Reflections

Closing Remarks

This course has been amazing. We must all thank Dave for his innovative approach to this course. We are now equipped with many technological resources and approach to use in our 21st century classroom.

Socrative

Socrative is a student response system that improves teachers to collect data from their students via smartphones, laptops and tablets. It is a great way for teachers to assess students and receive immediate feedback. Teachers simply login through their device and select an activity which controls the flow of questions and games. Student responses are virtually represented for multiple choice, true/false and short answers. It can be used for exit tickets, reflections and as a quick check for understanding.

Socrative introduction video (new) from Socrative Inc. on Vimeo.

Mental Health in the Classroom

  I wanted to reflect on a topic we discussed in our Special Education class on mental health in the classroom and the role of the teacher. We know 1 in 5 children and youth under the age of 19 in Ontario has a mental health problem. This means that 20% of the students in an average classroom will be dealing with a mental health problem. This makes the student have difficulties to learn or behave in the classroom. Teachers play a key role in identifying mental health problems. Our responsibility of identification can lead to early intervention. We have many online resources available to use. To help in our own understanding of mental health issues in the classroom and assist with early identification. kidsmentalhealth.ca is a great website that is quite comprehensive. Taking it Global-Mental Health is a excellent resource for students to explore mental health, check it out!

Assistive Technology in Classroom

  There are many assistive technology in the classroom available for students with reading disabilities. The Kurzweil program is text-speech software perhaps the most popular of the reading support software. It is a great educational technology that can decrease the literacy gap.Kurzweil a web support program, provides real solutions for students who struggle to read fluently or lack the reading skills necessary to achieve rigorous academic standards. Text to speech improves reading skills as students read more, at a steady pace,with audio and visual presentations of material. It eliminates decoding skills and assists with deficiencies in sight word recognition and development of vocabulary.
 
Lexia Reading Program is another assistive reading technological support for students Pre K to Grade 4. Lexia incorporates all 5 of the core reading skills; phonological awareness,vocabulary, fluency comprehension, and phonics.These are a few of the many technological supports available for struggling readers.


Podcasts Promote Reading

A librarian has created an idea of having students create podcasts of their favourite boots. Parents and vistors are encouraged to record a review to add to the collection as well. This is an innovative idea that emphasizes home literacy and utilizing 21^st century skills. All family members can be involved in literacy through reading along with the student to developing the script. Students from other schools and other parts of the world can now share the treasures of books and share learning. The technological world connects us once again and helps encourage creative literacy. 

Using Technology for Classroom Management

 Emerging technological developments have contributed to learning particulary for those students with learning disabilities. Classroom management is another way technology has assisted teachers to reduce the workload burden and manage an efficient and effective classroom milieu.Check out this website that I discovered on classroom management tech tools

http://www.hongkiat.com/blog/classroom-management-tools/








Greetings everyone! Adriana here! For those who do not know me my formal name is Miss. Lagrotteria, a long perhaps difficult name to pronounce with all its rolling constants. My Grade 1 students in my first practicum often called me Miss. L and so Miss. L it is! I am in my fifth year of the Concurrent Education/Child and Youth Studies in the Primary/Junior division. I was formally introduced to the study of technology in the classroom through two undergraduate courses that I took in third and fourth year, CHYS 3P74 Digital Technology in the Classroom and EDUC 3P62 Videogames in the Classroom. These courses allowed me to recognize the importance technology and technological resources for teacher in the 21st century. The main questions we often ask is, "Is there an app for that"?

Technological resources used in the classroom provide innovative captivating, shareable ways to learn and reinforce important concepts. There are vast difference in the sea of learning. Technology helps the teacher to reach out to all these learners. Students are now driving the learning and talking it deeper, asking questions, finding answers, thinking critically and being creative. Technology allow them to do this. Furthermore, using technology is essential to provide voice to students with special education needs - technology allows ease to differentiated instruction. My interest has been sparked to learn more about technological literacy in education and I am looking forward to this course to learn more of how I can effectively use it in my future classroom. Furthermore, I look forward to sharing ideas and discussing technology and enhanced activities with my colleagues. After all engagement is the key to learning! Let's tech away!