2/27/07

Reflection
What kind of mark do you want to leave on your students?
I want to leave the a mark on my students of knowingness and independence. I want my students to know that they can and they can do it well. First, I want my students to develop basic reading skills; learn to use those skills for comprehension, vocabulary development and reading fluency. Through positive learning experiences they will learn confident. I want them to know enough about technology that when they need assistance, they know how to find it independently. Students like technology, have fun with it, and feel comfortable using it. I also want to leave the mark that my students can use technology as a positive learning tool.
Assistive technology can motivate students. Students can make books and individualized answers to lessons. It offers the teacher the potential of differentiated lesson planning to suit the goals and needs of all her/his students. If a teacher has selected software programs, most often they come in levels of ability. So, the teacher can easily differentiate the lessons for various levels of competency.
For Reading fluency - Repeated readings are used to increase reading fluency. There are taped books and AT sites that read print books aloud. One can make a storyboard in PowerPoint and read the text over and over or they can tape their own voice reading the presentation. Fluency can be developed through software programs that target this skill. Our book gives various examples:
www.scilearn.com
www.donjohnston.com
Interactive software can assist students who need motivation.
www.itellitools.com
For writing, I think that when students talk to one another through the free email sites or a site like blogger.com they have more motivational support. Motivation is given to both student and teacher. I think it is important for the teacher to guide the subjects that the students write about on the email or blogger. However, these sites give the students the opportunity to communicate about selected subjects to their peers. This helps students develop writing because of the motivational and communicative aspects.
In the area of communication and speech – One needs to develop expressive and receptive language. This deals with vocabulary, synonyms, antonyms, homophones and word meanings. Our group listed several ideas that would assist the teaching of vocabulary.



Wacom tablets - writing allowed him to practice cursive and transcribe into computer text. Very good for art - save drawing as jpeg or pdf.
USB - you can trace using it - or write on - draw on.
students with fine motor problems....
www.donorschoose.org

http://www.donorschoose.org/teacher/teacher.html
started by a person who wants to give money to students
only for teachers
join - it's free

what kinds of hardware - software for specific disabilities.

micahclip - a sp. ed student who is now in college in Oakland and was originally from michagan
he wanted to go "through the same door"

film clip 2 -
teacher told her to graduate and not get a degree
she was successful because she had a clear goal.
Your expedition - ann bancroft

hello friend bill crosby
discuss different software based on specific disability
what kind of mark do you want to leave on your students?

PBS misunderstood minds - www.pbs.ort/wgbh/misunderstoodminds

inside the teenage brain - pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/teenagebrains/
wested.org/c

http://www.wested.org/cs/tdl/print/docs/tdl/research.htm
programs - look at this

yourexpedition.com

http://www.allkindsofminds.org/

http://www.educationworld.com/awards - assess web sites

http://www.closingthegap.com

http://www.assistivetech.com/

http://www.assistivetech.com:591/stage7b/FMPro
different software programs listed under stage7

fine motor disability

developmental MR
or communication
come up with possible intervention

http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin214.shtml
best web sites

http://www.educationworld.com/maillist.shtml sign up for mailings

what kind of mark do you want to leave on your students?
What kind of resources are available to you to assist your students?
we are given the wounded students who end with
loosing their dreams - goals - become involved in gangs
loose their motivation.
Knowing they will always be special education students will leave a mark on them.