What have you learned so far that you can apply in your instructional practice?
For many students with disabilities, access to the curriculum will require the use of technology, specifically assistive technologies. The effective use of these technologies can make the difference between successful and unsuccessful educational and social experiences for students with disabilities (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). Some of these things that I can use in my classroom are the tools to assist learning and meet the needs of the diverse learner. MouseKey features found in the Windows Accessibility Panel can provide modifications for some students and Narrator provides text-to-speech ability.
What goals are you still working toward?
I will continue to work on my website through the summer months. The district is upgrading the site and I will be able to update my website when it goes through. I will create a survey for parents to complete with all the other Back to School paperwork so I can identify their needs and wants.
Based on the NETS-T, what new learning goals will you set for yourself?
1. Facilitate and Inspire Student Learning and Creativity
c. Promote student reflection using collaborative tools to reveal and clarify students' conceptual understanding and thinking, planning, and creative processes.
4. Promote and Model Digital Citizenship and Responsibility
b. Address the diverse needs of all learners by using learner-centered strategies providing equitable access to appropriate digital tools and resources.
I am going to focus on more reflection with my students since I feel that is rather lacking in my curriculum. It is a very important step in the learning process. I will incorporate more blogging and social networking in my lessons. Since most of my students have little resources, I need to accommodate their needs by using strategies that promote learning and engagement.
What learning approaches will you try next time to improve your learning?
I am intrigued with Problem-based learning and will try to utilize this kind of inquiry-based learning in my lessons. I think students thrive on self-directed learning and this is the focus I want to take. This will require the use of more questions that challenge students to think deeper and writing journals for students to reflect on their learning and where it is taking them. Reflection allows students to abstract from their experiences what they felt, thought, and learned (Cennamo, Ross, & Ertmer, 2009). I will try to employ this strategy for my own learning as well.
Cennamo, K., Ross, J., & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use. (M. Staudt, & M. Stranz, Eds.) Mason, OH, USA: Cengage Learning.
National Education Standards for Teachers (NETS-T) located at http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/
2008Standards/NETS_T_Standards_Final.pdf
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Kerry,
ReplyDeleteWhat is the "MouseKey features found in the Windows Accessibility Panel can provide modifications for some students" that you refer to? How does this work?
I like that you are planning to do more problem-based learning in your classroom. I have set that goal for myself as well but I know me and I'm afraid that once the school year begins it unfortunately will be too stressful. I want to try it but like Vicki Davis said in the video, "the fear of losing control is one of the biggest challenges when implementing problem-based learning". One suggestion I have is if you are going to do the problem-based learning and let them reflect on their experiences, let them do it through a blog. Then maybe I can read their experiences or I can even have my students comment and maybe that will motivate them to want to do some problem-based learning.
Susan,
ReplyDeleteGood suggestion, I should have them blog instead of writing in their journals. Computer time is always a problem though so my backup plan will be to do it in their journal.
Thanks!