Blog Post #16

Part 1: "If I Built A School"

When I first started this class, I had no idea what to expect to learn. However, now that it is at the end, I realize what I have learned in this class far exceeds what I could have ever expected. So, looking back on my first blog post titled, "If I Built A School," Some things I wrote in that post I would not change at all. While there are a few that I can say my opinion have changed a bit, or that I have just added to since being in this class.

I stated in my earlier post that I did not want the school to be lined with plain white walls, but lined with artwork done by the students instead. This is still very much a dream I have when contemplating my future school. I still want the students to be comfortable while there. How can you focus on learning, while you feel uncomfortable in your surroundings? I mentioned that I want my students to be able to work in group effectively and know how to use and Ipad or computer. Although I still believe in these two things, I not only want my students to work well in groups, but also be able to become more independent in the learning process. This would involve creating their PLN (Personal Learning Network), which they can build upon with their groups. I want the students to know how to use the SMARTboard, and how it can be useful to them in each subject. Also, after taking this class, I learned the benefits of having a class website. I plan to put that into effect , along with having the students keep a blog of their own, which will have a link provided on the class website.

Part 2: Final Reflection

Blog Post #14

Assignment: What is the purpose of the Common Core Standards and are they successful? Watch the Video, Tennessee student speaks about Common Core Standards, and state your position on the topic with evidence to defend your answer.

My Thoughts About The Standards:
Throughout the semester, we have systematically been incorporating the Common Core Standards into all of our assignments. There are procedures to follow and forms to use as a template. Along with incorporating these, we have also been watching videos of speakers who stress the importance of creativity and inspiration. This brings me to the first question asked, "What is the purpose of the Common Core Standards?" We have been constantly focused on being more creative in the classroom, and learning new methods in which to teach other than the general lecture method. Yet, when we get into a classroom of our own, the Standards will tell us what and how to teach the material. Part of what drives a person's passion about teaching is the constant learning, improving on what you know, and inspiring your students. How can we as future teachers expect to inspire our students, who will all differ in various ways, based on a set of rules for what they must learn and how they must learn it? This makes me think of myself as being more of a proctor for a class, reading off the material already laid out for me, instead of a teacher creating fun, and creative lesson plans that will catch my students' attention. I understand there must be an expectation of what a student should know in each grade. However, the Standards leave no room for "catch up," when a student falls behind. Not every student is going to be learning at the same pace or in the same way, so why we trying to teach them that way?

What is the purpose of the Common Core Standards?
What is the purpose of the Common Core Standards? According to the Common Core website, the purpose of the standards are, "to reflect the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers." However, they are assuming every student learns in the same way, at the same pace, and plan to be successful in similar careers. The standards are designed as a guide for teachers to follow for what they need to teach throughout the year. I will not discredit that it keeps a certain structure for classrooms, however for the students who are not at the same level, or have fallen behind, they simply slip through the cracks due to the fact teachers have no freedom when it comes to what they teach in their classroom. It starts a domino like effect; that student gets behind and more behind until they become frustrated with the overall routine of school.

Are the standards successful? The question of whether or not the standards are successful, is a debate among many teachers, students, and parents. I believe the structure and guidelines for the standards were created with good intentions, but many failed to consider the level of diversity surrounding students and their personal learning styles today. The "No Child Left Behind Act," was brought about to get teachers to "bring their students up to the "expected" level on their state given tests. However, since NCLB has been been introduced, fail rates of schools have risen. However, again for students who do not learn the same as others and fall behind, this will only pass them along to the next grade without adequate knowledge of the material needed to build upon in future subjects. I think of it like this, if I am teaching the class about Algebraic Equations, but some students did not learn how to divide and multiply, because they fell behind and were still passed to the next grade, should I not stop and reteach how to divide and multiply? These are both skills needed to build upon to learn Algebraic Equations. If I follow the Standards, that topic is not something I should be covering, so I have to move forward with the lesson. This again, is a domino affect. A student gets behind, but is passed anyway and goes downhill from there. Much like the Common Core Standards, I feel NCLB had good intentions, but the plan is not perfect. I feel the Standards and the NCLB, are a good guideline, or starting point, for education today. However, I feel both need to be improved upon. After all, trial and error is the basis for every good plan. Test your hypothesis (The Standards will bring students up to expected testing level), find the flaws in the experiment (not Every student leans the same or at the same speed), and alter the original plan to accommodate for the new realizations. It is simply basic Science when you think about it, and is an important part in being a successfully functioning society.

• As a future teacher, I am very excited to bring creativity and introduce PBL into my classroom. However, I feel restrained by the Standards. What must be brought to attention is the fact that our students are all different. They all learn differently, at different paces, and are interested in different things. So, how can we expect to have a general set of "rules" to=hat will accommodate them all? We must stop assuming what is good for one student is good for another. Students are not produced on conveyor belts and we have to stop treating them as such.

Blo Post #15

Assistive Technologies Available To Teachers
by Danya Croft, Carla Young, and Nathalie McCarty

Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing Impaired Children stresses the importance of allowing students the ability to interact with their environment. In order to do that, it suggests the use of technologies such as: Text-to-Speech devices, Speech-to-Text devices, talking calculators, iPads, sensory aids, and screen magnifiers.

The Mountbatten Braille Writer is a useful device that allows for audio and tactile feedback by sending and receiving files to and from a computer. A person with visual impairments can input information that needs to be converted to Braille for later reading. It has an audible playback feature and can translate writings into other languages so that teachers/students can read what was written. It allows for full classroom participation from all persons involved.

In Teaching Math to the Blind, Professor Art Karshmer tells of a device that the University of San Francisco has been working on to aid persons with visual impairments. It allows them the ability to see, in their mind's eye, the way a math problem should be set up in order to properly solve it. He explains that Braille is too linear to show the 2 to 3 dimensions associated with mathematics; it is the reason people with blindness find it difficult to go into the fields of mathematics, engineering, technology, and computer science. The device consists of a touchpad and wooden blocks with Braille writing on the top and a barcode on the bottom. When the wooden block is placed on the touchpad, it describes to the listener what block was inserted and where it was placed so that the problem can be properly arranged and solved. It allows for persons with visual impairments the freedom to work on math problems and perceive that information better than by linear Braille alone. Those with visual impairments can especially attest to the statement, "Mathematics: The Mother of Science & The Bane of The Blind."

The videos iPad Usage For the Blind and Teaching Mom What Her Deaf/Blind Child Is Learning On the iPad demonstrate the freedom that iPad usage can give people with visual impairments. VoiceOver is an Apple app that reads what is being presented on the screen of an Apple device such as the iPad. It can read homepages, books, and even describe images shown. VoiceOver allows the ease of moving your finger across the screen to read the names of the apps so that you know where the app is that you want to use. Kindle and other eReaders do not offer an app that can compare to this.

Some helpful blogs to help in classroom technologies can be found in 50 Must-See Blogs For Special Education. It can help teachers find ways to allow equal opportunity for everyone in their classrooms. For example, the blog Assistive Technology shares information regarding technologies such as IPEVO Interactive Whiteboard System, MimioTeach Interactive Whiteboard, and Co:Writer App for IOS. These technologies help children with impairments thrive in the classroom because it allows them a more interactive approach that is catered to their personal needs. Another blog, Teacher Sol, is from an Exceptional Needs Specialist who shares updates on what is going on in her classroom. Maria Angala fights a near constant battle so that she may have a small part in improving special education. She shares ideas that teachers could try in hopes of creating an environment where everyone can learn.

Algebra Touch is an app used on iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad that can be helpful in the secondary mathematics classroom and costs only $2.99. This app can be used by students with visual or hearing impairments as well as students with learning disabilities. It allows students the ability to rearrange numbers by dragging, simplification by tapping, and elimination of terms by drawing lines. Students can switch between lessons and get additional practice through randomly-generated practice problems. They are able to create their own set of problems to work in the equation editor, and have them appear in other devices via iCloud.

iLab Central is a website that offers virtual mathematics and science labs that can be performed by students in the classroom. It can be used Mac computers as well as iPads and costs nothing. Coupled with VoiceOver, students with visual or hearing impairments can benefit from information learned while getting the hands-on experience of lab work without the added cost of materials and supplies. An example of a Physics lab is the Dynamic Signal Analyzer; this lab allows students the ability to perform frequency measurements on electric currents and control current systems. Investigating the Safety of Nuclear Energy Using Real Radioactivity Data is a Chemistry lab that, "Investigates nuclear energy, storage of nuclear waste, and the controversy surrounding using nuclear power as a source of energy for our country." Radiation and Cancer: Cure or Cause? is a Biology lab that teaches students about radiation and how it can be used as a therapy for cancer, and also a cause for cancer.

iSpeech is an app offered by Apple that turns text into audible speech. It can be used on iPads, iPods, iPhones, and Mac computers and is absolutely free of charge. The purpose of iSpeech is to help students or teachers who may have a speech impediment or impairment. The speech quality comes in a variety of voices that can convert speech in many different languages quickly.

One might say that a music teacher is limited when it comes to assistive technology, but that is actually not true. One new invention that is used is the Soundbeam. What is the Soundbeam? Well, Soundbeam can be compared to a metronome in the way that it gives off sound. It can be used for mainstream students as well as students with limitations such as autism. The cost of the Soundbeam ranges from $3,500 - $5,400. This device is a ultrasonic beam that senses movement and responds through a MIDI sound effect. Its motion sense ranges from a eyebrow movement to a wheelchair moving across a room allowing students to not only be present in the room but interactive. The true beauty of the Soundbeam is that the Obama economic stimulus funds a sizeable amount for training and use of the device.