Journal 9: First Graders with iPads?

Getting, S., & Swainey, K. (2012). First graders with ipads?. Learning & Leading with Technology, 40(1), 24-27. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/learn/publications/learning-and-leading/DigitalEdition/digital-edition-August-2012_copy1.aspx

This was a very interesting article.  Research conducted at an elementary school in Minnesota concluded that students improved on sight-word recognition, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary recognition.  The data confirmed elevated average gains and/or higher end-of-year success for students with routine iPad use.  Special needs students also scored 15-20% higher in “time on task” (TOT) than students who were not using iPads.  The classes used different apps for sight words, fluency, comprehension, vocabulary, and literacy.  The teachers did come across a few obstacles, which included, lack of time, lack of direction, technical problems, noisy apps, and the limitation of apps for comprehension.  Overall, the teachers that used the iPads with at-risk learners suggested that they truly did make a difference in sight word recognition, fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary recognition and meaning. 

Q1.  How would less fortunate districts have the funding to purchase iPads for their first grade at-risk learners?

A1.  I think providing students from an early age with iPads is a great idea, and in the long run would cost the districts less money than buying textbooks.  The problem I see is that districts with more money would be able to provide these resources to their students, but less fortunate districts would be left even further behind.  I would suggest starting this idea in the lower income neighborhoods first because these students are already at a disadvantage.  Most students in lower income households don’t even have computers at home.  In contrast, students from higher income households have the resources at home to use these online tools.  With a little guidance from the teachers, these parents can get their children onto these sites at home.

Q2. Can introducing iPads and other technological advances at such a young age actually do more harm than good when it comes to writing?

A2.  I have actually seen in some of my college courses where students write papers and interact with people over email the same way they would write a text message.  I think as educators we need to instruct our students from a young age about the differences between writing a text message and scholarly writing.  Students who are not prepared for corporate America or professional jobs will fail due to the lack of preparation.  Technology is amazing when used properly. Over time, educators are becoming better prepared on how to use technology in the classroom and how to integrate it into the curriculum properly.  As long as teachers and students are both being educated on the use of technology, I see the use of iPads and other technological devices in the classroom as one of the greatest breakthroughs in education of all time.   

Journal 8: Adaptive Technology

Communication:

         According to Augmentative & Alternative Communication Centers, augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) strategies assist people with severe communication

         disabilities to participate more fully in their social roles including interpersonal interaction, learning, education, community activities,employment, volunteerism, care management, and so on.

1. Low tech tool for AAC: The low-tech tool I researched was the ChatPC-II.  The ChatPC is a portable, hand-held speech-generating device (SGD) that features a color dynamic display along with both synthesized and digitized speech output.  The device has a few programmed vocabulary sets as well as over 3,000 symbols for customizing to one’s own liking.  A speech synthesizer can either speak the messages or a person can record digitized messages.  Customizing is easy because it can either be done through Windows or on the ChatPC itself.  This type of device can help students that can’t communicate orally to use as a voice.  The device can allow students to interact with other students as well as teachers.  The student can also record words that are spoken and view the digitized messages allowing for enhanced learning.

2. High tech tool for AAC:  The high tech tool I researched was the iPad made by Apple.  The iPad is a touch screen device that allows people to download applications for speech and a variety of other handicaps.  The device allows students the capability of having a lightweight and cost-effective system.  Equipment used by autistic students in the past has been extremely expensive and bulky.  iPads can easily be carried from one place to another.  The device gives students the capability of putting together full sentences by clicking on a few buttons.  Pediatric neurologists and neuroscientists have partnered with iPad to continue to make applications for students with disabilities.  The iPad has made such a positive impact with autistic children.  A mother to an autistic child was quoted as saying, "Steve Jobs did not realize he was giving a voice to the voiceless."

Accessibility

According to Techterms.com, an input device is any device that provides input to a computer.

 

Hardware Option:  The hardware option of input devices that I researched and was amazed by is the EyeTech TM2.  This device is a mouse replacement that allows the user to place the mouse pointer anywhere on the screen by simply looking at the desired location.  The EyeTech TM2 would be perfect for students that have limited or no hand motion at all.  The student would be able to use the computer in class by using their eye as a cursor.  When the student would like to “click” on a particular area, they can simply just blink their eye slowly or use a hardware switch with their foot.

Software Option:  The software option I chose to research is called the iCommunicator.  This device was created specifically for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.  The tool promotes independent communication as well as an alternative for sign language interpreters.  The device provides students with the ability to translate natural speech to sign language in real time.  Students who are deaf or hard of hearing can be placed in traditional classrooms with the help of this software.  This software can be used on a laptop computer, desktop computer, or iPad with the purchase of the software.  Software, such as iCommunicator, is making huge strides in providing adequate literacy resources for people with a hearing disability.

Some other ideas can be found at the following blogs:
http://aghionzoli.blogspot.com/
http://shsimmon422.blogspot.com/

Journal 7: My Personal Learning Network.

A great way for teachers to stay connected and interact with other educators throughout the world is through the development of a PLN.  A PLN, or Personal Learning Network, is a way educators can share ideas and information through direct contact, such as Twitter, or indirect ways like blogs and websites.  Some examples of PLNs consist of Twitter, Diigo, Facebook, and digital discussion forums.  Some of the best direct ways to communicate within a PLN are through Twitter and Face book.  These two networks allow you to interact simultaneously within a chat room or through instant messaging.  Digital discussion forums also allow you to type ideas and information to one another instantaneously.  Diigo, however, allows a person to follow blogs and learn from posts through contributors.  An educator can then “tag” that person if they want to continue to follow that contributor.  The networks I use the most in my PLN are Twitter, Diigo, and digital discussion forums like “The Educator’s PLN.”  As an educator, a PLN will help me in so many ways.  Up until recently, educators were restricted by the lack of technology in having the ability to share ideas with people throughout the world.  I will communicate with and contribute to my PLN on a regular basis to hone my skills to become a better educator.

By obtaining a Twitter account, I am able to follow other educator’s tweets as well as being able to keep up with the latest trends, news, and happenings in education.  Some of the people who I am following using my Twitter are:

• ·      Abby Robles, a teacher and friend who teaches in the Poway Unified School District.
• ·      Ryan Archer, a chemistry and biochemistry teacher at Mission Hills.  I chose to follow Mr. Archer because my goal is to teach Chemistry, Earth Science, or Biology and the high school level and I think I can learn a lot from him.
•     Lisa Dabbs, who is the founder of #ntchat as well as an ISTE presenter.  I am following her to learn more about technology in the classroom as well as participating in her discussions on #ntchat.
• ·      Natasha Dunn, the founder of TheRookieTeacher.ca and a monitor on #ntchat had many good ideas in the chat I participated in.  I chose to follow her because she can teach me a lot in my new journey in becoming a teacher.

On July 25, 2012 I participated in a discussion on #ntchat at 5:00 p.m.  The topic of the discussion was long-term planning in regards to the curriculum.  I really enjoyed this discussion and learned a lot.  Part of what I learned from the other participants is a problem with long-term planning is that some people get stuck on the original plan.  When a problem arises, it is hard for that teacher to veer away from the original plan.  One of the pros to long-term planning is that it is essential to have one, but a teacher must be ready to adapt.  One of the participants in chat came up with a great quote, “failure to plan is planning to fail.”

By obtaining my Diigo account, I am able to join groups as well as follow individual people.  I am currently part of a Science Teachers group on Diigo where fellow science teachers can collaborate with one another in order to come up with better ideas for the classroom.  I have also tagged Educational Partnership, Teacher Preparation, and Technology Integration from the connectedprincipals.com website in order to implement some of the ideas I learn from these blogs into my curriculum.  Having the ability to learn from these blogs will benefit both my students and myself in the classroom.  Some of the people I have chosen to follow include sharris, Joe Mazza, George Couros, David Truss, and Chris Wejr.  I chose to follow sharris because I think social justice in the classroom is the biggest concern for me and I can learn a lot from his blogs.  Joe Mazza writes blogs about educational partnership in which I will be able to learn how to partner things with education.  I decided to follow George Couros because he writes blogs about technology in the classroom and how to utilize if efficiently.  David Truss blogs about teacher preparation and I think being a new teacher I will be able to take many of his ideas to my classroom.  Finally, I chose to follow Chris Wejr because he blogs about different ways to grade and assess students.  It is always a good idea to view other ways on how to assess students because every student has different strengths and weaknesses. 

I chose to join The Educator’s PLN because this forum has many different blogs, forums, links to other education sites, and pictures/profiles of the members so I can get a feel of who I am interacting with.  I decided to read the blog “Creating e-portfolios using Weebly for Education,” by Lynda Hall.  The reason I chose to write about this blog is because I recently signed up for Weebly to begin using it to simplify websites students can make.  One of the pros Lynda talked about is how easy it is to add images, videos, audio, and maps to the site.  She also explains that teachers can create up to 40 free accounts for the students and that the accounts can be managed by the teacher.  I think this is a great tool.  Parents and teachers can be confident that the on-line activity is closely monitored.  This is just one helpful blog on The Educator’s PLN.  The sky is the limit in the amount of information a teacher can obtain from using a website like The Educator’s PLN.