need to be successful in all of their subjects. For the purpose of this assignment I'm going to focus on the MacBook.  All MacBooks have a built in  Voice Over function.  Voice Over has several different uses as it was originally intended to assist people who are blind or have limited vision.  Voice Over will read webpages, emails, word processing documents, calendars, etc.  This will come in hand for LD students like me who have a hard time with lengthy text or who get caught up on words that they don't know.  The use of a laptop would give a student with a learning disability access to everything from digital textbooks to electronic math worksheets. The access would also allow the student to self accommodate in class.  Let's get all students to work with 21st Century skills.  

References:
Maccini, P., Gagnon, J. C., & Hughes, C. A. (2002). Technology-based practices for secondary students with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Quarterly, 25(4), 247-262. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.2307/1511356

Bryant, D. P., Erin, J., Lock, R., Resta, P. E., & Allan, J. M. (1998). Infusing a teacher preparation program in learning disabilities with assistive technology. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 31(1), 55-66. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.msu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/62555773?accountid=12598

Woodward, J., & Gersten, R. (1992). Innovative technology for secondary students with learning disabilities. Exceptional Children, 58(5), 407-407. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.msu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/201212049?accountid=12598

Ellsworth, N. J. (1993). Technology and education: Applications for students with learning disabilities. Learning Disabilities: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 4(2), 45-51. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.msu.edu/login?url=http://search.proquest.com/docview/62786475?accountid=12598

CEP 800: Module 2 Interview

I interviewed one person about the process of electing the president to the United States. As you view the video you will see that I addressed some of the misconceptions.

Gee Chapter 2

What limitations prevent us from solving big, complex problems smartly?

We as humans limit ourselves to certain parameters. We try to solve the problem the best way we know how, often without considering prior experiences and our emotions.  We do not consider that others might be able to guide us through new problems or that having a plan is necessary to solving the big, complex problem.  

In order to solve problems we need to establish the conditions to be smart.  According to the book these conditions are:

1. Initial Mentorship
2. Prior Experience
3. Clear Goals
4. We need to get something out of it/What matters emotionally
5. Opportunity to act/elicit meaningful response from the world

So what does this mean? It means that in order to solve big, complex problems we need to seek help from others before considering prior experiences.  Once we set the foundation for solving our problem we need to establish a set of clear goals. Among those goals we need to answer the age old question, “What is in it for me?” Once we discover what we want out of the solution and take into account our personal emotions, then we can discover the opportunity to act.  Our actions should fulfill our goals and gain a meaningful response from the world or at least the other people involved (i.e the class, school, community, etc).   

At the end of Chapter 2 Gee defines what it means to be SMART.  Smart means:

1. Process of building simulations before acting
2. Acting
3. Assess the outcome in terms of goals met
4. Choose a new action or adjust the old one
5. Act again

I agree with this definition or process for solving problems.  As a teacher I see students solve problems everyday and they do not always solve them in a SMART manner.  Too often students react to a problem or situation, rather than stop to think and assess the problem.  The SMART system as described in this chapter encourages each person to do that.

 Gee says that humans are the only animals capable of simulating time and accounting for it in our simulations for solutions to problems.   With the knowledge that Gee has provided to me, I think it is my responsibility to educate others about this method.  If anything, it provides support for an argument that I already make to my students.  I tell my students that they can choose how they react to situations and solve problems.  No one can make them feel anything or force them to respond.  It is a choice that they need to be aware that they are making. 

I teach in a neighborhood where your reputation matters more than your education.  The standard problem for my students would be that someone has disrespected them or taken something from them.  Their typical solution is to fight and if they end up in jail or expelled so be it.  I keep telling my students that more often than not, someone is just trying to get a reaction out of the other person.  This may not be the same big, complex problems that Gee is referring too but it is one we deal with all too often.

As we as humans become more aware of the problems we face and learn to avoid our natural urge to react based on emotion, we can then advance to solving problems the SMART way.   The more informed we are, the easier it will be to solve problems.  We can work together to find a common solution and think about problems logically with little emotion (other than the satisfaction that there is a solution to our problems).  Overall I thinking this is a wonderful starting point and can be customized and improved on for each individual.  

Explore a problem

For my CEP 812 class we needed to solve a well-structured or ill-structured problem.  I chose the ill-structured.  Where I teach it can be difficult to get students to respond.  They are often shy and don't want to interact unless it is for a grade or if you tell them what to say.  In a perfect world I could walk into my principal's office and tell him that I need 40-50 iPads the WiFi password.  I could then take the iPads and have my students interact with the text digitally first, before sharing in class.  Hopefully soon I can make this a reality.  *I'm keeping my fingers crossed that my new school will have better technology access.*

For more information about Subtext, place check out their website!

CEP 811 Final Reflection

1. What are some things that you have learned about effective teaching strategies when integrating technology?  I've learn how to use StAIRs and Webquests and I can't wait to try them out.  I have learned that it is more than using technology for the sake of using technology.  When you incorporate technology into teaching it needs to have a purpose.  I know that I can use my iPad everyday to conduct lessons in my class however it isn't always necessary and it more showing off technology than using it for enriching the lesson.  
2. How did integrating web-based technologies help you think about and evaluate uses of technology? Integrating web-based technologies made me realize that is more to technologies assignments than using it to find information for a PowerPoint.  I can task my students with 21st Century skills assessments.  I can ask them to blog for journal points or complete webquests instead of your typical research project.  I can also create class wikis and ask to multi-class collaboration   
3. How have you met your own personal goals for learning about technology integration? I'm definitely  on the proper path.  I think over the next few months I'll be able to develop a good plan for meeting my goal of a blended and paperless classroom.  My goal for the fall semester is to go paperless on all homework assignments.  
4. Do you have any new goals? What are your plans for reaching your new goals and your long-term goals after this course is over? Integrate and implement what I learn.  As I mentioned above I'd like to have all of my homework be paperless.  At a minimum 75% of the assignments I give will also be available online.  There is nothing I hate more than having students ask for extra copies (when they already have one or two) because they left it at home or lost it.  Go online, locate it and print a copy.