Mcical1's Blog

A teacher approached me today and was like Hey Melissa you are in an assistive technology class right?  She just got a new student who has a visual impairment and needs to come up to the board in order to see it and a bunch of other things as well.  She was asking me if I had any catologs on equipment or any ideas.  I gave her some suggestions, but was wondering if anyone had any other info. or knew of any catologs?

In my families class last semester we designed a Wetpaint Resource Wiki, an electronic resource guide, to better help parents/caretakers of families with special needs children find information easier online. The guide has information about Local, State and National resources in Maryland!

Tonight in class we explored different math websites.  One that I came across my kids actually used on Friday in Computer Lab called CoolMath (however the computer teacher is lets just say difficult) and I didn’t really grasp it!  Exploring it more tonight I was able to see that there are many options on the site.  I focused on addition.  The idea of the game is to shoot the ball that gets you to 10.  If the ball you are shooting is a 3, aim at a 7…  If you can’t find a 7 to shoot at, shoot at another 3 so that you get a group of 3′s that you can blast with a 7 later.  YOu can also chose different factors to work with, so with my kids we did 10 because that is what they are working on!CoolMath was created to help students who are frustrated with math and who are confused with math.  This site has games for all areas of math including pre-algebra, algebra, calc,geometry to name a few.  They also have math lessons and a math dictionary on the site.  My kids seemed to really enjoy this site and I think one reason was because it wasn’t so traditional.  They were doing math but it wasn’t set up as a regular math problem so my kids were more engaged!  So when we have computer Lab next Friday I will be an expert on this game!

This website is great to help children count! We actually use it at my school!
MATH

This is another useful tool, it is math flashcards

This website is good for parents, teahers and students who need help with homework!

Need help counting your money, this website will help you at all levels!!!

Math and MUSIC- CHECK IT OUT!!!

This weeks class really opened up a new way to teach an to learn for me. I have heard of podcasting and seen it on my ipod but had NO idea what it was. The fact that you could record yourself and edit it w/ Audacity (which in itself is pretty cool) can help certain students. In my classroom my one boy who really can’t write and has a very hard time in class, always as an mp3 player with him and knows exactly how to use it. His mom said she struggles with putting”appropriate” songs on it…which is another issue all in itself! But anyway I was thinking that for him if he could listen to a story or a lesson on his mp3 player that maybe he would be more engaged in actually doing his work. Podcasting also would be extremely beneficial in my room because I have kids on different grade levels (1-3). Therefore if one lesson was recorded for the level 1 students, I could then work with the level 3 that day and vice versa. Kids could also record themselves to show what they have learned. In the atoms family article kids reported that podcasting helped them learn, and that they would learn at home as well! The learning at home part is important because working with kids who don’t necessarily have a great home life, you want them to be able to learn in their environment as well!

1) In class on Wednesday we talked about how to promote successful writing. Writing is a way of communication and a way to relay information. Working with first graders who struggle with writing I have struggled with how to help them write. Learning about all these different programs has helped me to think if new ideas. Kidspiration is an awesome program that can really help children. We have a program at work called letter machine and another one called animated spelling/writing. I think what is important about these programs is that as teachers the children can’t just be put in front of the computer but we must help them and tweek the program to what they are learning so that when they sit down to write they can apply what they learned on the computer.
I also personally have a child in my class who thinks that lets say the word “cat” that the C is the end and the T is the beginning. No matter how many times you correct him he has it in his head that thats what it is. I have been practicing his words with him on a little white board. What I have done is I draw a train on the top and have him put the letters in the different cars. But with the train on top he can distinguish the driver is at the front and the end of the train. Just a little low tech idea that helps him out!

2) On the video we watched in class, all of the children seemed to have some sort of electronic device. My concern with that is first that has to be a lot of money? And what happens if the device breaks, or if a child moves and that school does not have those devices? Is the child prepared for that?

 Melissa Cicale

1) No one child learns the same.  Being able to educate students in different ways is key to their success.  Assistive technology and UDL allows teachers to use a variety of instructional approaches, different technologies and alt. assessments to help break down barriers. 

Learning about the UDL characteristics and how they support the different networks is something that I will benefit greatly from.  Learning that not all learners have the same perception, and how the UDL characteristics support the recognition network by providing different options will help me to apply this knowledge.  Giving students options of how they learn, whether it be by reading a book online or reading a textbook.  Also, learners may not know they know something about the topic that is being discussed.  Getting them thinking about something that is related to the topic, that they do know about by using diagrams and other activities is a skill that I will take with me.

I also have learned that as educators we need to link instruction with goals, whether it is IEP goals, transition goals or other goals.  As special educators we need to look at overall goals, skills and academic content that will work for the majority of the class and how it can be applied elsewhere.  For example teaching time or money to kids is something that is an academic goal and is also a life skill that as adults they will need to know.   

As an educator I think we need to be prepared.  Nothing is written in stone.  Being prepared and having a backup plan is essential in life and can really make a difference in the classroom.  If computers are down for the day and the lesson is saved on the computer a backup plan is needed.  Applying this knowledge to teaching I think will cause for less distractions and keep kids engaged for longer periods of time. 

2)  One question I had as I was reading was how do we engage the adults?  There is all this information on how to engage the students and as special educators I believe we do.  Assistive Technology and the premises of UDL don’t create less work for teachers but it transforms the concept of how information is taught.  How as special educators do we reach out and engage adults at a new way to teach?  How do we deal with the resistance?

Melissa Cicale

SPED 646

1.      I know that in this reading Low-Tech Adaptations were talked about.  I know in my classroom setting my kids enjoy when I highlight something or let them use the highlighter.  They don’t associated it as an accommodation, that may be because they are young but they seem to stay focused on the worksheet whereas if I didn’t highlight it for them their mentality was that they couldn’t do it. 

Reading about the different networks was also extremely helpful for me, the strategic network in particular.  The Rose article made me realize how each student networks are different and that they work differently in the classroom. The article showed how UDL characteristics support the strategic network by providing options for physical action, expressive skills and executive functions.  Just as students should be given options of how they can learn, they should also be given options on how to show what they have learned as well.  Allowing multiple means of expression allows learners to either write a book report, or give an oral report.  As Mr. Mitchell did for Jamal in the article he scaffolded his areas of difficulty.  I know that in my class we use this all the time by allowing some children to point to an answer vs. another student who has to circle the answer.  What also fascinated me was the information about executive-function disorders which deals with affective reasoning, disrupting, self-control, awareness of time and cognitive flexibility.  The Rose article mentions how a student may just call out answers impulsively rather than applying the knowledge they have.  In my class there is one student who calls out every two seconds but just guesses.  When I read this I thought immediately of him because I know he just learned it and knows the answer but he is so impulsive and just guesses!

2.       With the readings my concern is that text will essentially not be the main form of teaching/learning, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.  With that said how do we as educators who have learned through text and who personally do better with text and “old fashioned” learning become accustomed to the changes?

At the core of UDL is the premise that curriculum is disabled and not flexible, causing barriers and consequently preventing optimal learning rather than supporting it.  In my opinion this is true.  Much of todays curriculum is not geared towards children with disabilities.  Also much of todays teachers are not equipped or aware of how to teach children with disabilities.  Also many schools do not have the resources or tools to use. 

In chapter one of Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age, three public schools in New Hampshire used a curriculum that was flexible and introduced new methods and materials through media.  The goals of this curriculum were inclusive to all children and had individual approaches for reaching goals.  Having the access to different resources and supports allows for each student to opt for what suits them. 

In The Future is in the Margins, they make a really good point.  They mention how new technologies don’t necessarily make less work for teachers, but they transform the concept of how curriculum can be taught.  In todays society there are many classroom differences.  While learner diversity can be extremely benificial in the classroom, presents a challenge in reaching standards.  This challenge leads to an increase in teacher responsibilities presenting the challenge of reconsidering curriculum design and the way school is conducted.  Digitial technology is a flexible tool allowing one to adjust to learner.  UDL as a whole takes various approaches to educational change and makes it more feasible. 

UDL’s goal to minimize barriers between students is disabled through todays curriculum.  With the increase in diversity in the classroom there is an increase in the number of students who fail to thrive.  UDL provides new insights and new ways to use technology that can benifit education.  To reach optinal learning the curriculum must be changed.  While the curriculum today can be taught in different ways it is not impact the knowledge of children. For example in my class I have a third grader who couldn’t read in public school.  Becasue of this and the pressure of the curriculum he acted out and had negative behaviors.  He was put out of his home school and is now in a special education school in a second grade class.  This is not optimal learning for this child.  The goal is to be able to educate in the least restrictive environment and the curriculum today does not allow that for some students who have a disability.  If the curriculum could be presented to him differently maybe there would not be this barrier for optimal learning. 

In conclusion curriculum has come a long way since earlier days but it is still not flexible enough to support optimal learning experiences for every child.

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