Assistive technology

Putting ideas and information together to write a paper can be very frustrating for students. Especially students that are Dyslexic or Learning Disabled. A program called Inspiration and Kidspiration can be very helpful for students to organize their thoughts before writing. It is also helpful to use this program to show relationship in sequential order, or how information connects with each other. With both programs, students can use pictures or pictures and words to represent what they are working on.

System Requirements:
Recommended:
Internet connection . Windows®
Pentium III 450 MHz or higher
Windows 98, 2000, ME, XP (including Tablet PC Edition), Vista or Windows 7
256 MB RAM
250 MB available hard drive space
Recommended:
Internet connection
QuickTime®
Macintosh®
PowerPC G4 700 MHz or higher
OS 10.2.8 or higher
512 MB available RAM
250 MB available hard drive space

Cost:
Single purchase is $69.00
A 5 computer lease $310.00
A 20 computer lease $895.00

Administration:
Convenient Administration:
Each Site License offers easy license management and installation. There is no need for counting computers or tracking installs.
Cost-effective:
A convenient, low-cost, single Site License purchase covers all student, teacher and administrator use at a school. Pricing is based on school enrollment at the time of purchase, eliminating the expense and hassle of ordering more licenses as you add more computers.
Perpetual License:
Site Licenses are perpetual, giving customers use of the software at a given school for as long as they choose to use it.
Multi-platform Support:
Inspiration and Kidspiration support both Macintosh OS and Microsoft Windows platforms to provide for individual school preferences.
Teacher Take Home Privileges:
Teachers can install the software at home for lesson planning and training purposes.
Professional Development Support:
Each license comes with access to free online training materials to help teachers take full advantage of the software.
Purchase Considerations
Five Site License price points exist to accommodate the size range of student enrollment.
Site Licenses apply to one school located at a single address. Districts must purchase a single Site License for each school location separately. Single Site Licenses cannot be divided and distributed among multiple schools.

Using technology in my school:

My school currently does use this program. My students use it for timelines, “How a bill becomes a law”, Immigration maps and personal finance to name a few. The students really like it for its easy to use style and enjoy the pictures and incorporating them into their work.

Additional Sites:

http://www.inspiration.com/Educators

http://www.strategictransitions.com/inspiration.aspx?selectedstream=C

Universal Design for Learning

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is quite a concept that really opens a lot of avenues for educators. As teachers we need to have the viewpoint that every student is going to learn differently. This idea is very important and if not considered by the educator, many students will be lost. I researched this topic several times in my education classes. I feel very strongly that i try will every lesson to implement these ideals. I work with struggling readers that do not like to read or write. Having different ways form them to communicate t they have understood the lesson is key. I have a number of units already set up that they can rely what they have learned by drawing, using computers, singing, creating a PowerPoint or touring a "virtual world" to fully experience the situation. I am continually researching and developing ideas that will reach every student and give them each an outlet to express the knowledge gained.

Assistive Technology Reflection

Assistive Technology is a very interesting and helpful tool. Personally I use it a lot in my class working with students with Emotional Impairments that tend to have a dual diagnosis of a Learning Disorder as well. There was a number of tools that I have used over the years that have been very helpful. Using Inspiration or Kidspiration is a great tool for organizing. I implement it for a number of lessons. Using it for "How a Bill Becomes a Law" really helps students to understand the order the a difficult process. I have one particular student who uses a word predictor software. I can not remember what software exactly, but it does seem to help him quite a bit. We also have Alphasmarts that are used in the English classrooms. I would like to become familiar with them and use them when my students are writing in History as well. We have also used different Text to Speech soft wares such as Browse Aloud, Read Please and the Don Johnston software as well as Nettracker. These are a lifesaver! Giving a student who struggles at reading the ability to gain the same information really empowers the student. I am really excited to learn more about the different webquests the South Carolina web site has. Using WebQuest is a great way for students to get the information. Then using the Text to Speech option gives them the ability to search for information in a narrow search space and not to be overwhelmed. I have used the web site "web tool boxes for educators" before, but I had forgotten about it! It was very useful so I am glad I was reminded and will use it again. A number of the sites I will be exploring and sharing with my teachers!

Tech Specs Reflection

In order to build a computer that can be used now and in the future there were some minimum requirements I had. First a 2.3 megabytes processor, 4 GB memory, a CD writing system, a hard drive large enough to store documents, pictures, and other projects and a large monitor to show students various things. Taking those requirements I found a few upgrades that would allow me room for growth.

First I was able to upgrade to a 2.6 GHz dual core processor. This allows the faster running of multiple programs and processes running simultaneously. There are many times I am running several different programs at one time in the classroom to model to students different concepts. I was able to upgrade to a 22 inch monitor so that students could see what was on the computer screen with out needed a large pull down screen, which my classroom currently does not have access to. Since I was under budget at the time, I decided to upgrade to the wireless keyboard and mouse. This would allow me the option of working further away from my desk for more student interaction, as well as less clutter on my desk. I also thought it was important to have a media card reader in the future to incorporate a digital cameras/video recorder in some of my lessons. This would allow ease in transferring this type of information.

During this process, I learned there are many different options at many different price ranges. In order to get the best bang for your buck, you need to be well educated in order to pick the most appropriate configurations for your needs for the present and the future.

Assignment #2 Windows 7

Why Windows 7

The following are 4 different sites that I used to find information on Windows 7

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/products/home?os=winxp

http://www.forums.bestbuy.com/t5/Windows-7/bd-p/Win7

http://download.cnet.com/8301-2007_4-10383189-12.html?tag=mncol

http://www.migrationexpertzone.com/

Windows 7 offers a number of really interesting and helpful applications. Windows 7 has many more options for organizational purposes than XP or Vista has in the past. Windows 7 has a Home Group option for sharing files, music and pictures that seems more accessible than the other programs. The Jump Lists that bookmarks the favorites or well used sites would be very helpful. The Window search of finding all documents that have key words in them would really help in finding those lost documents or misplaced items with ease. Windows 7 has the option of the Windows Touch which would be great, with all the iphones/itouch devices that are becoming more main stream, a computer with this capability would be great. With Windows 7 you are able to connect to your home PC and access files, photos etc from any other computer. This is a new feature and could be very beneficial. The parental controls are on all Windows programs, but the 7 seems to be improved with spyware options. Some potential issues that I have read about were the driver compatibility. Certain ones were working fine with no issues, but others were not being recognized. A number of blogs were discussing that there still was no answer to the problem and consumers were getting frustrated. Another concern was the Device Stage and hooking up other devices. This stage claimed to recognize devices instantly, which it can, but only devices made by manufactures that have made prerequisites for image files. The iPod and iphone were two listed that don’t take advantage of the Device Stage. If my school had PCs I would recommend purchasing Windows 7 for the organizational purposes alone. However, we have all Macs in our buildingsJ

TCO entry

Beacon and technology: Do they mix?

Technology at Beacon is a very interesting discussion. First of we are a self-contained K-12 school with emotionally impaired students. Many of the students have dual diagnosis with some sort of learning disability as well. Many of these students would benefit greatly from a technology program. Secondly, we have teachers that have been here for over 25 years that still use pen and paper for grades/attendance and refuse to integrate any technology into their curriculums. Then you have the newer teachers (there are only 2 of us that have been hired in the last 4 years) that really want to use technology to the fullest capacity, however we do not have the necessary equipment or the support to use it. Our tech committee is basically a person who is in charge of trouble-shooting, ordering and adding equipment. She tries her best with what she has available. We also have a computer specialist that does come in twice a week to do maintenance/systems type of updating.

In looking at our tech plan, we have completed and maintained a number of things, like upgrading our system, cords/lines etc. There are still a number of things that have not been addressed. The most considering to me is the professional development hours. We have had very few since I have been at this school. The ones we have are to inform us of a new program they have purchased, with little or no input from staff, and as an introductory hour. The staff presenting the information does not have training on the program and cannot answer questions that are proposed. It makes the PD hours very frustrating. In the article it stated that it takes 30-90 hours of training to become proficient in technology. A few hours of sub-par training does not achieve this goal. If we have a PD, it would be very beneficial to have someone with a large base knowledge on the subject area that can answer questions and help us to implement this type of material into our classrooms.

In looking at Beacon’s TCO, there is a program that they spent over $25,000.00 several years ago to purchase. After asking a number of teachers about the program, a few had never heard of it, a few had heard of it but had no idea how to use it and 2 had actually used it several years ago, but no not currently use it now. I also inquired about using it, but no one it the “tech dept” remembers how to use it or if we were even current on the program. This was very shocking to me. All of this money was spent with out regards to purchasing something that could still be used years later.

Assignment #1

My technology skills are very basic and limited. I can perform basic tasks of web browsing, email, setting up external peripherals word processing and power point. My skills in all these areas have improved with practice and repetition. I would like to continue to improve with web searches and learning how to narrow the search using specific words and other parameters. I tend to learn best when someone demonstrates the skill, then I have time to practice and master with repetition. I can improve much of my computer knowledge with exploring on my own with guidance from an expert.
There are a number of technology skills that I need to develop. I feel the number one skill needed is to develop a way to infuse technology into my content area. I sometimes feel very overwhelmed that there are so many wonderful ideas of different programs and websites to use that I don’t know where to begin. Working with students with special needs it makes it very difficult to use some of the programs I have found. My school has about 6 computers in each classroom that mostly run. They are linked to a server that also sometimes runs. One issue I have is there are 10 students in the classroom in a very confined space. If I am working on a project etc, I need something for the other students to do while the other half is on the computers. I do have access to a projector that will “eventually” be hooked up to my computer with a screen large enough for the students to see.
Based on the technology integration survey, my classroom is at a middle ground. There is a lot of room for improvement in the area of the students learning and my learning. I have projects that I have used in the past that the students do enjoy and excel at. These projects are quarter long projects. Creating some less time consuming projects that are shorter in length would help to demonstrate other technology skills and content area as well.
I feel I have a number of strong obstacles. One is the simple issue of time. I currently teach 4 different subjects, one of which is new to me this year; I have a 3 month old baby and I am obviously taking grad classes. When I have free time, I am taking care of my daughter. Spending my time wisely in preparing for school and sharing it with my daughter is an ongoing battle, in which my daughter usually wins! Another weakness I feel I have is figuring out where to even begin in searching for a new idea. Most of which I have implemented in my classroom has been demonstrated through a class I have taken. Which there is nothing wrong with that, but I feel I need to take some ownership of the programs and lessons I am teaching. I would like to explore some ideas on my own and see where they take me.
One way to implement the use of technology into my classroom is to set up specific goals for myself. I need to begin slowly with setting aside 1 hour every weekend to explore ideas I have, and then implement one idea weekly to my class. I would like to incorporate more on a weekly, eventually daily basis. Even if it a simple web search or a You Tube /Teacher Tube clip relating to the subject area.