Blog Post #16

Part One: If I Built A School

If I built a school, the students would still love to learn. They would come in everyday, grab their iPads, look for the QR codes and find their early bird assignment. I would focus a lot more on learning than making sure that students are just having a good time. In the end, that isn't what it is all about. I feel that it is a very important aspect but not the most important.

I will focus heavily on project based learning, and I will use a lot of hands on activities, experiments, and projects in order to help students learn more effectively. I will give students the chance to get on the iPads and class computers (because in my school, everyone will have one no matter what) and let them explore through iCurio, Discovery Education, Brainpop, and so many more resources that are available to second graders. The students will work collaboratively through SMARTboard activities and produce group texts for our class blog.

The students will all learn to work together, but they will also grow independently through tests, presentations, and other criteria. Students will come in and expect to learn, and they will understand that school is a place to explore all areas of learning, not just stop after the test. I will push my students to always ask questions and want to know more. My students will love coming to class because it is going to be somewhere that learning takes place.

Tools that will be used on a daily basis in my second grade class will include iCurio, SMARTboard, Blogger, iPads, video cameras, podcasts, and so many other things. This will advance the learning process because they won't be sitting at a desk all day doing the same worksheets as the class next to them. Learning will be an adventure that will take us to new places everyday!

My classroom will be an environment for everyone. The students will be able to peer review and do group activities in order to further their education. The work that students produce will cover the walls so that students can have that sense of accomplishment and pride. My classroom is going to be something that makes a difference in the lives of not only my students but also me. I will not only teach; I will learn.

How my classroom changed...
After re-reading my blog post one, I see that I have really grown as a professional through this class. I was reading and I see that my school would be about having fun and building friendships. My hands on activity involved the dry erase board? I'm not exactly sure how that would work now. I wanted my school to be a "kid environment, not a professional environment".

Now that EDM310 is coming to a close, I have all new ideas running through my head that I would use to create my own school. The biggest thing that I would change about what I said at the front of the semester are the "resources" I would use. These items -  iPads, SMARTBoards, QR Codes, Computers, and cameras - are just so small in number now that I know the multiple, never-ending resource types such as iCurio, Discovery Ed, Padlet, Prezi, iMovie, Movie Maker, and so many more. I would use more than the term hands on learning. I would put much focus into project based learning, another thing that we spent a lot of time focusing on. I wouldn't just give students work for them to burp it back. I want to give students the opportunity to love learning by experiment and experience than to think they love school because they don't have to do anything.

Part Two: My Final Reflection

Final Project #16

Blog Assignment #15

E. Teaching Mom What Her Deaf/Blind Child Is Learning On the iPad
F. 50 Must-See Blogs For Special Education
By Haley Smith


For this blog post, I began the assignment by looking at E and F from the instruction list for blog assignment 15. For section E, I watched a video regarding how blind people are able to access the iPad and use it effectively. I really enjoyed this video. The question for many is how someone that is blind can use something that has no buttons or grooves. That question is answered in this video demonstration. It goes into detail such as the direction that you need to move your fingers, how many fingers to use, how to “turn the knob”, how to type if you can’t see the keyboard, and so much more. The only problem I had with this video is that it didn’t tell you how to put it in the mode where it will read everything or the gadgets will work. It just started the video demonstrating how to use it. This video was very helpful in regards to how to handle using the iPad if I would happen to have a blind student.

Section F was really interesting. This was a collection of 50 blogs that have been collected that focus on special needs in children and adults whether in the classroom or in daily lives of these people.  Although I looked at many of the blogs, I primarily want to focus on four – numbers 17, 22, 30, and 46. Blog number 17 was titled Teaching All Students. This blog focused on different apps that an educator can use for special education. My favorite part of the blog was that it gave the different apps that were either free or apps that you need to purchase. It also gives reviews of the apps that are great for the special needs students. Blog number 22 was titled Barto’s World. This blog focused primarily on Dyslexia and ADHD. These are two of the most

common disabilities in children in school. This blog helps teachers with students with these disabilities and teaches them how to handle it in the classroom. This blog also gives teachers the resources that will help them understand what is needed to do. My favorite part of this blog is that they didn’t refer to students with disabilities as “creative thinkers”. This takes the part where students with disabilities feel abnormal away. Blog 30 was titled ADDitude: Linving Well with Attention Deficit. This blog had to be my favorite blog of the list of 50 blogs on the list. I loved this blog because it had different blogs and different points of view from people who are influenced by ADD. There is a section for parents that have children with ADD, adults who live with ADD, and experts that study ADD. This blog also gives resources on how to parent children with ADD, treatment for it, and a way to get the newsletter for ADD. The final blog that I looked at was number 46. This blog was titled Children with Special Needs. This blog focuses on things to do for children with special needs for holidays and other special occasions. This is also a site that explains what special needs are. There is one final part that I loved about this blog was it gave stories about children with special needs whether they are happy, sad, or hopeful.

C. Teaching Math to the Blind
D. iPad Usage For the Blind 

For my post, I began by watching videos C and D from the Blog Post 15 Instructions. Video C was entitled “Teaching Math to the Blind, and video D was entitled “iPad Usage for the Blind”. Both videos introduced teaching materials that were new to me and required some additional for a full understanding of these materials. 
The first video, “Teaching Math to the Blind”, was produced by Professor Art Karshmer. Professor Karshmer is the Department Chair of Technology, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship at the University of San Francisco. In this video, Professor Karshmer introduces a tool that can help blind students see math in two dimensions as seeing students visualize math. In the past, blind students could only use Braille to read math problems. This method places mathematical problems in a one-dimensional line for interpretation. For example, 
Braille New Tool One-Dimension Two-Dimension 2 2+2=4 +2
4 
His students have created a new tool that uses a block system allowing blind students to set up a math problem in the more tangible two-dimensional form. Blind students no longer have to solve math problems in a linear setup. As stated in the video, this type of device will help blind students understand math at an earlier age. Thus, providing a foundation for later math studies and providing the proper tools for learning basic algebra. 
My second video, “iPad Usage for the Blind”, highlighted the abilities that an iPad offers for the blind user. Its program, voiceover, allows individuals who are blind to navigate their way through his or her iPad. The program voices the application as a user’s finger grazes over the App icon on the home screen. In the past, our blind community was limited to what tools they could use, such as braille. With the emergence of computers and related technologies, visually impaired individuals have struggled to maintain an understanding with these limited resources. Luckily, additional complementary technologies offered today allow the blind the opportunity to enjoy the same computer tools that seeing people enjoy. Before this video, I was unaware of the iPad’s and iPhone’s ability to provide such a useful tool for individuals with visual disabilities. 
Additional Resources: 1. http://www.uni.edu/walsh/blindresources.html A cumulative list of Online Resources for Teaching the Blind 
2. http://adaptivetech.tcnj.edu/resheet/blind.htm A list of useful software programs and their websites. Screen Readers: Screen reading software reads aloud everything on computer screens, including text, pull-down menus, icons, dialog boxes, and web pages. Screen readers run simultaneously with the computer's operating system and applications. (JAWS, Windows-Eyes, and ZoomText) Scan/Read Systems: Scan/read systems combine software and a flatbed scanner to read aloud any printed text. Textbook pages, class handouts, and tests can be scanned in and then read aloud by a computer. (Kurzweil 1000 , OpenBook) Portable Notetakers: Lightweight, portable notetakers provide speech output without a visual display and can be connected to printers and computers for printing and uploading text. Braille keyboards and refreshable Braille displays are available for Braille users. A QWERTY keyboard version is available for people who prefer touch-typing. (Braille Lite Series, Braille ‘n Speak, BrailleNote) 
3. http://www.tsbvi.edu/math Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired The Standards for teaching the blind math concepts using Tactile Graphics. California Braille Mathematics Standards (2.1 mb) 
4. https://www.washington.edu/doit/articles?464 What are tactile graphics? Tactile graphics, sometimes referred to as the haptic sensory modality, deliver information through touch. They often accompany Braille textbooks to convey content in maps, charts, building layouts, schematic diagrams, and images of geometric figures. Tactile graphics are often handmade by Braille transcribers as part of Braille textbook production. In some cases, the creation of tactile graphics is facilitated by automated processes using various software applications. Some methods used to create tactile graphics are described below. A hand-tooling method produces a raised image on paper or aluminum diagramming foil. Specially-designed tools hand-emboss raised lines and textures. A Thermoform device creates multiple copies of originals produced by this method. A partially-automated method prints computer generated graphics onto capsule or swell paper, which causes the lines to rise when the paper is sent through a special heating device. In this process, the black portions of the copy swell outward to form a raised line tactile graphic. Some Braille embossers are equipped with a graphics mode that can be used for producing tactile graphics, although additional software may be required to use this functionality. There are also specialized Braille printers, like the Tiger series of embossers by ViewPlus, which are specifically designed to create tactile graphics in addition to standard Braille. The University of Washington's Tactile Graphics Project provides a number of resources designed to increase access to mathematics, engineering, and science information from graphical images by students who are blind. One helpful application is the Tactile Graphics Assistant which, when combined with regular software applications, enables the rapid translation of visual graphics to a tactile form. A valuable resource for creating tactile graphics is the Tactile Diagram Manual produced by Purdue University. This downloadable manual is for educators who need to convert science and math diagrams into tactile graphics. 
http://nlb-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/Braille.jpg PIC 
http://www.aisquared.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/accessibility_voiceover_20100225.jpg PIC

A. Watch Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing Impaired Children

B. The Mountbatten

When I was a senior in highschool, I had the privilege of working with students with special needs through being a teacher's aid. This was definitely an eye opening experience, and I would have to say it taught me more than any class ever could! While working with these students, we had to teach in ways that were not used in regular classrooms. Its not that special needs students cannot learn, they just learn in ways that differ from other students. One great Assistive Technologies for Vision and Hearing Impaired Children makes is that learning needs to be personal. Every student, whether they have a special need or not, learns differently. One great way for teaching the vision impaired is through podcasts, like we learned about earlier this semester from a group of kindergartners. Through these podcasts, students would not only be able to use them during school, but they would also be able to access them at home as well. Having devices like the braille writer talked about in The Mountbatten provides students with special needs the ability to be engaged in regular classroom activities just as any other student.