What did I learn and how can I use it in the future?

This week I learned about different resources teachers can use online to become better teachers in the classroom. I specifically focused on Teacher Tube and Puzzlemaker. Teacher Tube is basically YouTube for teachers. It has many different videos by all levels of teachers. Some are veterans of 20 years, while others are like me, under the three year mark. The site is very useful for questions that pop up every day for me. It's a good resource to use when other teachers aren't readily available, or if you don't want to ask a "stupid" question and come off looking clueless.

The Puzzlemaker resource is a way to incorporate spelling, reading comprehension, and vocabulary in the classroom. You enter words that your students are learning and they can then unscramble the puzzle, all while learning! It's a good combination that gets students involved and engaged in an area that students regularly find boring. Very helpful stuff!

What did I learn and how can I use it in the future?

This week I learned about creating web pages. My family got a computer for Christmas when I was nine years old. At first I resented the idea altogether. I remember being angry the computer was the only thing we got (Back then a Gateway Desktop was about $2,000.). My mom told me I said something along the lines of "Why did we get a computer?" Flash forward many, many hours of gaming, web surfing, instant chatting, music discovering, and too many other things to count, and I can't think of a more stupid question for past me to ask.

One of the things I got into as a young computer user was creating my own website. Back then I used Angelfire.com and Geocities.com. Back then you had to use HTML. I don't think either of the sites provided other options. I remember trying to add a guest book to my site for people to comment on. The HTML tag for it was a paragraph long. At that time I didn't know how to copy and paste, so I wrote it down on a piece of paper and typed it character for character into the HTML box. Wow.

Anyway, the information I learned in class this week was a good refresher on what makes a good website, and, more importantly, how to make one without too much trouble. I can take the information I learned in class directly into my own classroom by creating a website for the class to use both inside and outside the classroom. A site would help make the students feel more involved and connected to the class.

What did I learn and how can I use it in the future?

This week I learned about how to assess educational websites. This is a very important concept, because as teachers we are required to use accurate and up to date information. If we consult a website that isn't reputable, and then we take that information and use it in the classroom, we would be doing a disservice to our students, not to mention a horrible job as a teacher.

I can use this information in the future by keeping a copy of the website review checklist for future sources of information. I can test the authenticity and make note of dates, references, and other important items on the checklist.

What did I learn and how can I use it in the future?

This week we learned a lot about adaptive technology. A lot of the information presented was brand new to me. Some of it was familiar. I had a student last year who was legally blind, but could still read and see things when they were very close to his eyes. For class we adapted our instruction by obtaining a closed circuit television (CCTV). The CCTV was basically a computer monitor attached to a magnifying lens. When you placed books--or anything at all--under the the lens, it would increase the size and display it on the monitor. It was an amazing device and allowed him to read an impressive amount.

I found the braille writer to be fascinating. Whenever I see braille on a wall or a sign, I always run my fingers across it and try to imagine obtaining information from the little bumps on my fingertips. I actually started memorizing the braille alphabet for fun, but let me tell you, it's much different seeing it and trying to discern what the letters are when you don't use your eyes. Anyway, the braille writer is a great device because it allows people to type and create braille documents instantly. That is amazing because it allows students with vision disabilities to work and create braille without any long or tedious processes. This is a great example of adaptive technology in the classroom.

I have learned this week about adaptive technology. I know many of the different tools, and I have a better understanding of how they work. I can take this information directly into my classroom, where I can use this adaptive technology to give my special education students the instruction they deserve.