InTime

I investigated several teachers' lessons on the InTime website. Lesson content varied in quality and feasibility. I was particularly impressed with the "Show Me" Missouri's Temperatures unit. This unit was a cross-curricular unit taught to fourth grade students in a resource room setting.
This lesson incorporated music appreciation, graphic organizers, data collection forms, writing forms, and computer-based applications. Through each step, she clearly modeled processes, particularly computer-based processes, on a SMARTBoard and then walked students through the process again so that they could engage in the process. One point that Ms. Camden made that resonated with me was in regards to assistive technology. She stated that no matter how interesting a piece of assistive techology is, it is crucial to keep the child's best interest at the center of activity and only use the assistive technology when it is appropriate to the situation. I see this as an important point to consider. Often times, as a special education team member, we are trained in how to use the "latest and the greatest" and then look for opportunities to use them. Sometimes we rush in just to practice our skills. Ms. Camden provided me with a crucial reminder. I can see using this resource to investigate possible activities in the future. While the content of this lesson was more difficult than what my students would be able to achieve, it was a wonderful demonstration of successful language to use as well as an opportunity to view instructional methods that I am familiar with in a new light.