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From visiting the websites and viewing the videos in part one I learned that the world of assistive technology is much vaster than I could have imagined. Although I believe that most of the things we saw in the video were cutting edge technology and therefore very expensive and not that commonly used, it is still obvious that accommodations for students with special needs have changed significantly since I graduated in 2002. Although my school system was known for their special education department, most of the accommodations I saw enacted in my school system involved things like aids as scribes or one on one tutoring, but now technology is so advanced that it enables bedridden and wheelchair bound students to be able to actively participate in all aspects of class including class discussions. The technology can even be used to play online videogames like World of Warcraft. Although I was impressed with all of the adaptive technology I saw, I was most impressed with the adaptive device that allowed a student to play the euphonium .I agree with you here - I found that video to be amazing .Although I it’s not a technology that I see myself using in a mathematics classroom I find the fact that it exists to be incredibly encouraging. Last semester I had two classes with a young lady that was legally blind and needed to use several adaptive technologies to accommodate her disability. I know that one of the programs she had on her laptop was a text-to-speech technology that allowed her to “read” power points, articles, or other files that the teachers sent her. I really appreciated the fact that she was in my class because it provided me a unique opportunity to make sure I accommodated her special needs during a microteaching demonstration. I was able to e-mail her the specific parts of my lesson plan like class notes, and even scanned images of visual aids (graphs) I created for the lesson. Although she confirmed that she received all the files I sent her and said they were fine I didn’t actually get to see how the program worked. I know she wasn’t completely blind because she didn’t need to use a white cane to walk, so I wonder if one of she was able to enlarge images like graphs to the extent that she can make out the general shape of it. If not, I wonder what kind of adaptive technology she would have used things like images instead of text. I am thinking that that particular student was one I had in my class last fall - I found the technology she used to be amazing. She used the "Jaws" program to "read" the screen to her so she could use the computer and search the Web. Although students with disabilities unquestionably benefit from the use of adaptive technologies, they aren’t the only people in the class that would. Using a text-to-talk technology in the classroom could also be used as a form of scaffolding for students that may be reading well below grade level where the text book is at a level of frustration for them. Although not necessarily an adaptive technology, programs like geometers sketch pad could be used in high school geometry classes to help students construct geometric figures especially if they lack the dexterity to us a compass and straight edge.
 * __Assistive Technology Reflection__**

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I had a fair amount of difficulty getting myself involved in the virtual field trip. Although I like the idea of a virtual field trip and found the site to be quite easy to navigate, the content and the manner in which it was presented didn’t seem to pique my interest. Although it was unquestionably more interesting than reading the information from a text book, it wasn’t as interactive as I would have liked it to have been. I did, however, really enjoy the two websites that taught us how to tie all the nautical knots. I’m primarily a kinesthetic learner and find it easy to get involved in hands on learning like this. I must have spent at least a half hour trying my hand at the various knots and thinking of ways I could use this newly acquired skill. In summary, I think this was a well designed virtual field trip. I truly appreciate the fact that you made sure there was something for auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learns. I must admit, it was somewhat frustrating trying to conceptualizing how I could use virtual field trips in my own classroom because field trips and mathematics don’t exactly go hand in hand. It was even more frustrating to look at all of the great links you provided and realize that not a single one of them seemed appropriate for use in an algebra, a geometry, or a pre-calculus classroom. The opportunities for virtual fieldtrips seemed enumerable for history or science teachers, but almost nonexistent for future math teachers like myself. Although these initial findings were somewhat discouraging, I refused to give up. I was determined to find something I could us in my classroom and with a little digging I found exactly what I was looking for. Google brought me to two sites that I am very interested in using in my classroom. The first of these websites was [], a website created by NASA that provides teachers and students with a bunch of online tools and resources. One of these resources is a program called “Smart Skies” that teaches students how to solve real world air traffic control problems with mathematics. There is also a program called “Solar System Math” that deals with pre-algebraic content like unit conversions and ratio and proportion. One of the best parts of this website is that it shows how each program is aligned with your specific state’s standards. The other website Google led me to was []. This website had a number of great interactive tools, but the one I was most interested in was a website called Math by Design, which can be found at []. I am very interested in developing a lesson plan around the math by design website. It’s a web based interactive program that allows students to explore the world of geometry and measurement by becoming junior architects that help build virtual environments. Although I didn’t have enough time to complete all of the activities, I did complete a few of them and was very impressed with what I saw. I was so impressed with this program that I am considering using it for my keystone assignment.


 * __Digital Story Telling__**

This is the link to my Digital Story Telling Project. It might be well over the 3 minute limit, but I have a tendency to go above and beyond and I just had so much fun making it. I hope you enjoy watching this video as I had making it.

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 * __Final Reflection__**

I’m a big proponent of technology in the classroom for children of all ages for a number of different reasons, but first and foremost I am a proponent of technology in the classroom because of how it aides in differentiation. Like most teachers I have an innate desire to reach every last one of my students, but with classes of 20-30 students all of which are reading on different reading levels, have different learning style preferences, different interests, and different background knowledge; the task at hand can seem not only overwhelming but at times insurmountable. Technology makes differentiation not on only much easier, but it actually makes it possible. Websites like thinkport.org and bookbuilder.cast.org are two great ways of differentiating to accommodate all reading levels and learning styles. These websites provides the students with individualized scaffolding. The cast website is a really great teacher tool because it gives student the option of having the book read out loud to them which is beneficial for both students reading below their grade level, and students that have an auditory learning preference. Similarly, the interactive nature of the website and the point and click glossary is great for both visual and more specifically kinesthetic learners. The same parallels can be made with the Thinkport website, learning styles, and differentiation.

But differentiation is the reason why **//I//** think technology is effective in the classroom, I suspect the student’s answers would differ and it’s equally as important for us to see things from their point of view as it is for them to see things from ours. Students not only tend to enjoy lessons that incorporate a decent amount of technology, but they also tend to be more involved in these lessons because the world they live in is a digital world and they are digital natives. When we effectively incorporate technology into our everyday lessons it is like we are speaking their language, and technology is the language of the future so there is no better time to get on board than here and now.

//Although I don’t know that my beliefs about the importance of incorporating technology have changed as a result of taking this course, I do feel that my reasoning has changed. I feel that I not only am better informed about the reasons why incorporating technology into the classroom is important, but I also feel that I am more capable of incorporating technology in such a way that my students will benefit from its inclusion. I no longer feel that I would incorporate technology for the sake of incorporating technology and genuinely believe that when I decide to incorporate technology into the classroom I will do so with intent and purpose.//