Pinterest in the Classroom

Pinterest is full of wonders. It a place where imagination and creativity to be shared with others. I have been using Pinterest for a while, and I have learned that organization is the key. I often go back to my boards to re-visit the ideas, and I find it easy to locate the pins because I organized them in categories. It is also important to not pin just for the sake of pinning. I think that there are quite a few options, and that we can get carried away, but we have make sure that these pins are useful to us now and in the future.

Pinterest is a great place for teachers to share and collect ideas. Teachers are constantly looking for fresh new ways to engage students in their learning. As a teacher, I will be able to use great activities that have been proven and tested by teachers in the past. Pinterest boards also include the latest gadgets and tools that teachers need to keep up. Especially with technology being so popular in classrooms, Pinterest offers so many great websites and programs that can be useful for students. The greatest thing about Pinterest is that it is accessible and free to anyone who wants to use it. I think that this a great teacher resource that everyone can use. Teachers already spend their own money on their classroom, but not with Pinterest. I also think that one of the greatest strength is how it is very visual. The pictures capture the user in a glance, which makes it easy for them to pin and organize. One challenging aspect of Pinterest is that it is so interesting and fun to do, it can take up so much time of our day. I have spent hours on Pinterest just pinning new ideas to my boards. It is also challenging when we have all these great ideas but we cannot put them to any good use. It seems like pins can be forgotten on the back burner.

I love Pinterest, and I will continue to use this program for many things. Right now, I rely on it for new recipes. I also love reading interesting articles about early childhood education. We should find time to draw from these ideas, and actually put them to good use.

Khan/Koller Review

As I explored through Khan Academy's website, I immediately wanted to answer the pre-test that was offered in the home page. The website was user-friendly, and reaches out to every person at every age. I didn't feel like I was left out, or felt dumb not being able to know these answers. Khan makes every person feels welcome to learn. I think I would have never envisioned using this website myself. If I knew about this website when I had to take my Praxis test on Math, I probably would have passed the test on the first try, instead of three tries. I think that Khan is able to communicate really well to every user, with being able to explain these steps that every person can understand. I can definitely incorporate Khan's video lesson in a classroom to motivate learning. I think it would be very easy for students to use, especially now that kiddos are very much tech-savvy. The videos on his website are easy to locate as it is categorized accordingly, and also easy to understand. I think the visual aspect of his videos helps elaborate on the processes of solving math problems. Salman Khan claims that credentialing can happen through online courses, and that we will be able to rely on this in the future. I think that this is quite the possibility, because free education is able to reach every single person who is willing to learn. However, I think that the presence of credentialing in physical structures like universities, community colleges, and such should remain in this society. Not every student is able to access to technology like computers, laptops, headphones, and such. In addition, not all parts of the world has access to fast wireless technology. We cannot rely on the online world to learn 100% of what we need, in order to thrive in the job market. I believe that part of learning is interacting physically with other learners.

There were a few Coursera courses that sparked my interest. One course in particular was offered by the University System of Georgia and Kennesaw State University, called K-12 Blended and Online Learning. I have always been fascinated with blended grades in small schools, and would like to learn how to balance both grades as teacher. Another course that I would like to venture into is from Rice University. This course talks about "Using the Next Generation Science Standards for Student's Deeper Understanding." This course seems really interesting, and I would love to know more about different ways to incorporate Science standards in an elementary classroom, as well as making these activities fun and engaging. Unfortunately, Columbus State does not accept Coursera transfer credits. I also noticed that The Ohio State University doesn't as well. I hope that in the future, they will move towards this direction, as it will benefit thousands of online learners. I think Coursera was made to be user-friendly to every person who is interested. I believe that the courses would be more interesting and beneficial to every type of skill. Some courses may be more challenging, depending on what type of tests of homework the teacher offers. I think it is difficult to complete a certain type of homework, if we do not what these professors expect. However, it just depends on how much detail each student pays attention to. For example, EDUC 2220 class that I am currently taking at CSCC, is very interesting because I am learning new things every week. It also helps that the professor is able to provide all the expectations flat out. This mostly eliminates all the confusion in a online-based learning. I believe that Massive Open Online Courses can be a wave of the future. However, I also see it being abused by other people. Although in a perfect world, free is good, but not always good. I think if Coursera can find a way where they can perfect this system, in terms of partnering with most U.S. universities, that I believe that this will benefit students in the long run.

Ohio DL Schools

Among the options that was given, I would choose Ohio Connections Academy for my child's Distant Learning experience. The website seemed really professional, and was able to provide adequate information that parents need to know about their child's education. I like that they are able to meet the state's education standards to ensure that my child is able to learn the same lessons other children may be learning somewhere else. I believe that aligning the standards with Ohio's curriculum will be beneficial for my child to transition to a structured environment in the future. Another great advantage that I like about Ohio Connections Academy is that they provide free education, without sacrificing quality education. They ensure parents that qualified professionals like teachers, therapists, and tutors are able to support my child's learning. The website is very user-friendly and easy to navigate. They take the users through a step-by-step process which may not overwhelm the parents when inquiring about this school. I also like how they provide easy communication with a parent or a teacher so that we may ask questions about certain difficulties we may be experiencing. The information presented were easy to understand and comprehend. The FAQ section included a variety of questions that every parent have thought about in the past. This section is truly helpful in navigating through the whole process education.

As a parent, I wouldn't pick Ohio Virtual Academy as an option for my child's education. Compared to the other websites, Ohio Virtual Academy does not offer much options in communicating their goals and philosophies for education. I believe that their website needs more work in appealing to a range of audience. In addition, their website does not seem to convince parents that their school is up to par in quality education.  I feel that their website was lacking information that was crucial in being able to decide for an option. This website could elaborate more on the important topics that parents may need to know. They can also include trending topics that concerns the education of children in today's system. The FAQ section was not as helpful as the other ones. They can add more questions that may be useful for users. The format of their website were not as user friendly compared to the other options, and that the flow and direction of the website did not also appeal to the general public.

Assistive Technology for Students with Intellectual Disabilities

According to the National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities (NDCCD) there are approximately 5,000 babies are born with Down Syndrome. This disability is caused by a genetic glitch in the chromosome count. There is an unknown cause to how children with down syndrome develop an extra chromosome, 47 instead of 46. Research has shown that mothers above the age of 35 are more likely to affect their child with this type of disability. Despite the lag in intellectual abilities, children with down syndrome are very much alike to typically developing children. They have similar emotions, moods, and are very enthusiastic about learning new things. However, there is a mismatch of age and intellectual ability for children with this disability. Learning is affected by this disability, as there can be a mismatch of a child's age to their IQ. For example, a student may be 8 years old, but functions at a pre-school level when it comes to cognitive, language, physical, or social-emotional skills. Students with down syndrome require a great amount of one-on-one attention from Special Education professionals. In addition to intellectual disability, most, if not all children with down syndrome have some sort of medical condition that they have to battle through. This affects their time in school, and impacts the progress of their learning.

Children with cognitive delays are very responsive to visual prompts in the classroom. A great assistive technology that these students can benefit from are "Memory Aids." Memory aids may come in a form of a keychain, picture schedules, visuals on velcro strips, and even computer applications. In general, children depend heavily on routines in the classroom or at home. Children with disabilities rely more than any child on these routines to be able function in a learning environment. Therefore, it is important to visually prompt children with down syndrome with picture schedules ranging from 2-6 a day. Ipads, smart boards, and computers are a great medium to assist children with their visual schedules. Here's an example of a memory aid that can be found in early childhood classrooms today.

An example of a Visual Memory Aid

Another assistive technology tool that children with down syndrome can use is an adaptive keyboard also known as "Intellikeys." One of the most common characteristics that these children have in common in their delays in physical development. Gross motor and fine motor development can be challenging for these students. With the help of the "Intellikeys," children are able to practice language and literacy skills without having to spend too much effort in using a pen and a paper. These adaptive keyboards for students can be used to assess their knowledge on letters and words. This tool can also help students strengthen their fine motor ability, and their hand-eye coordination skills. The benefits of assistive technology in a classroom allows all learners to maximize their full learning potential. 

The use of Adaptive Keyboards for learning

The direction to which education is improving for children with disabilities has been tremendous. I believe that teachers are able to collaborate with other professionals to find more helpful ways in helping them learn. I believe that with technology advancing rapidly that there will be more high-tech programs that will benefit the learning of children with cognitive delays. I also believe that with the help of preventive research and medical findings, we can find a solution as to how to avoid this type of disability. I believe that there is more great findings that can help students with all disabilities learn better. 

References:

National Dissemination Center for Children with Disabilities

The Early Childhood Initiative Foundation

National Down Syndrome Society

Accessible Technology Coalition

Family Guide to Assistive Technology

Blog Evaluation Activity

1. What is the name of the blog you reviewed? Please include an ACTIVE link to the blog here.

• The blog I am evaluating is titled, "Miss Brown's Educational Blog," by Abigail Brown. Here's the link: Miss Brown's Educational Blog

2. Is the style of the writing in the blog you reviewed suited to the blogger’s intended audience? In other words, is the writing professional enough for a teaching blog? 

• Miss Brown's Educational Blog offers a great deal of information for the intended audience. Miss Brown's "Welcome to my blog" post helped her audience get to know her personality, and communicate to them her likes and hobbies. It also included her desire to help other students out by being a Special Education teacher. The descriptions to her posts gave detailed descriptions of how she was able to manage the programs or the applications that was required for the class . Her posts were informative and written in a professional manner. In addition, Miss Brown includes a inviting tone to her writing, which makes it easy and fun to read. 

3. Are the colors/fonts appropriate? Are there things that are distracting about the blog that need to be changed (ie. Pictures/images too large or too small, hard-to-read font, distracting backgrounds, etc). Are Vokis in the right place (they should be only on the sidebar). 

• The blog's colors are quite simple and basic. The color palette that she chose were mostly neutral, which helped pictures and videos pop out in the blog. All in all, the blog looked clean and crisp, nothing that would distract the audience when they read the posts. Miss Brown's Voki placement was perfect where it should be. One thing that I would suggest is to somehow enlarge the text size of the posts and headings. This might make it easier for the audience to read the posts. 

4. Is the spacing and layout easy to navigate? Are there “repeats” of posts? Does the flow and direction of the blog make sense? 

• The spacing and layout is appropriate for the audience. It is fairly easy to navigate through blog, as the flow and direction makes sense. More importantly, Miss Brown did not have any repeats of posts in the blog. 

5. Are correct spelling, punctuation, and grammar used? 

• Most of the posts were proof-read, where spelling, punctuation, and grammar were appropriately used. This is important to build credibility from the reader, and to ensure professionalism. 

6. What is your overall impression of the blog? (Include any suggestions you may have for improvement. If you have any questions or additional comments, please include them here).

• Overall, I found the blog interesting and fun at the same time. Although we completed the same assignments, I feel that I have learned new things from this blog. It is also wonderful to get to know someone in this online class, from reading their "Welcome to my blog" post, and their Prezi presentation. I love learning new things from new people. In terms of suggestions, I would add some color to the blog that would make the posts pop out more. However, I think that Miss Brown did a wonderful job blogging. 

Pic Monkey

The Pic Monkey Photo Editor is a great website to enhance photos. The program is really easy to maneuver, and had many great options that are not available elsewhere. I am a big fan of Instagram, and use this phone app often. The Pic Monkey editor had so much more options to make the photo much more interesting by changing colors, hues, and other endless options. I love that the web program also includes some vanity options such as airbrush, wrinkle remover, and even teeth whitening. This program reminds me of what photographers use on their models and photographs. The photo that I chose was taken during my field placement at a Columbus City School. I used the option called "Focal B&W" and wanted to give color to the book I was reading to my students. I am an absolute believer of books, and how magical they can be in the eyes of children.

My GoAnimate

Here's a cute video I made with the help of GoAnimate. This video helps explain to students what the term "nocturnal" means. This is appropriate for early learners and readers who might need to understand certain vocabulary words to help them with reading comprehension. It's a great Science lesson for the children, and it helps them understand the concept with the help of this animation. I had a great time creating this video because it was very easy to make! I will definitely remember this website for future reference.

QR Code

 


Create your own QR code from the QR Website I used!