Friday, July 6, 2012

Tool 11, Reflection

1. I have so many new favorites that I don't know where to start. Skype, drop box and trading cards are only a few of my new favorite friends on this journey. As a team on our campus, we have decided to use Skype with a gingerbread man lesson. We will use it to contact other PPCD classrooms and look for the runaway gingerbread man!

2. I think that our campus is already doing a phenomenon job in incorporating the 21 century tools for students with disabilities. I am however, very excited about incorporating a new touch screen in our classroom. I think it will make our circle time even more fun and interactive!

3. I think the program was very self explanatory. the pace was great and there were no unexpected surprises!

Tool 10, Digital citizenship

1.The three things I would like any student to understand as important parts to a good digital citizenship would be: To find a balance between the cyber world and the real world. They still need to get out and be physical the way other students were years ago! Safety is of course one of the other major important parts to this. They need to understand how to protect themselves online. I would also love for them to understand that not everything out there is true! They need to learn how to check for resources and understand how easy it is to post something online, and the fact that once it is out there, it will be out there forever!

2.There is a website under PSElibrary.com that is full of great interactive books and resources for students of all ages. netsmartzkids.org I plan on using the more appropriate resources for my students in my drop box so it will be available for them to use!

3.Although this topic is a very hard one to be discussed with 3 and 4 year olds who have disabilities, I think we as teachers apply these skills in the classroom everyday! We make sure they have a balance between cyber world and real world all the time and we filter what they do online.

4.I think on our campus sharing the idea of digital citizenship will be shared differently with our parents. Their little ones with disability will not be researching online or sharing personal information with anyone. What I will definitely share with them is the fact that they should not be spending hour after hour on the Internet.

Thursday, July 5, 2012

Tool 9, Incorporating classroom based devices

1. I think technology not only makes learning fun but it is also a very important part of today's culture. To tie the objective to technology, it is like promising to have technology embedded in the whole lesson.

2. I believe that students need to be held accountable at stations because with a few friends, it is easy for a center to turn into play time. Even in a PPCD classroom the kids need to understand that they are required to produce and learn something in every station.

3.I frequently use Starfall.com, and Jacob'slesson.com in my computer station. I like the fact that the kids can explore starfall by themselves and discover new things every day. Jacob's lesson is a great website for student with autism. it keeps track of their progress and you can print the progress sheet for your records.

4.I have plenty of appropriate apps for the younger kids in my classroom. The students get a lot of one on one time with the teacher and the assistants in a PPCD classroom setting. Keeping track of their progress is a lot easier. Although I use the iPad as a big reinforcer once they are done with their work at a station, they are still doing more work without realizing! They are matching shapes, doing puzzles, matching letters of the alphabet and spelling smaller words!

5.I not only use the iPad as a reinforcer once they finish their task, I also utilize it in my circle time, I use it at my communication center to help the kids use their words and I even use it in our fine motor station. The kids use their little fingers to trace shapes and letters!