First time blogger

This article by Marc Prensky was wonderful.  I only have one issue with it.  We are a Reading First School and have very strict guidelines that we must follow and they do not lend themselves very well to technology of this level.  So what am I left with?  Students that are in engaged yet to young to be enraged but, it is coming.  I really believe that we (lower elementary) are so far in the dark ages about technology because we have so many teachers that are in th dark ages about technology.  I do not believe that the powers that be are looking far enough down the pipeline to see that if  we have not engaged them in Kinder and First grades that by the time they get the technology in the classroom that it will already be to late a large amount of the students will be enraged.  As you can see I am very passionate about this topic.

Article from Technology Class Meeting 1

This article made me remember how low-tech tools can be are are still effective tools for the classroom.  Rose had students that were having difficulties with spelling, often misspelling words that are posted on the words wall.  She discussed this issue with some colleagues and they suggested that she introduce the low-tech tool of correction tape.  When students misspell a word they can put correction tape over the word and rewrite it correctly.  After a mini-lesson during her writer’s workshop and continued use of this tool she noted much improvement in her student’s writing.  She also noticed that student we becoming more aware of phonemic sounds.  This sounds like a really good idea!

http://www.startechprogram.org/technology/rose.html

In this article Chris discusses the exciting learning that took place once Boardmaker and Kid Pix were introduced into the learning environment.  In Chris’ classroom there was a student that became non-verbal.  Chris decided to use the program Boardmaker to make a “word wallet.”  Inside the wallet were icons for different needs and requests.  This allowed the student to feel more involved in the discussion.  Chris also found that the icons were also a valuable tool for verbal students.  Chris put them at the writing center to help students better understand the writing prompts.  Bases on the success of the picture wallet Chris also began using PixWriter in the classroom.  This program allows students to writer and have the program read back to them what they have written.  It also uses graphics above corresponding words.  These tools seem like the would be valuable tools for ELL students also.

http://www.startechprogram.org/technology/chris.html

This article offered a brief introduction to the role of assissitive technology (AT). It gave six very helpful solutions or ideas to finding the AT that is right for you or your student. This article also gave some statistics about the number of studentst that would benefit from AT and are not receiving the services.  According to this article AT devices can help students move, communicate, and use materials to participate in everyday activities.  I found this to be very interesting.  I see, just within my class, that there is a need for AT.

http://www.ldonline.org/article/8088

Oh my goodness, I knew that there was a reason why I am taking this class. This article is great! As soon as I am done posting this blog I am researching this Wiggleworks program. How wonderful and inspiring for me. Our school is so focused on fluency right now and how to get “those” kids up to level. This program sounds like it would really help kids that are not getting from the daily grind. If only I could figure out how to get a schedule together for the computers so that all the students would benefit. At my school we have so many students that fit into “Robert’s Story.” I think that this is great that students with all types of disabilities can use this program. How wonderful!

http://www.ldonline.org/article/6344

This article written by Dale S. Brown (2005) opened my eyes to a whole new word. I guess that I had never thought how dyslexia can have such an effect on all aspects of daily life. When I thought of dyslexia I thought about reading only. Now that I have read this article I see that it effects life from as hard as reading and getting through a lesson to as simple as dialing a phone. Some of the ways that technology has improved the life of a person with dyslexia are: using a tape recorder to take notes, speed dial on a telephone for dialing, word processing programs for reading your writing or even spellcheck. As much as tchnology has helped people with dyslexia it has also made somethings difficult. To solve some issues this articles also had a problem and solution area that I found very informative and useful. Suggestions for memory issues: use familiar digits, numbers, or symbols for your passwords. We all know that with all of this technology there are safety issues and we all need passwords and we should have different passwords for everything but how can remember it all. So, even I whom am not dyslexic think that this is a great idea! Another suggestion is to simplify your computer. Lessen the number of icons on the screen, empty your e-mail at least once a day, save every five minutes.

http://www.ldonline.org/article/13720