Photostory

Social stories are short animated stories that help children learn a task.  Photostory is an awesome tool to get a certain point across to children.  It is useful to children so they can act appropriately in certain situations.  I would use social stories in a small group setting where I know certain kids will benefit from what is being taught.  While making a social story, you need to keep the child in mind.  You need to use vocabulary that they can understand so the social story is actually going to teach them something.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tx8bF8q67YE


For my social story, I am teaching children the importance of eye contact.  Even at 23 years old, I still have trouble with eye contact so I understand that it is difficult or children to make eye contact as well.  I feel like showing children a social story about eye contact is important because eye contact shows respect and you can really tell when someone is listening to you if they are making eye contact with you as oppose to looking off into space.  Considering I've never used a program like this and have never created a social story, I liked using Photostory because it was straight to the point and was easy to use.

WebQuest

For module 9, we were to create a web quest.  When I first read the assignment, I was a little nervous as to how to go about this because I was unfamiliar with what a web quest was and how to go about making one.  My web quest was about visual impairment and blindness.  I found this topic interesting due to my horrible eye sight which has, according to my eye doctor, lead me to be legally blind (when I am not wearing contacts or glasses).  Web quests are an interesting way for students to learn about a topic rather than having the teacher stand up and narrate or have the students read about it off of a sheet.

I also learned more about AAC and AT.  These are essentials within a classroom where there are students with special needs.  Assistive technologies allow for students who need assistance with learning.  It allows students to learn more easily at their own pace.  I didn’t know about all the different AT’s and will definitely incorporate these into my classroom one day.

Google Docs

As I've previously mentioned, Google Drive is an awesome tool to use for group work on the internet.  However, it can get a bit confusing when you're working with people that you don't come in contact with or speak to (just incase some things need to be cleared up)  It could value my future because my classroom will not be an online class and would be interactive within the classroom, causing less confusion when it comes to the task.

I personally believe that using social media within the classroom is a great idea.  Like Dr. Budin had said in the video, facebook is the second most viewed site on the internet, which means its not going anywhere in the near future.  Social media is a big part of the world today and a part of everyone's daily lives.  Since children are so used to social media because most of them have almost grown up on it, then learning from a social media sight would almost be second nature to them.  With using social media as a way for teachers to teach and a way for students to learn, there are definitely cautionary measures that need to be taken to avoid risks, protect the teacher and also the students.  Some risks include the viewing of inappropriate material, cyber bullying, inaccurate information, and garbage material.  Teachers need to be cautious of theses risks when teach from a social media website.  On top of these risks, there is a plethora of positive ways to incorporate social media into the classroom.  Social media can be used for class projects, finding and using different resources, as well as facebook apps for both the student and the teacher. 

Examining Web 2.0 Tools for Students with Disabilities

After reviewing Larry Ferlazzo's sight and observing the tools considered for web 2.0, I picked tool number 2; PhotoPeach.  This is an online slide show creation where you can either upload your own images or take them off the internet.  Within the slide show, you can also create quizzes.

This could be used in an inclusive setting to make a slide show of picture steps of what they're learning.  If it is being taught on a smart board, the pictures could be interactive as well as the quizzes.  This would help students with disabilities physically see what they're learning since there will be a picture on the slideshow.  It can be used to teach information much like the "Do You Know" video.

PhotoPeach:
http://photopeach.com/

Today Show

The Today Show video was funny, yet almost mind blowing to think that not too long ago, people didn't know what the internet was.  Because my generation grew up with the internet and technology, it is almost weird to see people not have any idea what the internet even is.  As young children, we were introduced to the internet and would soon surpass our elders in the technology and learning how to accurately depict things on there.

2.0

The article "Web 2.0: A New Generation of Learners and Education" written by Dina Rosen and Charles Nelson and Web 2.0 video, brings forth the vast majority of changes that have taken place with the internet in such a short period of time and compares 1.0 with 2.0

A classroom routed in Universal Design for Learning fits into the web 2.0 article and video because the technology used in today’s world can be used to create lessons and scenarios that fit into the description of universal design.  For example, in the article where the author compares web 1.0 and web 2.0, they talk about web blogs.  “With the advent of easy-to-publish weblogs hosted by a variety of providers (e.g., Blogger.com, SixApart, and many others), anyone can set up a weblog in minutes—or as Blogger.com says, “in three easy steps”—and begin publishing to the World Wide Web with a worldwide audience.” If I wanted the class to write a journal, this would help a student with disabilities that may not have the ability to write with a pen and paper, still get the opportunity to write a journal to express his/her thoughts.