Top 10 Reasons to Use Technology in My Classroom

These top 10 reasons are based on the needs (and realities) of an early elementary resource room. So with no further ado . . .
10. Screencasting The use of screencasts provide a way to visually represent the process of creating documents on a computer. Screencasts also allow students and their parents to view the process at home to help with homework assignments thus bridging the home-school connection.
9. File Security With Google Docs, backup programs, Wikis, and other media, teachers can secure their documents without charge. These files can then be accessible from multiple locations. If the district server goes down, files can still be accessible using web-based storage.
8. Behavior Management In the process of action research, I found my students to be more on-task when given the opportunity to interact with technology. Especially as a special education teacher, effective behavior management is crucial to conveying academic content.
7. Creating Savvy Consumers Our students are digital natives and use technology in almost every aspect of their lives. By directly teaching technology skills in the classroom, students can learn about Internet safety issues as well as reliability of information. Many of our students' parents may not have these skills and are dependent on the school system to help their children become educated computer users.
6. Student Engagement In reviewing research for action research, I found that disenfranchised learners have superior task engagement when they are allowed to interact with technology. Using visual strategies likely is a huge component of this.
5. Critical Thinking Skills The use of technology encourages students to use critical thinking skills to solve technology issues. We also learned with the LoTI scale how to create meaningful activities that promote critical thinking.
4. Diversity in Lessons Technology has allowed for a variety of lessons including WebQuests, collaborative presentations, blogging, podcasting, and graphics development. Websites of lesson databases like Thinkfinity and AT&T's Knowledge Network also allow teachers to explore how
colleagues around the world are using technology of their classrooms. Diversifying lessons is much better than the traditional sit and get lecture of our schooling experiences.
3. Digital Storytelling My students love it! We make our own books modeled after our reading books and classroom experiences. In addition to targeting reading and technology skills, we can practice our speech and language skills when making digital stories.
2. Academic Achievement During my action research, I had superior academic growth from my students when they were actively engaged in technology. Isn't this the ultimate goal?
1. Collaboration Technology allows for collaboration in ways that was never possible before. With Wikis, photosharing, Google Docs, and more, teachers, parents, and students can easily collaborate without the boundaries of the physical building or phone lines. Students can work on assignments together and the document history can be searched to make sure that students are contributing equally. Our district level PLC is going to move to using a Wiki next year in order to create a database of effective instructional strategies based on student deficits as well as to share modifications and materials that we have created for students. Outside of school, I find photosharing to be useful for my friends and family.

CED 581, Class Four - Class Relevancy

When I started this class, I felt like it had little relevancy to my current teaching position, and I still feel like that. Other than purchasing software for work, I have little need to know about the capabilities of our work computers. Even those requests go through IT, and most of those requirements I was able to figure out before this class. However, career changes down the road may make this class more relevant for work. Only time will tell whether I give up special ed for something different.

On the other hand, I feel like I have become a much more knowledgeable consumer in my personal life. In the past, I had sort of assumed "more is better," and to some extent, that is still true. However, instead of generically thinking more is better, I now know that money should be invested in memory. I've also become more aware of the value of extended warranties. When I purchased my MacBook 2 1/2 years ago, I took out the warranty because I thought it was a good idea. Now knowing the cost of batteries and screens, I'm glad I did. I've also always been one who backs up. I thought everyone did this. I'm glad that I do and will continue to do so. I also now know that I will be mindful that virus protection will likely need to be considered in the future for my Mac. I, like many, assumed that Macs were always safe.

So, perhaps my bad attitude at the beginning of the course was not so justified. While it may not help me much in my current position, this class has definitely helped me to be a better technology consumer.

CED 581, Class Three

I'm continuing to stretch my computer knowledge and be challenged to think in new ways.

The information on virus protection in regards to Mac was pretty new to me. I always thought that as a Mac user, I was pretty much safe from malware. After reading Richard Mogull's article, I continue to feel pretty safe even though I should be looking into virus protection software a little more. Any recommendations? As the sole user of my computer, I control what gets loaded onto my computer and which e-mail attachments are opened. However, as Mac continues to take a bigger share of the market, I feel like I should probably be protecting my computer a bit more.

The computer component assignment also forced me to think a little more about my profession. I was much more fluent in assistive technology devices when I first graduated from college. As I went back to collect data on pricing and all the features about different devices, I discovered how much this field has grown in the last 3 years. In reading other people's presentations, I also discovered how some of the devices (such as pen devices) that were designed for the average person to have greater ease of use have some good accessibility options for people with disabilities. I think that some of the pen devices may be practical for my students for next year. With the possiblity of having our assistive technology person in my building next year, I hope to get a little more hands-on experience with some of these devices.

As I write, I'm trying to wrap my head around the data backup and viruses assignments. This will require some thinking outside of my comfort zone, but I'm up for the challenge!

CED 581, Class Two

The world of alternative operating systems was foreign to me before this class. I had heard of Linux but had never really looked at an alternative operating system or known anyone who uses one. As we were shown examples throughout class, I could see why you would want to use one. The idea of free software is quite compelling! In an age when we are continually asked to cut more and more from school budgets and further constrain our spending at home, it only seems to make sense that if viable options exist for alternative operating systems, why not pursue them? That said, I understand the comfort and familiarity that comes with using something that you've always used. I consider myself pretty open to trying new things but had a little bit of a set back with an alternative operating system this week. I downloaded the Slax Operating System this week and had every intention of using it for 3 days for the assignment. Ten minutes into using it, I became frustrated with my inability to access the Internet from the OS. (I checked my network connections and all that good stuff). I have enough experience to know that this is probably just a fluke and either my disc didn't burn correctly or there is a glitch with running Slax on a Mac. However, most people I know would give up after this one experience. (If anyone has a solution for me, I'm all ears!) In typical human fashion, I pretty much have given up on Slax after that experience, and am typing on my Mac with the MacOS configuration. There definitely is comfort with something familiar! That said, I'm interested in trying another system and will do so in the next week. Time seems to have gotten away from me this week!

The Triumph of the Nerds video is compelling to me for one main reason . . . I can't believe that anyone could be so committed to "an idea" that hasn't been done before! And not just one person, a whole group of likeminded people who networked really well! As I watched the video, I kept questioning whether ideas prosper now like they did in the late 70s and 80s. Since I'm fairly young, my perspective on whether this has changed is somewhat naive. With that in mind, I feel like corporate America today does not allow for this fairly free sharing of ideas and collaboration. Although, the Open Source community seems to be the exception to this. I'm assuming we're watching the conclusion of this video for next week. I look forward to seeing how it ends and keep pondering what it would look like 10 years later.

CED 581, Class One

This blog entry should probably be titled "Using My Resources." I'm not really a hardware person. I like the software side much better. That said, I know lots of people who know the hardware side, well enough to do it for a living. To these people, I am very grateful! There's other areas where I have expertise, and I'm happy to share in these areas. I guess that's what makes the world such an interesting place.

While watching "Triumph of the Nerds," my background in special ed kept coming to the forefront of my mind. I admire anyone who can be so devoted to a task to allow it to become their life, much as the early computer developers did. Part of me sees the lack of social skills these people had. 40 years later these people may have been labeled as being "on the spectrum." It was a good reminder that even though these individuals may have social differences, they do have an incredible wealth of knowledge and an ability to make more money than I ever will!

Action Research #2

What a process! I've learned a lot about myself and the jargon of the special education field and how to define that for other people. I can't say I truly understand this "full IRB" thing yet. My students (for this study) are really not that disabled. I don't get it! But, I've learned not to fight the system and just roll with it instead. The process of constantly making revisions has also opened me up to criticism a lot more. My defenses are down, and I'm learning to roll with the punches as they come.

I'm looking forward to the next semester and the opportunity to put these ideas into practice and make some much needed changes to my schedule to allow this research to occur. I'm just crossing my fingers that this all works out!

Action Research #1

The process of preparing my proposal for approval has been demanding yet very reflective for me. Given that my caseload at school is so large and so diverse, finding a topic that is meaningful for a variety of my students and meaningful for me has been a bit challenging. I think I've finally got something that will work! One of the challenges that I've become more aware of (as a teacher) is that I really don't know where my students will be at academically in 3 months. Most teachers know what part of the curriculum they'll be at (roughly) at a given time. In special ed, you have to roll with your students' progress and constantly adapt so that you're teaching to mastery - following a traditional curriculum is not what I do. Therefore, I feel like I'm taking a huge leap of faith when I outline my lessons for 3 months down the road.

On a different note, I'm learning quite a bit from the research articles I'm reading. While not all are exact fits to my teaching situations, I try to take at least one or two points from each article and make connections to my own teaching. Through this process of reading and reflection, I'm beginning to deeply analyze my own teaching. I've also been having conversations about these issues with teachers and administrators at school. Although time consuming, it's been a valuable experience thus far.