Blog Post # 3

Technology In Special Education

This video sparked an interest in me because before watching it, I had never known that

technology could be so helpful in various areas of education. The teacher in the video, Lacey Cook, showed how the use of technology improved the way her students responded academically. For example one student, Corbin, who would normally have to have someone read aloud to him during silent reading, used audio books on his I pod to help him focus. The use of the I pod, provided him with an easier way to participate in silent reading. The video also showed two other students who have trouble speaking using the computer to communicate their words with the teacher. Lacey spoke on how she used the computer to give homework and classwork assignments to her students. In this instance technology seemed to help the students pay attention and participate effectively in class activities.

I, personally, enjoyed the video and found that maybe in the future I could use some of the same techniques in my special education classes. Using online tools could really benefit my students later on in their lives because it helps them to be more interactive and hands- on with their learning. One of the tools that I found could be the most useful in my special education classrooms, was the program "Zoom Text." This program magnifies words on the computer for students who have trouble seeing. This tool is important because it shows that these students do not have to have limitations on their education and can reach the same potential as a student who aren't in special education.

How the IPad Works with Academics for Autism

This video shows a little boy with autism, Braden, who uses his I Pad to help learn. In the video he plays on different apps that show him skills such as counting and writing. It helps him by letting him interact with numbers and words directly. His parents said that before purchasing the IPad, they had trouble getting Braden to focus and pay attention when it was time to learn. I found this very interesting. As I went on to the Apple website and looked at the different apps, I found that they were very inexpensive. By education apps not being very costly, I think it would be more helpful to students because it can allow them to get numerous apps at once and use it to teach them in all areas academically.

The app that I chose to use in the classroom was Math Bingo. I chose math because it's an area most children struggle in and need help with. Math Bingo covers addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division and varies in levels of difficulty from easy to hard. The object is to answer the math problem, at the top of the screen, by choosing the correct solution on the bingo chart. You have to get five bingo bugs in a row to win and if you answer the question incorrectly, the correct answer is shown on the bottom of the screen. The time to complete the game is 45 seconds. I thought that this would be an effective game because when I was in school, we were given a similar timed game to test our multiplication knowledge. This particular app was ranked number one in educational games for three weeks in a row.

Gary Hayes Social Media Count

Wow! I never could have imagined such numbers related to how often people use the internet. Technology is important to our education and knowledge but this makes me question just how important it really is. I'm a victim of excessive technology use myself because not only can I not live without my smart phone, but I check my Facebook and email accounts daily. I'm not sure if this is good or bad but by the looks of those numbers in Gary's chart the rest of the world is more than active on the internet.

The rapidly changing numbers makes me think that by the time I'm a teacher, students as young as preschool will have access to sites such as YouTube and Facebook. Seriously, it seems as if I will have to be more worried about what my students are doing in my classrooms with their cell phones and laptops. As a college student now I find myself checking my emails in class and even logging in to Facebook for second, but looking at that chart makes me realize that those things are a real distraction. I cannot exactly say how this chart will affect me in the future, but I'm sure that it will, in some way.

A Vision of Students Today

Watching Michael Wesch's video opened my eyes to the world of technology and it's relation to education. I find myself on the borderline of the debate on how technology helps education. It seems as if it is a distraction in class for most students. Teachers are almost just "babysitters," because students are not paying much attention to them due to their possession of I pods, laptops, and smart phones. On the other side it is very helpful in classes that are a blend of lecture and online. While we still have access to the internet, blended courses help us to be able to do the work on our own time rather than in class when we are not paying attention.
Another thing pointed out in the video was how students who are paying for their classes are not attending them. I'm guilty of this sometimes as well. Also we as college students are paying hundreds of dollars for books that we don't even use most times. I'm not sure how this can be handled but it is a problem, especially for students who are putting themselves through college. It's funny to me that in the video, students say that we are victim of problems we did not create. I say this because we one day will be the educators and what we create will one day effect the students we teach. This video just makes you think and question the world around you.