Social Stories

I've decided to start my post with my own social story, for simplicity sake. I was a little cautious about how to write them at first, but I don't think they're that bad. As for the program, I wish there were more tools like being able to have a background on the text so that when there's a colorful picture, the text was easier to read. I would definitely use social stories for children with disabilities though. I think I would give them multiple formats: one in a media format, a physical book, and a story for them to memorize. That way they could utilize it at all times.

As a backtrack, social stories are works that help students (particularly students with autism) handle social situations. Cori More's article states that "Social skill intervention is most successful when the intervention is implemented using many modes of learning naturalistic settings, positive peer models, and socially valid skills." Social stories fulfill this by giving students the exact situation where the skill would take place. The stories are also told in a positive matter of what the students should do instead of focusing on what they shouldn't do. Students can carry these stories around with them when they need to refer to the information and they should also have it read fairly frequently. When writing social stories, one should consider what the students can control in the situation as well as how other people can help them. I would implement social stories in my classroom by going over some common needs in whole groups. This way students do not feel as singled out. I could also create the books and put them in the children's book boxes for them to read independently.

Google Docs

This week for class we used Google Documents to discuss a reading selection. I have used Google Documents in the past, but never quite in the manner where we were supposed to use it like a forum. In the past, I have used Google Documents as a way for the whole group to track the progress of an assignment. It was used where each person had to write a different paragraph and would post it right into the Google Document. I think with the right students this would be useful, but if I was in a younger classroom it would be harder. Students would have to not only know how to use Google Documents, but would also have to get permission from their parents to set up an account.

If the students did have an account, I would use Google Documents for a lot of peer editing. By changing the color of the text that students type, they can make comments or additions right on the document. They can also post their comments in the side of the document so students can see suggestions. Because students can watch what is being typed in real time, it would also be a good medium for students to dictate comments instead of always needing to type them.

Quests in the World Wide Web and Assistive Technology

For class, we had to do a WebQuest about AAC and Assistive Technology (AT). Had the government not been shut down, a lot more of the links would have worked, which would have helped the process tremendously. While I have used WebQuests before and think they can be useful, the reoccurring problem is the unstable nature of internet links. Something that worked on Friday when the teacher creates it could stop working the Monday it's presented to the students. As a future Exceptional Education teacher, I can definitely see how it can be useful for students with disabilities. Instead of having the students read a textbook chapter, they can have a WebQuest that utilizes all types of learning for students. This way they could watch videos, hear testimony of the actual even if it's history, and even have the opportunity to explore the topic on their own.

I've heard of AAC and Assistive Technology before, but not as in depth as I have from this WebQuest. Specifically, I learned about where to locate these resources and how students can use them. Beforehand, there was some confusion about how exactly these devices worked and whether or not they were programmed for the student. Now I know that these boards can be something simple like books or something more complicated like a communication board.

Facebook in Education?

With each new advancement there are those who talk about it being a danger and a distraction to students. It has been said about the internet and is now being said about social media. Personally, I believe that social media is a great tool for learning. Classrooms that integrate facebook, facebook like sites, and blogs can be an integral part of the classroom. Studies have shown that classrooms that have integrated social media sites have more engaged students and better homework scores (Kessler, S. 2010. http://mashable.com/2010/09/29/social-media-in-school/). Students take more accountability into their work when they believe that not only the teacher, but their peers and other people could read their post. It also provides an alternative method of communication and expression for the students. Most students do not feel that blog posting is as much work and in some cases, students would do it willingly, even without a grade (Kessler, S. 2010. http://mashable.com/2010/09/29/social-media-in-school/)  However, there are certain things to look out for when using social media for school. It is a well known fact that there are predators on the internet and having younger students on facebook actually violates it's terms of use. The safer method is sites like Edmodo or Edublogs that are specifically created to have facebook-esque features, but intended for schools (Kessler, S. 2011. http://mashable.com/2011/12/05/educators-on-facebook/). Of course, even with that, it's important to keep certain etiquette. Teachers friending students is certainly taboo and in some schools it's been banned completely (Poole, B. 2011. http://www.educationworld.com/a_tech/columnists/poole/poole018.shtml). 

Facebook does not make someone a better teacher. Simply telling students they will be using social media sites does not automatically shift the perspective to make students more eager to learn. Teachers have to know how to use these tools to excite the students and how to use it properly. (Stewart, S. 2011. http://sarah-stewart.blogspot.co.nz/2011/04/just-to-let-you-knowfacebook-does-not.html) Take for instance, a social studies unit. The teacher could create a page for the revolution and have each student create a post as a participant/observer of a famous battle. Students would be required to create their post in order of the battles happening and the newsfeed would give student an "up to date" of the forming revolution. Another idea is to have students create a blog focusing on a specific poet during a literary unit. Students would use their blog to post the analysis for different poems, their own illustrations drawn digitally, as well as posts that describe the time the poet lived in and some biographical information. 

ZooBurst

For this week, the tool I selected was Zooburst. I selected this because I have always been interested in having students creating their own stories and books. This tool could be used to give the students a new way to represent the book that they read. Instead of merely having students summarize a book, they can retell the story in their own words. ZooBurst allows students to make a pop up book including pictures and audio recordings. For students who do not have small motor skills or cannot spell that well, they can speak their words into the story. This way, the teacher can be sure that students are recalling the story's key points regardless of a student's ability with written language. I would use this tool to have students summarize a book or as a lesson early in the school year where they can recap on what they did for the summer.

The site itself was not as smooth as I would like it. While it's great that the students can upload images, a larger database would be nice. Plus, the tool to browse the search engine was very convoluted. The site was very specific about which buttons to press to save the information and I'm not sure that younger students would be able to remember that pressing the red "x" meant the site would not save their information. You can find my example here.

As for the "Do you Know?" video, I did not find the facts as staggering as I would have a few years ago. For another class we watched a similar video from a few years earlier. Plus, as someone who works at an electronics store, the information about CDs and physical video games has been something we've been talking about for years.

Teaching in a Web 2.0 World

Web 2.0 and Universal Design for Learning

The internet keeps expanding and with that comes more and more tools for students to use. The article "Web 2.0: A New Generation of Learners and Education" by Dina Rosen and Charles Nelson discusses the differences between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0. Web 1.0 was all about presentation; coding was complicated and only a select few people could control the media that was exported to those viewing it. Web 2.0 is about collaboration; coding is not a necessary tool, though more people are learning it, and so the information is shared across the board.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) focuses on removing the barriers from education. Educators use tools that differentiate the way information is presented, the way students can express what they know, and how students are interested in that learning. The greater amount of information the web means that students can gain more knowledge in a quicker manner. New web tools also allow for the information to be presented in a better way. Developments in coding has created an abundance of applications that can be created by almost anyone. A classroom rooted in UDL will use these tools to foster education in all of their students. This technology helps present information in a way that students are already familiar with. The article mentions a group of students that create their own weblog on one of the books that they were learning and that got the attention of the author. Creating links to other pages helps children find areas they are interested in. Web 2.0 also facilitates collaboration between students.

However, this technology is not as accessible as others may think. Not all students have access to computers and when those students do they use it differently than those who grew up with computers. For students with disabilities, technology can either bridge the gap or make it wider. Some applications require specific motor functions or cannot be converted with tools like speech to text. This technology can also be expensive. Students going to schools without enough funding may not have the technology that could help either in the school or at home.

Technology can be a great asset in the classroom. With the expansion of the web, it is as if students inherently learn how to manage the technology. It is the goal of the teacher to understand how this technology works as well as how to present it to students. By using it, the classroom can fully demonstrate a Universal Design for Learning.

What is the Internet Anyway? : I would insert a meme if I could

A 1994 clip from the Today show, (which, I might add, was from two years after my birth), shows the reaction of the anchors to the @ symbol. One anchor even goes as far to ask "what is the internet anyway?" To me, someone who has spent an arguably large amount of time on said internet, this is shocking and unbelievable. What is more shocking is to realize that today's elementary students have no concept of what the internet used to sound like or what a floppy disk is. This shows that even when I consider myself more digital native than digital immigrant, that there is a divide that must be bridged between myself and my future students. The rate of technological changes is ever increasing and as educators we must catch up. Educators need to be up to date on technology and know how it works. No longer can a teacher awkwardly fumble around with a program or not realize that an application may need a safety filter. Instead, teachers have to seem just as natural with the technology as their students.