Blog Post 16

Part 1

         Hello! For this blog post we were asked to reflect on the past semester in EDM 310. In blog post one, we described ourselves, our teaching methods, our student’s and how they will learn, and the tools we will use in our classroom. Many of these answers have changed since the beginning of the semester. The one thing I am sure of is that being a special education teacher, technology will be a core component in my classroom!

         My teaching methods will depend greatly on my student’s abilities. I plan on using a lot of project based learning lessons. I love project based learning, because it gets the students involved in the teaching and learning process. Throughout the semester, I have watched videos where “impossible” does not exist in classrooms. I have seen the student teach lessons, make blogs, and work computers better than I ever could at that age! I am a very “up for anything” type of person, so I want to push the limits with my students and see just how much they are able to do.

          My students will have all different special needs. Experimenting with different ways for them to learn will be a daily task. I learn best with “doing” and that is why I like project based learning so much. I also like working in collaborative groups, because you get to hear different opinions and learn from your group mates. I will try these methods of learning, but if these do not work, I will try letting the students work independently. Trial and error is the key to figuring out what is best for your students.

          The tools I will use in my classroom will also vary according to my students. I will definitely use the SmartBoard to introduce new information to my students. I will also have lessons on the SmartBoard. I will have interactive lesson games where the students will be able to come up and solve problems. This gets everyone involved! I will also have iPads in my classroom. IPads are great for verbal and nonverbal students. There are countless ways an iPads will be used in my future classroom!

         As you can see, my opinion on many things have changed since blog post one. Looking back now, I have learned so many things from EDM that have changed my opinion on methods of teaching. In my first blog post, I wrote my dream method of teaching students, which I know now, is completely absurd.

         As I said above, I want to incorporate project based learning into my classroom. Before EDM, I had no idea what project based learning even was! One of the tools I would change from my first blog post would be the picture cards. I would change this to simply an iPad, because the iPad has apps that have picture cards. This would allow me to have more space in the classroom and it would be very convenient to have them on an iPad, rather than scattered all over the room!

Part 2

Blog Post 15

By Linda Check and Meagan Freeman

         This week we were asked what assistive technologies are available to us as teachers? As a hopeful special education teacher, we have learned about several technologies available to us throughout this semester, but this week we learned about a few more by watching a few different videos. The videos we watched were iPad usage for the blind, Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing Impaired Children, and Teaching Mom What Her Deaf/Blind Child Is Learning On the iPad. Two of these videos covered VoiceOver for the iPad. This technology also people who are blind to navigate around the iPad very easily. The person simply has to slide there finger over the iPad and VoiceOver will tell which app you are on. VoiceOver will then tell you to double tap your finger to open the app. It was fun watching the mom figure out the iPad and learning what her deaf/blind child already knows in Teaching Mom What Her Deaf/Blind Child Is Learning On the iPad. In iPad usage for the blind, it was also amazing to watch Wesley Majerus, an Access Technology Specialist for the National Federation for the Blind, work the VoiceOver on the iPad. We learned, through Wesley, that iBooks on the iPad has read aloud textbooks, something that Nook and Kindle does not have. Wesley said it was very liberating to be able to search and read books of his choice.

         Assistive technologies are going to be a huge part of our day-to-day routine, as special education teachers. Every person deserves to be included in the lesson and able to interact with the environment around him or her. We as teachers need to remove as many barriers as possible in the classroom. We need to be open to new technologies that help all the students with special needs!