Downfall of iclickers

Although I chose to explore iclickers a few weeks ago and discuss some strengths and weaknesses, I had some first hand experience today with one of the disadvantages that come with iclickers.

I let one of my friends borrow my iclicker for his class because I no longer needed my iclicker. Once he got my iclicker from me, he registered it under his name so he would receive the points and credit for his class.

After using his iclicker for almost the entire semester, his teacher emailed him telling him that his participation grade is 0% because he has not completed any of the iclicker questions! Of course, he was confused and upset, and needed to fix this.

It turns out that when he registered online, the code he typed in was wrong (because it was hard to see on the iclicker) and, therefore, the points were being given to someone else. Iclickers are a very cool technology tool to use, but have quite a few disadvantages that can really frustrate people and negatively effect someone's grade.

This Technical Semester...

I learned so much about different forms of technology and how important they are to teaching and learning! Before this class, I was afraid of technology. I always viewed technology as a scary thing that always frustrated me. I tended to have the mind set that I was going to be one of those teachers that only used the white boards and tangible books. But now, I am planning lessons and activities that involve various forms of technology!

Throughout this semester, I really enjoyed using blogs. It was interesting to share our thoughts on a public site and also view and comment on our class mates' blogs. I think blogs are a great tool to use in the classroom because it is an informal way to reflect on what you learned or what your feelings are about something. I want to learn even more about SMARTboards because they seem very interesting and fun. From my experience with SMARTboards, I have found that students get very excited while using them. I think SMARTboards are great to have in classrooms because they promote interaction and visuals! As a teacher, I want to use wikis in my classrooms for various projects. I have found that wikis are a great way to organize assignments, manage students' work, and assess their progress over time. I have already found myself using Google Docs and slideshare in other classes, which tells me that those are very helpful tools to continue to use.

Although technology can be difficult to use and frustrating at times, it is extremely exciting and ESSENTIAL in our future lives. I cannot wait to incorporate my new knowledge of technology into my future teaching!

Stressful Projects now --> Future Resources later

As a junior in the Special Education program, my classes and field placement is becoming much more intense and extensive. That being said, I have a lot of projects, papers, and lesson plans that are all very time consuming. I have been very stressed trying to fit all these projects in and making sure I am putting my best effort into each course. Although these projects are stressful, I am excited for them to be completed and to be an excellent resource to have as a future educator! My literacy reference project, for example, will provide me with a lot of useful assessments and information that I can directly use as a teacher of literacy. It is also extremely beneficial that I am getting practice with creating and altering lesson plans because that is a tool I will have to use a LOT as teacher.

Interactive Childrens Books

I have seen a lot of "leapfrog" and "tag" reading programs advertised on TV lately... but are they really more beneficial than reading tangible books we know and love? I think it is really neat that you can put a pen over a book and it will read it aloud to you! This can be extremely helpful and exciting for young children who struggle with word identification or decoding. The TAG program states "children will learn to read, and love reading!" I can definitely see how children can learn more and be more engaged with a book that is interactive and exciting. Many children learn better when they can hear what is being read, nut just look at it. However, interactive books can also become a problem if students become dependent on the pen in order to figure out what a word says. I think these programs are more beneficial and less harmful if used by younger children who are learning to read. I'd like to learn more about interactive books and see how they have been beneficial (or not) in children's literacy development.

 

Wikis Galore

Throughout the past semester, my "Teaching with Technology" course has been using a classroom website and a wiki to upload our projects. I have never used a wiki before this class, and it has been a real treat getting used to them! Wikis differ from websites and blogs in the sense that anyone can edit them! Although blogs allow other users to post comments, wikis allow you to control who can edit, view, write, etc, to your wiki! Websites can only be edited by the creator. I have really enjoyed creating and updating my own personal weebly website and posting my ideas and thoughts on my blog, but I have found wikis to be extremely helpful... especially as a future teacher!

Wikis allow teachers to organize their students' work and allow students to view each other's work and edit the page when needed. In our course, we upload a link each week to show our teacher and our class mates the technology we have been exploring. I want to use a wiki as a teacher in order for my students to view the work of others and self-evaluate their learning processes! I could use different wikis for different assignments, such as a wiki on the writing process, a wiki for a research paper, a wiki on photo shop and video editing. There are many possibilities when it comes to wikis!

Here is my newly created Wiki! With this particular wiki, my students would be doing a research paper on an animal of their choice. They would be required to upload their brainstorming ideas, a few resources used in their paper, their rough draft, a review of a class mate's paper, and their final draft. Using the wiki will allow students to see their progress of their paper and see what other students are doing if they need an example or feel lost. As a teacher, I can access my student's drafts all from my computer. I can also keep track and assess their progress, and take note if any students are dragging behind or need extra help.

GeniusBoards!

Although I wrote a brief blog post on SmartBoards earlier this semester, I decided to write a more in-depth post because I had first hand experience with SmartBoards today! Since I cannot attend the SmartBoard session for my CEP 416 course, I chose to explore SmartBoards on my own. At my Special Education field placement, the students were using the classroom SmartBoard to sing along with YouTube videos about counting and the alphabet. All of the kids were very engaged and excited about watching videos through the SmartBoard. I have also seen these students use the SmartBoard to create their November calender and do math problems. I also found out today that SmartBoards are touch screen, which is fun to use and promotes student interaction and engagement.

SmartBoards tend to range from $1,200 to $5,000 (while some are less and some are more expensive). In my opinion, these prices are not bad considering all of the benefits that come with SmartBoards! SmartBoards can be used as a tv! I saw the students at one of my field placements watching "How to Train Your Dragon" on a SmartBoard. SmartBoards can also hook up to computers and portray the computer images on a really big screen! Teachers can pull up a Microsoft Word document and students can write on it using the SmartBoard markers. Since SmartBoards can connect to computers, they are able to connct to the internet. Therefore, educational technology such as Google Earth, Google Docs, Wikis, Blogs, etc, can all be accessed and seen on the big, touch screen of the SmartBoard.

SmartBoards are beneficial to both teachers and students. They provide teachers with informal ways to assess their students and get their students actively involved with certain lessons, and provide students with a fun, visual way to learn! SmartBoards allow teachers to record their lessons and post the material again at a later time. I would love to use a SmartBoard in my classroom someday if I have the means of getting one. There are alternatives to using the SmartBoard, such as white boards and projectors, but SmartBoards have more unique and engaging qualities to them... they are SMARTer!

Students using a SmartBoard to perform activities through Microsoft Word

Cell Phones... Educational?

Coming from a high school where "cell phones = suspension", I have always thought that teachers and staff frowned upon using cell phones in school, even during passing time. Cell phones let students text, take pictures, and play games, which are all opportunities to cheat or be distracted in class. But after a little bit of research, I found out the cell phones can actually be a great tool for both teachers and students in an educationall setting. In a New York Times article titled Industry Makes Pitch That Smartphones Belong in Classroom, Shawn Gross explains the importance of cell phones because "this is a device kids have, it's a device they are familiar with and want to take advantage of" (Richtel & Stone, 2009). As our world is become more tech-savvy, students are becoming extremely knowledgable and used to cell phones and are generally able to use them quickly and efficiently.

Cell phones are cheaper and smaller than laptops, making them more simple to access and use. Students who have used cell phones (specifically smart phones) as a learning tool have used their phones to perform a variety of tasks, from recording themselves solving problems to filming educational videos and sharing them with classmates. Below is an image of students at Southwest High School in Jacksonville, N.C. that are using cell phones to help with their algebra studies.

As a future teacher, I want to someday look into using cell phones as an educational tool. However, there are some things I have to keep in mind if I do so... using cell phones will probably not improve writing skills, distractions may overpower learning, and that it takes a lot of patience to use and maintain this form of technology.

Trillium!

For my TE 458 course (Reading, Writing, and Teaching Poetry), we were required to plan and put on a poetry reading at the College of Education. This poetry reading, called Trillium, has been going on for a few years. This year, the featured poets were my professor, Janine Certo, and a nationally-known slam poet named Logic. My classmates and I in TE 458 were all required to share and perform an original poem that we wrote to an audience! This was an amazing experience! Everyone, including myself, was so nervous and so excited to share their creative poems and see how others would react! It was so cool to hear my classmates read their poems aloud in front of many people. This class is not only making me a better poet, but is giving me insight about teaching poetry! When I am a teacher, I want to do a big poetry unit, informing my students that poetry has so many possibilities! I also want to organize a poetry reading night, where my students can perform their own poems in front of an audience. Students love sharing their work... therefore, a poetry reading is an excellent opportunity for the students to build self-esteem and be extremely proud of themselves.

My New and Improved Teaching Resume!

Here is my new resume that I created using Google Docs!My Teaching Resume

View more documents from yankeann.

Every teacher will have students with special needs...

Inevitably. And because of this fact, I think that all education majors, including general education majors, should take (at least) one special education course at the college level. It is extremely important that all educators have knowledge about IEPs, IDEA, NCLB, and certain disabilities that will affect a student's educational performance. Because mainstreaming and inclusion is being pushed even more in today's society, the number of students with disabilities in general education classrooms is growing! Therefore, general education teachers should have the knowledge of, at minimum, the basics of special education, because successful teachers are ones who can understand and relate to their students.

Google Docs

I just used Google Docs for the first time this week, and although I still have very little knowledge about it, I do know that it is very easy to use and that it is handy for creating all sorts of presentations. I just developed an organized resume using Google Docs and I am very pleased with the way it turned out. A big advantage to using Google Docs over other applications like Microsoft Word is that you can invite peers and colleagues to view your work produced through Google Docs by using your gmail account (instead of sending an attachment in an email and downloading files in order to view them). Google Docs also makes it very easy to upload files that you have already created elsewhere, and organize them in an easy-to-access order. I want to make an effort to introduce Google Docs to my students in the future, and have them create some assignments using Google Docs instead of other methods of presenting.

A picture showing a clear view of created and uploaded documents

Don't let the FLU happen to YOU!

As the weather is getting colder and we are all becoming busier, colds and flus are spreading! I know I've felt myself coming down with something! I just read an article from cnn.com all about ways to help prevent or spread these illnesses. One way of flu prevention that is reccommended by many doctors is getting the flu shot. It is also very important to get 8 or more hours of sleep a night. Eating right, exercising, hydrating, and washing your hands are also factors to to a healthy you!

Prevent the spread of germs when you get sick. Throw away your used tissues immediately and stay home if possible.

Is everything better with technology?

Of course the growing amount of technology makes our lives easier and more efficient, but does the use of technology help students learn and second language? Today in my second language learning class, we had a debate on the advantages and disadvantages that technology (such as online dictionaries, chat rooms, and skype) have on second language acquisition. Technology provides many helpful tools that students can use to help them learn a language. Students can skype with native speakers across the world to help them improve their dialect! If an online translator is accessible, then there's another great tool that students can quickly use to search for a word they may be struggling with. Language learners also use chat rooms to practice their target language with others. Chat rooms can be less intimidating than real-life conversations because they have the option of backspacing and correcting their errors. Some students may feel more comfortable writing out their second language instead of speaking it.

A woman using technology to help learn a second language.

There are many drawbacks to relying on technology to learn a language. Although chat rooms may be preferred by some students, chat rooms do not give students the opportunity to practice their dialect. Chat rooms limit students to focusing only on form and accuracy, and don't allow them to become familiar with cultural and social aspects of their target language. Interacting face to face lets students use gestures, facial expressions, and intonations to convery the message they are trying to send. Technology can also be very expensive, and not all schools or school districts have access to it. Therefore, learning with technology may not be universal. Some students with disabilities may have struggle using certain forms of technology. A chat room would be very hard to use for a student who is blind, or cannot type with his hands.

Two people learning a language through social interaction.

iLearn, iTeach, iClickers

This week, I chose to explore the use of i-clickers in the classroom setting. I-clickers are set up to each students' name and are generally used to answer multiple choice, yes/no, or possibly even opinionated questions. I-clickers can be a positive learning tool because it assures that ALL of the students are actively involved in the lesson, not just the students raising their hands. I used my first i-clicker two years ago, as a freshmen in college, and it was a great way to get me involved with the material being taught and allow me to earn extra points. Another advantage of i-clickers is that they can be reused, even with different teachers and subjects. So you do not have to buy a new i-clicker for every class that it is used in.

There are, however, some disadvantages to using i-clickers. I-clickers can be expensive, depending on where you buy them and how much each student (or student's family) is willing to pay. In my college courses, I noticed students using more than one i-clicker at once (as in the picture below), which could mean that they are clicking a friend's i-clicker who is absent, allowing them to get the points for the day. This is a way of cheating and getting the points, but not actually learning the material. When it comes to i-clicker responses, students are not generating their own responses, but just choosing one of the possible options. This eliminates the possibility of giving a detailed explanation of their personal opinion.

I have only seen i-clickers used in college level classes. But I do think that students in upper elementary and above can all benefit from using i-clickers. Young students (kindergarten through around the second grade level), may just see it as a toy and press buttons. They also might have a hard time understanding multiple choice questions and evaluating what the results are. I-clickers are also a teacher tool, by being a method of assessing the participation of the students. By reviewing their responses, teachers can also evaluate what the students are obtaining from the lessons and reflect on what they (as in the teacher) might be doing right or wrong. 

PLN's

Throughout CEP 416, I have explored numerous of tools that I can use as Personal Learning networks, such as Twitter, Delicious, Google Reader, and Weebly. I believe that using personal learning networks can be very helpful and beneficial in the education world. As technology is increasing, it is becoming more and more implimented in educational lessons planning. Personal learning networks will allow me to be in touch with other colleagues from my department of focus, with my students, and with my co-workers. They are easy and free tools to use, that anyone can access if they have a computer. These networks connect people from all over the world! Personal learning networks can also be challenging because there are many problems associated with technology use. If you are relying solely on a PLN to hold a meeting or discuss projects and the computer crashes or you do not have access to the internet or computer, this is an issue. It also takes time and effort to maintain a PLN. For example, I am now a member of Twitter, but it does take time to search for groups and people I want to follow and make sure they are what I'm looking for. Blogs take up a lot of time-- since people are constantly posting and commenting on blogs, it is essential to keep checking and adding to your blog. Maintaining personal learning networks are extremely beneficial, if you have the time and knowledge to keep up with them.

Voice Thread!

My Presentation using SlideShare and VoiceThread!

My Zoho Show!

The Five Sense URL

Special Education Misinterpretations

We have been focusing on specific cases studies in our textbook for one of my special education courses, and I have noticed a pattern that occurs in most of the evaluation processes. Many of the teachers and school boards that are discussed in this book have placed students in special education who do not necessarily need to be. There was one case, for example, where a student, named Miles, was absent 28 times from kindergarten due to asthma. Due to the lack of communication between Miles's mother and the school and between the teachers at the school, the unreasonable IEP goals, and the minimal one-on-one attention given to Miles, he had to re-take kindergarten and was placed in special education. It was clear that Miles did not belong in special education because he was above grade level in most subjects and achieved his IEP goals extremely fast. I believe that incorrect placements happen all the time in special education, and it is a huge issue we need to carefully look at.

Technology Lesson Plan

For my first formal lesson plan that integrates technology in CEP 416, I want to make a video on the World, teaching Special Education students key characteristics and unique qualities about each of the 7 continents. Because I am very interested in traveling and teaching abroad, I think it is important to get to know the world around me and to get my students interested and familiar with the world they live in, beyond their own city. I might use a video/slideshow tool that is easy to use, such as imageloop or scrapblog. Using technology to "explore the world" is a great idea because we can use GoogleEarth to look at maps and street views of any location around the world. We can Google information about various countries and continents. As technology is increasing each day and becoming more involved in our lives, it is important to think of ways to teach lessons, other than what we are used to, such as flash cards, maps, and worksheets.

My story through Prezi

My Australian Adventure on Prezi

While creating this story, I thought of how using free, online tools would be a great thing to teach to my students. Whether students want to write a story on their pet, a favorite vacation they went on, or create a new story, this format of writing a story expands children beyond what they are used to, which is usually microsoft word, or writing and illustrating a story on tangible paper. If a student wants to incorporate pictures from their computer or a digital camera to enhance the quality of a personal story, they can do so with the web 2.0 tools.

Prezi has a very unique way of organizing the story you are creating, which can be both a positive and a negative to this program. It starts you off with a blank screen and you can add text or images anywhere you'd link. You have the freedom to expand, shrink, twist, and turn every word and picture at your leisure, making your story more visually engaging. Prezi can also be very confusing, because there is no exact format to follow. I got very frustrated at first because I did not understand the organization of my story and had a hard time previewing it.

Child Study (week 3)

I have met with my student 3 times now. We have been focusing on Concepts of Print and Phonological Awareness. I have done a few different assessments that help me get a feel of where he is at and what his strengths and weaknesses are as a literacy learner. These assessments are going to be great tools to use in my future teaching. I am becoming familiar with evaluation, counting miscues (the correct term for mistakes or errors), and different forms of assessment. I am also figuring out the most beneficial ways to adapt lessons and assessments to meet the needs of my assigned student. I am looking forward to working with him every week and learning more about his literacy development.

Exploring the World through Google Earth

Exposing children to the world they live in is essential for their personal and academic growth. I feel that children these days do not learn enough about geography of the entire world, and their lessons are narrowed on the country and and the state they live in. I took a geography course last year at MSU that really opened my mind about what things I can teach in terms of world geography and how I can teach it. Google Earth is an excellent way of providing a visual to students. Instead of just informing students about a particular culture or landmark, you have the original image on Google Earth. Google Earth allows users to view maps, terrain, 3-D houses and buildings, and even galaxies in the sky. It has special features that allow you to "tag" the places you have been, save places, and share them with others.

However, there are a few disadvantages to Google Earth. A season to not use Google Earth might be because it allows anyone to locate any place on Earth, and can be a method of stalking, etc, since it is so exact. Google Earth might also be a tool that is too advanced for some special education or early education classes. The computer and search engine skills needed could confuse young children, whereas a tangible map or picture might work better.

As a future teacher, I could create lessons that incorporate the usage of Google Earth. We could focus on all seven continents and the countries in them, and I can provide visual images of places in each country (for example, the Great Wall of China, Sydney Opera House, Eiffel Tower, Egyptian pyramids, even local shops and houses in those areas). When I was studying abroad in Australia this past summer, we visited an elementary school in the city of Canberra. While in one of the first grade classrooms, we used Google Earth to show the students Michigan State University! We were able to show them some of the dorm buildings we live in, Spartan Stadium and the MSU library... and the students loved it! The students were able to get a feel of a large university in America and compare it to schools in Australia. I am very interested in travel and teaching abroad, so I definitely want to use Google Earth with my students. Google Earth is exciting, educational, and remarkable!


Click here to see a street view of the Eiffel Tower!

SmartBoards

In my CEP 451 course, I am doing field placement in a special education classroom at an elementary school in Okemos. The classroom consists of about 8 students and has a Smartboard! Although I have not seen them use the Smartboard yet, I asked the students what they thought about it. "The Smartboard is so fun! I like to use the marker to circle the answers and write on it!" exclaimed one of the students. "The Smartboard is big so we all can see it and it makes noise so we all can hear it." The teacher and parapro both added that whenever they use or even talk about using the Smartboard, the children light up and are always eager to learn. It is very important to incorporate interactive tools in the classroom. Smartboards are an excellent way to help maximum the success in both general and special ed students.

Photoshop.com Album: Family

Copy Cat!

Our main focus this week in our Teaching with Technology course is copyright. We have been reading about copyright regulations through the Creative Commons website. Correctly citing pictures and video from the web is very difficult and frustrating. However, it IS necessary! It allows us access to educational resources and gives us the opportunity to share our findings with others without plagiarizing.

Creative Commons

This is a photo I licensed with Creative Commons! Credit link: http://www.flickr.com/photos/54354341@N05/5033747341/

Engaging and Entertaining!

Photo Attribution:
Original Image: "MUCH bigger than last year! :)"
http://www.flickr.com/photos/butterflymosaics/4706533920/
by: butterflymosaics

Design and set-up is crucial in an elementary school classroom. My goal as a future Special Education teacher for elementary school students is to make my classroom as engaging and entertaining as possible, by using bright colors, big titles on each bulletin board or station, and showcasing my students' work around the room. I want to have separate writing, reading, math, and geography centers throughout the classroom; each center having various levels which students can choose from based on their level (beginner, intermediate, advanced, etc). In the image above, this teacher created a warm reading environment. It's very important to inspire your students to read and get them excited about writing and reading many different forms of literature. This picture really draws in my attention because it has separate buckets for each kind of book, which emphasizes GENRE. There are buckets for biographies, science books, riddles, poetry, fantasy, historical fiction, realistic fiction, world travel, mystery, and much more. Introducing students to various genres at a young age is a great way to teach them that the possibilities of book types is, in a sense, endless (and very exciting).

Special Education Laws

As I do my readings in my CEP 451 course (Models of Special Education Administration and Services), I am exploring many laws in regards to Special Education, such as Brown v. Board of Education, IDEA, LRE (least restrictive environment), etc. These concepts are all fairly new to me, but seem very important to my future as a Special Education teacher. As the semester continues, my goal is to introduce these terms in depth and express my thoughts on them to you guys! But as of now, I need some time and experience with these concepts and integrate them into my field experience.

I have been volunteering in a Special Education class for about 2 years now.

Tweet Tweet!

After being "forced" to get a Twitter account for my Teaching and Learning with Technology course, I have been getting used to it and following quite a few friends, celebrities, and educational resources! It's really neat to see what my classmates are looking at on the web and also what certain businesses and blogs are highlighting on their pages! For example, I am following Scholastic Books, and I am able to see any specials or sales going on. I hope to become much more comfortable with Twitter and use it to access teaching resources in the future and to connect with educators around the world!

Child Study Project

For my TE 301 course (literacy learning in an elementary context), we are working one-on-one with a student (age 512) to complete our child study project. We are assigned to work for an hour a week with the same student, and work on reading, writing, speaking, and listening through various activities and assessments. I started working with my student yesterday, and it went very well! He is 8 years old and is a very bright student, especially in math and letter recognition. He has Down Syndrome, so it is very difficult for me to understand him at times. Although this first time working with him was very informal and more about establishing a relationship and getting them comfortable, I was already able to informally assess him on certain aspects of literacy... For example, before I read a book to him, I asked him to show me where the front of the book is. He held the book correctly (with the spine on the left and the cover facing him), which indicated that he understands concepts of print. I am looking forward to continuing this project and teaching and learning from him as the semester goes on!

That tastes DELICIOUS!

In class today, I learned how to create a delicious account, which helps bookmark certain websites that I want to always keep handy. Using delicious, you can search for sites that others have found and saved. I think that delicious is a great tool to use as a student in terms of saving sites that you want to use for a project, job, class, etc. Delicious has a setting where you can organize your websites into specific tabs which makes things much easier when you have many websites you are trying to access. This would have been very helpful last year while writing a 20 page research paper on Whale Communication... I could've used delicious to save all my websites used as references. Delicious is also a handy tool for teachers to connect with other educators around the world. Teachers can check up on current events (in the education world) and find out new information about lesson plans and other cool teaching strategies!

Hello World!

My name is Anna Yanke. I am a junior at Michigan State University, studying Special Education- Learning Disabilities with a specialization in Language Arts. I love to dance, hang out with my family and friends, and be outside. I have a passion for working with children and influencing them to always try their hardest. I hope to someday travel the world and teach abroad.


When it comes to technology, I am very familiar with websites and search engines. Facebook and Google are probably my best cyber friends =). I have had classes that have been based off the use of ANGEL and WordPress. I have used i-clickers in a few classes here at MSU and hope to someday incorporate them into my future teaching. I have always been interested in photography and video editing and have had some work with photoshop and iMovie. I am now creating my own websites and bloggers in order to increase my knowledge about technology in the classroom.


In CEP 416, I hope to become more comfortable with bookmarking, blogs, and social networking sites. I also have questions when it comes to excel and other various spreadsheets. I really hope this course helps guide me with creating a website or online portfolio that can continue to grow and connect me with other helpful resources as a student and as a teacher. My goal is to use these new sites to keep my information secure, and to broadcast myself on the web in a professional and exciting format.