Technology in the classroom

Technology is becoming such a big part of each and every classroom. There are so many educational technology tools that are being implemented in the class as well as many more that are sure to come. Every time I go to my App Store on my phone I am so overwhelmed and also impressed by the number of new applications that have become available for students. When I read the resources I was impressed by the number of different ways that these apps are being implemented in different classrooms around the world. From drawing on appications in the United Kingdom, to IPad orchestras in Switzerland technology in the classroom is becoming an important tool in our student’s education. 

Another subject that I read about that intrigued me was analytics. I am somewhat familiar with data analysis where I work and it is helpful because it helps us predict future behaviors of our students. In our future classrooms we can use data analysis to help with our student’s individual specific needs. Another thing I really liked was the collaboration of teachers through video conferencing with other teachers from another school. This collaboration is something that is good for schools that don’t have a lot of funding for expensive tools for their students.

Week 4: Flipped Classroom

Before reading the resources I had never heard of the idea of a flipped classroom. Providing a flipped classroom for our students is a great tool to use for more interactive time with our classroom. I really like the idea of being able to have our students use their own time at home go over materials and work and use the time at school to do their work. Threw are a lot of times when students listen to lectures and to teachers at school but as soon as they get home they don't remember what was talked about. Being able to do work at school allows the students to be able to work together as well as have access to the teacher as a resource for help. This is also a positive thing because it introduces what type of expectations are placed for the student when they go to study higher education. In college you are usually given work to do before class and many teachers use the class time to discuss what was read and allow time for things such as group discussions and questions that may have come up.

Having a flipped classroom is also positive because it allows the students to take control of the classroom in a sense. This can allow the students to feel more responsible in the classroom and allow them to interact more with their peers. I think this is something that I would definitely use in my classroom with my students. It teaches them a sense of responsibility at home and help them manage their own time at home. This can also help the parents be involved in what the student is learning and be able to add more parent involvement in their education. I believe this is something that will be a positive too to use with students especially if working with older students in high school. 

Week 3: Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling is a skill we all need to implement in our classrooms with our students. What better way to catch our student’s interest then telling them a story? We all know children love to hear stories because it intrigues them. This does not just go for children it goes for anyone. If we can think back to a class we've taken or a meeting we've had to sit thorough we can always recall the stories that we're told. As human beings is obvious that we draw our attention more to something being told to us that we can relate to. On Sunday's I help teach at my church to children ages 5-7 and I can see first hand that when I'm teaching them a story and simply reading it to them they get easily distracted from things around them. When I tell them the story and include questions that can relate the story to them or have them help me act it out the lesson is grasped a lot better. It's almost like when you read a poem for the first time without and background information, you may not quite understand the meaning. Once your learn more about the author you may be able to connect his life to what he wrote about. 

week 2: Assistive Technology

I really enjoyed looking over the resources for this week. My favorite section was on assistive technology in special education. I work at a school with children with autism who every day use assistive technology. As shown in all the videos that I watched iPads have become a major part of special education. Listening to the parents talk about how the iPad has made such a big impact on their children was really heartwarming. Children with autism that are nonverbal have a hard time expressing how they feel, and every day I get to see hands-on how much these children rely on iPads. I had students in my classroom who recieved an iPad as a trial and it has completely changed the way we communicate with them. Before they receive their device there always very frustrated and would act out because they couldn't let us know what was bothering them. Even though according to the resource there is not much research that can strongly conclude the significance of the iPad in the classroom I believe that one day there will be. Working in schools with children with Autism it's so clear to see how much of an impact the iPads have had on these children. Sure the iPad is a relatively new device but it has helped restore communication between the child and the person they wish to talk to. The ipad is a voice for non-verbal children and I can only imagine the sigh of relief they feel when they are handed this device that can finally express what they have been trying to say.

Technology is advancing so quickly but it is also having a giant impact on children with special needs. As educators we have to make sure that we're constantly learning about technology in order to assist our students. We need to embrace the changes and advances of technology in our classrooms because they will not only be beneficial for us but her students as well.