Ramirez+Cross

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 * Final “exam” reflection on available technology, and how my views regarding the usefulness of technology have been influenced by ISTC 301/501.**

I believe that if the county and state are going to provide technological equipment to schools, then teachers should look for instructive ways to use that equipment. This equipment costs a lot of money but those funds are wasted if teachers do not have any interest in using the equipment. I understand that many teachers at a given school have been teaching for a long time prior to the arrival of current equipment, and may feel they have been effective instructors without it. However, with a little instruction, I think they may find that their lessons are enriched, and their students become more engaged and successful, when it is utilized. At Towson University, I was required to take an Instructional Technology course for the Master of Arts in Teaching program. Within that class, I learned about many technology tools education professionals are using to teach content material from the kindergarten level through high school. Examples of the kinds of technology we studied, go far beyond PowerPoint slides to virtual fieldtrips, simple online book and film creation, and the use of podcasts to both present course material by the instructor, and as a format for student delivery of research and projects. Particularly for my content area of social studies, instruction enriched by multimedia technology tools is critical, because the former “lecture model “ failed to effectively engage a majority of students.

Although I have not yet learned how to use every possible technology tool or equipment which may be available, many schools have a media teacher or technology staff member whom I would seek out for instruction on any unfamiliar pieces of equipment in my classroom. If current trends continue, the amount of technology tools in the classroom is only going to increase, so it is imperative that I learn how to use them.

Modern students respond positively to technology. They use it all the time in their personal lives whether for basic communication, or for social and recreational purposes. Today’s students are adept at navigating technological equipment. As a result of the prevalence of technology in the lives of modern students, the educational system must, in some ways, “teach them where they live” (and by “live” I mean, within a high-tech environment). Technology in the classroom is perhaps sometimes viewed by teachers who are reluctant to use it, as another professional burden, when in fact, it can make instruction more successful and interesting not just to students, but also for the teacher!

Especially in this era of high-stakes testing, and inclusion classrooms, teachers need to seek more effective ways to teach content material. In my graduate program at Towson University, much emphasis was placed on differentiating instruction. We studied Universal Design for Learning theory. UDL is the research- based conclusion that not every individual absorbs information in the same way. The use of technology addresses the diversity of learning styles in a given classroom, by delivering content material through a variety of formats. Students absorb new material best when they are engaged, as I teacher I want to incorporate technology in an effort to maintain maximum motivation, and to teach all types of learners.


 * My attitude towards technology in the classroom did warm significantly throughout the course. Being confronted with the unfamiliar can be threatening. It is also easy to be overwhelmed by the cost of technology to school systems and feel that the expense outweighs the benefits—mainly if teachers are not using the equipment. Learning to use new technology, much like learning to do anything for the first time, can be incredibly frustrating. However, through this class I found that if approached with patience and an open mind, new technology tools can be really interesting. The use of educational technology tools can inspire the same sort of “teaching inspirational moments” any other good instructional idea can. As a pre-service Social Studies teacher, the realities of today’s school calendar (things like lack of time and funding for fieldtrips) make technology tools such as virtual fieldtrips very exciting. After this class, I no longer see technology and instruction as separate, and I am no longer intimidated by educational technology. I will still probably need some mentoring and instruction about the use of specific equipment in my classroom, but I now feel optimistic about my ability to use it to enrich my instruction. Technology is just an increasingly effective tool to employ to teach modern students.**


 * ISTC 301/501 iMovie/Moviemaker Assignment**
 * View my imovie assignment, "From the Country to the City via this link: [|Youtube imovie assignment]**

I am really excited about the opportunity for students to take “virtual fieldtrips” both in the classroom and when studying at home as a way to enrich their learning experiences in all the content courses. The ability to take a virtual trip seems to be a crucial resource at a time when school budgets are becoming increasingly strained and the opportunities for actual fieldtrips are fewer as a result. Also effecting fieldtrip opportunities is the fact that current classroom time is more precious in the face of national standardized testing preparation and requirements. Since a virtual fieldtrip requires no long bus ride, etc. they do not cut into the school calendar quite as much. I do not think a virtual fieldtrip should be the only fieldtrip opportunity afforded to modern students, but the realities and constraints of our public school systems make them a refreshing alternative to a complete lack of supplemental or complimentary “trip” experiences. Therefore, as a future social studies educator, I am grateful for fantastic websites like those of the British Museum, the Smithsonian Institution, Memorial Hall Museum, and the New Bedford Whaling museum. I even tested a couple of the websites out with my 3rd grade daughter who especially enjoyed the ones about early American clothing and lifestyles and the some of the American Experience’s whaling footage. I thought some things an instructor could do to make the virtual experience more tactile, for example when learning about early American dress wiuld be to bring in a particularly raw/primitive example of wool for students to feel against their skin, linen, and “homespun” etc. I looked up Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello since it is a museum I have visited to see what their website had in the way of interactive, “virtual” experiences. At http//explorer.monticello.org they offer a virtual room-by-room tour geared toward upper elementary-high school students.
 * Reflection on Various Virtual Fieldtrip Websites:**

media type="custom" key="11005364" My learning survey results revealed that I am a Visual/Verbal learner, but I also scored high in Auditory learning style. I took the survey twice because, since I have a very good memory for the spoken word, I wondered if I might be classified differently the next time. I still was classified as I was the original time I took the test which leads me to think it is a fairly accurate survey. In the survey, the questions were often repeated with slight variations, i.e. what one does when trying to remember a phone number, or how to spell a word I found these repetitions a little frustrating, but I assume they serve a purpose for providing the most consistent survey results. Also of note is how all learners probably use each style, even if there is one learning style that is relied upon the most. Often during the survey, I would recall instances where I learned new information or performed a task employing one of my less-dominant learning styles. These "recalled-scenarios" revealed to me that a different learning style can be selected by the brain as most-appropriate depending on the given task. This leads me believe that learners actually do employ all learning styles, even if one is style is dominant. I said that most of us are a combination of learning styles, but we do tend to have stronger preferences for one or two over the others.
 * Learning Style Survey Reflection**:

__Reflection to Learning Styles and CAST website__

1. I was surprised I scored so strongly within a reading-learner. I had taken surveys in the past and scored more as an auditory learner so I wasn’t expecting that. The website mentioned writing out responses to read lessons as a way to synthesize and see what I gleaned from the reading, that sounds like a helpful task (and different than just taking notes on the reading)

2. I found the CAST website useful and I bookmarked it. There were some many topics addressed that I thought it may come in handy the closer I get to being in the classroom.

3. I liked the format of the digital text, __ Teaching Every Student in the Digital Age __. I found the “classroom examples” sections extremely helpful as practical ways to handle common scenarios. The text encouraged problem-solving of teaching struggles by focusing on what the student did well, and what engaged them as a “way-in” for a given lesson. Everyone has areas of engagement, and as teachers it is our challenge to identify them in our students and tap into them in order to help the student achieve. As I remarked to another student, you cannot possibly cover everything at the CAST site in just one assignment; but you've had a "taste" of the principles and strategies. I hope you'll bookmark this site for the future as you go through your other methods classes.

4. If by the two activities you mean completing the learning style survey and working in our groups to present a chapter I learned that (based on the shared information of my group members) usually I do identify the key points from a read selection easily (learn by reading), but I also benefit from collaborative learning and working with others. Surprisingly, I learned that I like PowerPoint presentation-creation. Often I find them kind of dry, but there is the opportunity to incorporate really useful and engaging images within them. I enjoyed that.

5. I think the issues focused on by the CAST website are some of the main challenges/theorems of modern classroom teaching-particularly in the era of No Child Left Behind where there is much emphasis on student’s individual progress. The focus on students making “AYP” or one year of progress in one year of school, is also being very much turned toward to the teacher with increasing calls for things like merit-based pay, etc. In order to effectively “teach every child” teachers must be sensitive to differentiated instruction and the various learning styles within a population of children. Not all students learn the same way. It only makes sense to me that a teacher who faces the challenges of incorporating a variety of students with different learning styles and needs in his/her classes would want to have a list of websites with resources and strategies for differentiating instruction. After all, if special needs students are going to be included in general educational settings, the teacher needs to be able to address the students' needs so that the "playing field" is made more even.

6. I would perhaps enjoy another assignment linked to the CAST website just as a guided reason to navigate the materials available there.


 * Assistive Technology Assignment**

1. In viewing the websites and videos, I learned that there is a large amount of assistive technology out there, but the biggest impediment to student’s being able to use it is educators and school systems not making themselves aware of what is available. It is the professional responsibility of educators to seek out methods for teaching students who may benefit from assistive technology, and in today’s inclusive classroom, this would put that responsibility on most every classroom teacher. Sites such as the Schrock guide were very helpful for providing lots of resources and information about assistive technology for use in lessons categorized by content. One of the great things about the Web is the amount of information that teachers share with each other and the sites that provide information and resources for teachers. Teaching is a demanding job and teachers need to have resources literally at their fingertips to help them plan lessons.

2. Since I plan to teach secondary (either middle or high school) it is my hope that often- times students with special needs will have already been matched to some forms of assistive technology before they get to my classroom, but I realize this will not always be the case. I may be in a school system with less awareness of and resources for such technology. Also, the student may be new to my school district and coming from somewhere that assistive technology was not provided or made a priority. I was really impressed that despite his disabilities, the young man who was a high school musician was able to use assistive technology and to take at least 4 Advanced Placement courses. He was able to communicate orally whereas some students, such as the students with cerebral palsy were not. The communication technology used by “Ellen” revealed me to just how capable she was intellectually, therefore, for her, her major educational challenge was with communication. Also in the Edutopia video the college student stated how her mother had to advocate for her high school to provide her with a laptop and for her, just having a laptop to use made a huge difference in her ability to complete college preparatory work. I was excited to see the young elementary students in one of the videos learn and communicate despite severe disabilities. I was especially interested in all forms of communication assistive technology since learning and demonstrating what one has learned is so much about the ability to communicate. From personal experience (my neice had Muscular Dystrophy), I know that it is often the family's responsibility to advocate for the disabled child. While teachers and administrators may mean well, they are often too swamped with other responsibilities to keep the needs of one student in focus. There are devices available for those who need them, and there is often funding from the government, but it takes someone who will be willing to "go to bat" for the students who need them.

3. Assistive technology provides limitless opportunities for students with special needs. Technological devices and programs can bridge the gap of these student’s physical limitations, helping the student reach their educational potential. Just as the elementary school teacher suggested in one of the videos, one of his special needs students could grow up to be an important physicist, scientist, etc. because they will have been able to accomplish the necessary content course tasks with the help of technology. Assistive technology changes the educational outlook for a large number of students who would have previously been prevented from learning and advancing academically (and in every other area of life).

4. I have not observed or known anyone who used assistive technology in school or everyday life other than hearing aides or motorized wheelchairs. I would enjoy visiting a classroom such as the elementary school class in one of the videos where the students were using technology in the form of keypads with icons and voice/talk devices, and also middle and high schools (since I will be a secondary school educator) where assistive technology is being used in content classrooms.

5. I come away from this assignment with much optimism about the way assistive technology will be able to help ALL students succeed in my own content courses. Many disabilities need not be an insurmountable challenge for my social studies students given the opportunities provided by new technology. The larger issue will be acquiring, matching the appropriate technology to the student, and learning as a teacher how to use these tools. Sometimes, special education professionals accompany special needs students to their inclusion classes. If special education teachers are available, I will be working with these professionals on issues of assistive technology. If special para-professionals are not available it is very helpful to know about resources available online and at brick and mortar facilities. I was really interested to learn about one such resource in Maryland, the Parent’s Place, at [|www.ppmd.org]